One of my clients is an expat in Poland. According to S6A, one can claim medical tax credits for a similarly registered foreign medical scheme under the Medical Scheme act. He belongs to Cigna Global Health and has something they call; health insurance. N
Important:
This answer is based on tax law for the tax year ending 28 February 2020.
Answer:
The relevant provision, section 6A(2)(a), reads as follows:
The medical scheme fees tax credit applies in respect of fees paid by the person to –
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a medical scheme registered under the Medical Schemes Act; or
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a fund which is registered under any similar provision contained in the laws of any other country where the medical scheme is registered,
that relate to benefits from that fund in respect of that person or of any person that is a dependant of that person.
Other than the Income tax Act and the Medical Schemes Act, we don’t know of, or have access to other sources that deals with this. SARS, in their guide dealing with the rebate, states the following:
Contributions paid by the taxpayer to any other fund registered under similar provisions in the laws of any other country, may also be taken into account. Certain medical-related arrangements or products are marketed by entities that are not regulated by the MS Act, for example, long-term insurers. These products do not qualify for an MTC in South Africa; similarly if a foreign product is marketed by an entity that is not regulated under legislation that is similar to the MS Act, it will not quality for an MTC.
A South African employer that makes contributions to a foreign medical scheme in respect of an employee has an obligation to determine whether the legislation which governs such foreign scheme is similar to the provisions of the MS Act and whether such contributions will therefore qualify for an MTC.
We suggest that you request an opinion from SARS with regard to this, but suspect that they will in any event request details of the Cigna Global Health product. It does appear to be similar to insurance and not contributions to a medical scheme.