s(CS(IClaiming Tax as an Irish Coeliac
So, amazing as it is, I still meet diagnosed coeliacs, who are not aware that they are entitled to claim back tax on gluten-free products every year.
We all know the cost of gluten-free food is high. Especially if you consume a lot of bread, cereal, pasta – I don’t personally, but picture a household with a parent and two teenagers all coeliac. Teenagers have hollow legs. Or more scientifically if they are involved in sport, they require special nutritional needs.
For me, an adult coeliac diagnosed since infancy, bread is not as fundamental to me, I could go weeks without it. Many people diagnosed as older children, or adults, may find bread is an important part of their diet. Either way, by eating a modest amount of pasta, confectionery foods, gluten-free breaded chicken, gluten-free sausages and convenience foods – it adds up significantly by the end of the year. In fact, when it comes to totting up receipts, it is only then that I notice just how much I have spent by comparing that family loaf of bread at €2.09 to the much smaller gluten-free loaf at as much as €5.40.
I have no gripe with gluten-free food being more expensive. As a lifelong coeliac, I am conditioned to paying more for safe gluten-free foods. It’s my health. But that does impact on your wealth.
Therefore, I would suggest anyone who is coeliac, but not claiming – rethink it. You will be surprised.
Additionally, the Coeliac Society (CSI) undertook a great deal of work with Revenue, so that since 2022/2023 they now will accept any food listed in the CSI’s annual Food List, as long as the claimant has the receipt for the product.
The Society’s Gill Brennan says, “To reclaim tax on GF foods – coeliacs need a letter from their doctor, and then the sum total of their receipts – the product doesn’t need to say it is specifically gluten free – a lot of the products in our food list don’t have gluten free on the label but we have a declaration from the manufacturer stating they are gluten free and safe for coeliacs.”
The Society now sends Revenue their Food List annually for their team. Many members of the Society have consequently seen a big increase in what they can claim for and get back on their Health Expenses.
How does it work?
Keep all of your food receipts, wherever you‘ve shopped and bought something gluten-free that’s in the Food List. Some supermarkets give you a Certificate at the of the year detailing how much you have spent – this is a useful convenience, but if you shop around, you will need to register in those stores that supply them. And you will still need to keep your receipts for 6 years.
Store your receipts in a handy to reach place. After many years of doing this, I have finally begun adding them monthly, then filing away those I’ve added – it’s tidier and less of a job at the end of the year.
Use excel/sheets – the easiest thing is to set up a spreadsheet and enter each amount into the sheet, which tots it up for you. All you need is the final amount.
Use your online revenue form Med 1 or obtain a copy of this form from the Tax Office. All medical expenses are entered into this for a family, so you may be already using it. The gluten-free foods amount is entered here. You do not submit receipts, but keep them in case of random audit.
Remember, foods don’t have to be specifically manufactured gluten free – they can be in the Food List.
Full details are on the Revenue website here. Or there’s further information on the Coeliac Society’s website.
That’s a lot to be able to claim on. Don’t let those receipts go to waste. After all, this is a coeliac’s medicine.
So to sum up (excuse the pun!):
- Claim back tax – it may be worth a significant rebate at the end of the year.
- Keep all your receipts – even if it’s not clear to you which ones are gluten-free mark them or add them to a spreadsheet as you go.
- You can claim for any foods that are featured in the Coeliac Society’s gluten-free Food List.
- If it’s your first year to claim, you may need a letter from your GP to support your coeliac diagnosis. (As a long-term coeliac, I have never been asked for this, but you have been hereby advised!)

Originally published by the Well Fed Coeliac, Emma Clarke Conway, our Awards Coordinator, on her blog and updated January 2025.