Medical Aid Certificate - Explained for Beginners
Medical Aid Certificate – Explained for Beginners in South Africa revealed.
We verified the medical aid certificate explained for beginners.
This is a complete guide to medical aid certificates, explained for beginners in South Africa.
In this in-depth guide you’ll learn:
- ☑️ What is a medical aid certificate?
- ☑️ Why do you need a medical aid certificate?
- ☑️ What is a membership certificate?
- ☑️ What is a medical aid tax certificate?
- ☑️ Why do you need a medical aid tax certificate?
- ☑️ What is the difference between a medical aid tax certificate and a medical aid certificate?
So if you’re ready to go “all in” with the best medical aid certificate guide for beginners in South Africa, this guide is for you.
Let’s dive right in…
Medical Aid Certificate – Explained for Beginners Summary
What is a medical aid certificate?
✔️ When people refer to a medical aid certificate, they can either refer to the membership certificate that proves they are members of a certain medical aid plan provided by a medical aid scheme, or they can refer to the medical aid tax certificate that is issued every year and is used to fill out your tax return.
✔️ You can usually find personalised documents like your health plan guide, tax certificate and membership certificate as well as other plan benefit summaries, procedure information and application forms when you log in to your medical aid scheme’s website with your personal details.
What Is Shown on Your Medical Aid Membership Certificate
✔️ A medical aid membership certificate will normally include the following categories of information: the member’s name, membership number, date of beginning, type of plan, primary member data, dependents’ details, contact information, and the name of the medical aid programme.
✔️ To demonstrate that an individual is a member of a certain medical aid and is therefore qualified to access the benefits and services offered by that medical aid, the individual must provide a membership certificate issued by the medical aid. The presentation of this certificate is often necessary in order to gain access to medical treatments or to make a claim against medical aid.
What Is Shown on Your Medical Aid Scheme Tax Certificate?
✔️ A medical aid scheme provides you with all of the information you need to file your tax return on the tax certificate that you get.
✔️ Only the contributions to your medical scheme for a specific tax period are shown on the line that displays the amount for your contributions. Any modifications that were made to the tax code that were backdated to apply to this tax period but were made after the creation of this certificate will be reflected on the tax certificate for the period following this one.
✔️ When completing your tax return, you should be sure to make reference to the contribution amount that is listed on your IRP5 if your employer provides you with an IRP5. This information will be displayed on the IT3(a) if you are a pensioner who is receiving post-retirement benefits.
✔️ The phrase “claims not recovered from the Scheme” refers to claims that your plan did not cover, such as when the claims were for an amount that was greater than the benefit maximum.
✔️ You are required to disclose all of these active members on your tax return; therefore you will need a breakdown showing the total number of active members each month. This includes the number of active primary members as well as active dependant members.
✔️ Only the part of your monthly payments to which you are eligible for a tax deduction will be displayed on the tax certificate. It only takes into account the percentage of your monthly payment that is sent to the Scheme (which may include your Medical Savings Account, depending on the circumstances).
✔️ The phrase “Claims not recovered from the Scheme” refers to claims that were not paid out by the Scheme, including any portion of a claim that was not paid out. These would be the total amount of all processed in-hospital and out-of-hospital claims that the scheme did not pay for, for any reason, such as your funds being depleted or your claims exceeding your benefit limitations.
✔️ The percentage of your medical system contributions for which you are eligible to get a tax deduction is determined by dividing the total number of persons covered by your membership by a monthly maximum rand amount (also known as a “capped amount”).
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Where Do You Get Your Medical Scheme Tax Certificate?
✔️ If you contributed to a medical aid scheme, you will need a tax certificate from the medical aid scheme in order to finish the medical portion of your yearly tax return. If you did not contribute to a medical aid scheme, you do not need the tax certificate.
✔️ This certificate provides specific information on the amount that was paid to the medical aid throughout the tax year beginning March 1 and ending February 28 for both yourself and any dependents you may have. In addition, it lists the total amount of money that you spent on other medical expenditures, such as drugs and doctor’s bills, that you claimed to have incurred but that your medical aid did not pay for.
✔️ This information is essential for your tax return and included it can boost your chances of earning a tax refund when you send in your return.
✔️ You should have received your tax certificate by email or regular mail from the supplier of your medical scheme by the end of July, but if they have not done so, you have the option of requesting it directly from them.
✔️ The vast majority of medical aid companies provide their customers with an online self-service portal, via which they may log in and get tax certificates. Others have a contact centre that you may use to place an order for them to send your tax certificate to you by postal mail or electronic mail.
When and why do you need a medical aid Tax certificate?
📣 You need your medical plan tax certificate to fill out and send in your South African income tax report for the year.
📣 This certificate shows exactly how much you and your family paid to the medical aid from March 1 to February 28 of the previous year. The tax certificate also shows how much you paid for medical costs like medicines or doctor visits that your medical aid did not cover. This information is important for your tax return, and it can increase your chances of getting a tax credit when you send it in.
📣 On your tax certificate, you will find all the information you need to fill out your tax return:
- ✅ Payments from March 1 to February 28 that are made to a medical plan for this tax period only. The tax certificate for the next tax period will include any backdated changes that apply to this tax period but were made after this certificate was made. When you fill out your tax return, you should rather look at the payment amount on the IRP5 your company gives you. If you are a senior, your Pension Fund will send you an IT3(a) certificate.
- ✅ “Own portion paid on claims” refers to claims that we did not pay for, like when the amount of the claim was more than the amount of the payout. We have included claims for service dates in 2018 that have been taken care of up to February 28, 2018.
- ✅ A list of the total number of active members, including the main member and active dependents, for each month in 2017 and 2018. You will need to include this information on your tax return.
📣 The tax certificate only shows the part of your monthly payment that could help you get a tax break. It only looks at the part of your monthly payment that goes to the medical plan, which may include your Medical Savings Account (MSA).
📣 The IT 3(b) Certificate tells you how much interest you have made on your medical savings account because the scheme are in charge of that money.
📣 The IT 3(b) MSA certificate shows how much interest you have made on the money in your MSA, if you have any.
📣 My IT 3(b) Accumulated Savings Account certificate:
- ✅ This certificate shows how much interest you are still earning on the money you have left in your Accumulated Savings Account. If savings from past years were made, they will be added to this amount.
LEARN more The 5 Best Comprehensive Medical Aids in South Africa revealed
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a medical aid scheme certificate?
A medical aid certificate details how much you contributed to your fund, and money you paid for other medical expenses, such as medicines and doctors expenses, which you claimed for, but your medical aid did not cover.
What is a medical aid membership certificate?
A medical aid membership certificate is your proof of membership of a certain scheme.
How much does a medical aid certificate cost in South Africa?
A medical aid certificate is free of charge.
Where do you get an authorised copy of your medical aid tax certificate?
You should be able to print your tax certificate with an ‘authorised copy’ watermark. If it doesn’t, change your printer settings to print background colours and graphics.
When do you need a medical aid tax certificate?
You need a medical aid tax certificate before ‘tax season’ because you need the information to fill out your tax return.
