Private health insurance tax relief works through special expenses: you can deduct the part of your contributions that relates to basic cover. This is the share for basic protection that your insurer shows, together with the contribution to long-term care insurance. The deduction only reduces tax that is actually due. If you stay below the basic allowance of €12,348, it saves you nothing.
Key points at a glance
- Contributions to health and long-term care insurance count as special expenses, not as study costs.
- Only the share for basic cover is deductible. Your insurer shows how large that share is.
- The deduction only has an effect if tax is due in the same year. If your income is below the basic allowance, it does nothing.
- A premium refund can reduce the deductible contributions in the year it is paid out.
- Exemption from compulsory insurance during your studies is irreversible. Tax aspects should not decide this on their own.
Are private health insurance contributions special expenses?
For tax purposes, contributions to health and long-term care insurance count as pension and insurance expenses, which are a type of special expense. You enter them in your tax return in the Vorsorgeaufwand annex (Anlage Vorsorgeaufwand), separately from the costs of your studies. Which study costs you can claim, and how a first and a second degree differ, is set out in the article on tax benefits during your studies (in German).
Which part of the contribution is deductible for basic cover?
The part of the contribution that relates to basic cover is decisive. Your insurer tells you how your contribution is split, in a certificate of the contributions paid for the year. Other rules apply to parts of the contribution that go beyond basic cover, for example for additional benefits. Clarify those with the tax office.
Does a premium refund reduce the deduction?
It can. If the insurer pays back part of your contributions because you submitted no invoices for a year, this reduces the deductible contributions in the year of payment. The amount that appears in your return follows from the contribution certificate. If in doubt, ask the tax office.
Who claims the contributions: the student or the parents?
In principle, the person who bears the contribution economically claims it. If you pay the contribution yourself, for example from a part-time job or from maintenance, it belongs in your tax return. If your parents pay the contribution for you, they may be able to claim it in the child annex (Anlage Kind) of their own return. Among other things, this depends on whether they receive child benefit or the child allowance for you.
Which variant applies to you is best clarified with the tax office or a tax adviser. The important thing is that the same contribution does not appear in two returns.
Is the deduction worth it if you pay hardly any tax?
That depends on how your income compares with the basic allowance. Income tax only becomes due above €12,348 of taxable income (single persons, 2026). More on this limit is in the article on taxes for students (in German).
Example (simplified): the basic share of your contributions is €1,200 a year (assumption). Your taxable income without this deduction would be €14,000, and other deductions are left out. With the deduction, it is €12,800, which is €452 above the basic allowance. Tax is only due on those €452. If your income is below €12,348 even without the deduction, the deduction changes nothing about your tax.
How wage tax, mini-jobs and working-student jobs fit in is explained in the article on tax on student jobs (in German).
Frequently asked questions
Does this also apply to statutory student health insurance?
Contributions to statutory health insurance are also counted as provisions. The difference lies in the amount: the contribution to statutory student insurance is fixed by law, while in PKV it depends on age, tariff and excess.
Does the deduction help if I earn nothing?
No. Special expenses only reduce tax that is due. If your taxable income is below the basic allowance, no income tax is due anyway, and the deduction has no effect.
Is PKV during your studies a tax-saving model?
No, and tax should not decide the question. You apply for exemption from compulsory insurance within three months of starting your studies. It applies for the entire course of study if you study without interruption, and it is irreversible. Returning to statutory insurance is only possible in narrow cases, and contributions can rise over the years.
Here is what to do now
- Ask your insurer for the contribution certificate for the year and check the share for basic cover.
- Clarify who bears the contributions economically: you or your parents.
- Compare your taxable income with the basic allowance of €12,348 before you count on any savings.
- If you want to talk through your situation, you will find the route to advice on the Academycon homepage.
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Related articles
- Tax benefits during your studies: what you can deduct in 2026 (in German)
- Part-time jobs and tax: what applies to mini-jobs, working students and more (in German)
- Taxes for students: when you pay and when you do not (in German)
- Private health insurance for students: costs and benefits (in German)
Last updated: October 2026. This guide is general information, not individual tax advice. The German version is authoritative.
