In Ireland, tax is taken differently from employer-led health schemes, versus if you were an individual purchasing a health policy for yourself. A knock-on effect of this is that the price can appear differently for the same plan. So you might wonder why the price on the provider website appears lower than the price on Kota. Let’s explain why below, and what it means for you.
Health policy prices in Kota
The difference in pricing between our platform and the provider's website is due to the application of Tax Relief at Source (TRS). In Kota, the prices listed for health insurance plans exclude Tax Relief at Source because the insurance is offered as a benefit by your employer. In Ireland, the employer pays the full price of the plan upfront without the tax relief being applied (as an employer can not claim your tax relief on your behalf). But don’t worry, you’re not getting charged extra because you have a health policy via your employer.
You can claim this tax relief from Revenue and they will backdate anything you are owed and apply the difference as a tax credit to your payslip, therefore giving you the tax relief you would have got if you individually purchased this directly from a provider.
Health policy prices on provider websites
In contrast, the prices on the provider’s website include the application of tax relief. Why? Well, these plans are advertised with the Tax Relief already deducted from the price. This tax relief is known as ‘Tax Relief at Source’ or ‘TRS’ and when a provider supplies these directly to an individual, they can apply the Tax Relief, they can not give your tax relief to an employer, hence the difference. Again, to be clear: as an employee, you can still benefit from TRS by claiming this tax relief back from Revenue. Once you reclaim the tax relief, the final net cost to you will be the same as the price displayed on the provider's website.
Therefore, while the upfront cost on our platform may appear higher, the final net price after you claim the tax relief will be equivalent to the prices shown on the provider’s website. Click here to read an article explaining how you can claim the tax back.