If you are a tax resident in Italy, many people don't realize that medical expenses paid for telemedicine services, including written consultation platforms like Medico Subito, can be deducted in your annual Italian tax return, exactly like a traditional specialist visit.
How the 19% deduction works
Healthcare expenses incurred during the year, above a threshold of €129, are eligible for a 19% IRPEF tax deduction in the Italian tax return (Modello 730 or Modello Redditi Persone Fisiche).
For an annual subscription of €150, this means recovering around €28 per year, reducing the effective cost of the service to about €121. It's not a huge amount, but it's a detail many people forget when calculating the real cost of a medical service.
What you need to keep
To claim the deduction, you need to keep the payment receipt or invoice, clearly indicating the healthcare service provided and the professional who provided it, including their medical license registration number. The payment must also be traceable, meaning made by card, bank transfer, or another electronic method, not cash.
On Medico Subito, payment is processed through Stripe by credit or debit card, so it is automatically traceable, and the receipt is generated electronically at the time of subscription.
Who files your tax return
If you use a CAF (tax assistance center) or an accountant for your Italian tax return, simply hand over the receipt along with your other healthcare expenses for the year: medications, specialist visits, diagnostic tests. If you fill out the pre-filled 730 yourself through the Agenzia delle Entrate portal, the expense must be entered manually in the healthcare expenses section, unless the provider transmits the data directly to the Sistema Tessera Sanitaria, which depends on the specific platform.
If in doubt about how to report the expense, it's always useful to check directly with whoever prepares your Italian tax return.