After three years of freezing the value of medical scheme tax credits, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced an increased rebate in his Budget Speech,
reported BusinessTech (25 Feb 2026).
Earlier this month the BHF warned that eliminating medical tax credits too soon could push between 430,000 and 690,000 scheme members out of cover.
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 requesting Government to prevent hundreds of thousands of middle- to low-income scheme members from being pushed off their plans.
“The end of medical scheme tax credit 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."
In order to stabiise provincial health services Treasury allocated R21.3bn to the healthcare sector over the medium term to support the compensation and employment of doctors and to cover shortfalls in goods and services.
Provinces will also receive R26bn to strengthen the HIV and AIDS programme, including prevention of mother-to-child transmission and antiretroviral treatment.
The HFA mentioned that medical tax credits encourage people who can afford private healthcare to fund their own cover. That reduces pressure on the public sector. It can also free capacity and resources for more vulnerable patients.