Austria MOF Clarifies Deductibility of Private Clinic Treatment Costs

The Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance May 9 posted online Federal Finance Court Decision No. RV/5100306/2024, clarifying the deductibility of private clinic treatment costs. The taxpayer claimed extraordinary expenses for his wife’s hip replacement surgery. The Tax Office denied the deduction, determining that the higher costs for the in-patient stay at a private clinic for the surgery weren’t necessary and inevitable under Section 34 of Income Tax Act 1988. The taxpayer appealed, citing the longer waiting time for a hip implant at a public hospital and acute pain. The Federal Finance Court upheld the appeal, finding that: 1) a shorter ...