Finance minister Enoch Godongwana has tabled the 2026 Budget, which includes some much-needed relief for South Africans on medical aids.
After three years of freezing the value of the medical aid tax credit, the National Treasury has increased the rebate from R364 to R376.
Medical tax credits will increase from R364 to R376 for the first two members, and from R246 to R254 for additional members.
The adjustment comes amid calls from healthcare funders in the country for the government to act to prevent hundreds of thousands of middle- to low-income scheme members from being pushed off their plans.
Board of Healthcare Funders Managing Director, Dr Katlego Mothudi, urged ahead of the budget speech for the medical aid tax credit to be boosted.
The future of credit has come under question amid the government’s push to have the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme supplant medical aids in the country.
While the timelines for the rollout of the NHI are murky at best—and delayed indefinitely at worst—talk has ramped up of getting rid of the medical aid tax credit to fund the scheme.
Mothudi warned against ending the tax credit prematurely and recommended that the government continue supporting the rebate and increasing its value as the uncertainties were ironed out.
The end of medical aid tax credits is written into the NHI Act, which is law, and is specifically intended to serve as a funding mechanism for the scheme.
However, the NHI rollout has been put on hold, for now, pending the outcome of key constitutional challenges in court.
| Tax Year | Member | Adult Dependant | Other Dependant | Average Medical Scheme Contribution (per beneficiary p/m) |
% of Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020/21 | R319 | R319 | R215 | R1,863 | 17.1% |
| 2021/22 | R332 | R332 | R224 | R1,912 | 17.3% |
| 2022/23 | R347 | R347 | R234 | R1,961 | 17.7% |
| 2023/24 | R364 | R364 | R246 | R2,083 | 17.5% |
| 2024/25 | R364 | R364 | R246 | R2,263 | 16.1% |
| 2025/26 | R364 | R364 | R246 | TBD | TBD |
| 2026/27 | R376 | R376 | R254 | TBD | TBD |
