General information
This guide is based on publicly available information from official sources, including the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Services Australia, Healthdirect and other Australian Government health and pharmacy bodies. It is general information, not personal medical advice, and may change over time. With any medicine, always read the label and use only as directed, and if symptoms persist see your doctor or health care professional. Check anything that affects you with your pharmacist or GP. In an emergency, call 000.
For most Australians, money spent at the pharmacy is no longer a tax deduction. The Net Medical Expenses Tax Offset, the old rebate that once covered out-of-pocket medical and pharmacy costs, closed to everyone after the 2018-19 income year, and nothing general has replaced it. Pharmacy receipts are still useful in a few specific places: private health "extras" cover, a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan, some salary-packaging arrangements, and tracking your spending towards the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) Safety Net. It is general information, not tax advice; the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or a registered tax agent can confirm what applies to you. For the spending-tracking angle, see our PBS Safety Net guide.
Pharmacy spending and your personal tax return
For personal spending, the short answer is no. The Net Medical Expenses Tax Offset (NMETO) was phased out over several years and was available for the last time in the 2018-19 income year; from 1 July 2019 no taxpayer can claim it, and there is no general medical-expense deduction in its place (Medical expenses tax offset, ATO). A PBS co-payment, $7.70 concessional or $25 general in 2026, is therefore not something you deduct on your return; the subsidy is already built into the PBS price. Those co-payments are set by the government and usually change on 1 January, so the current figure is on the PBS website.
Where a pharmacy receipt still counts
A receipt still matters in four situations. In three of them the money comes back from a third party rather than the ATO. If you hold private health insurance with a pharmacy benefit on your "extras" cover, the insurer reimburses part of your out-of-pocket cost, and it needs the receipt. If you have an NDIS plan that funds pharmacy items, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) pays against your plan budget, and the receipt is needed for plan acquittal, the process of accounting for how your plan funds were spent. If your employer runs a salary-packaging arrangement that reimburses pharmacy costs, the receipt goes to the packaging administrator.
The fourth situation is different, because the benefit does come through the ATO. If you run a business, a workplace first-aid kit or business-supplied pharmacy items can be a deductible business expense in limited cases, claimed through your own tax return. A registered tax agent can advise whether a given cost qualifies.
If you cannot tell whether a receipt matters to your tax position, holding it for the year costs nothing, and a registered tax agent can tell you later. The ATO asks you to keep records for five years from the date you lodge.
How to get a year-end statement from your pharmacy
Almost every Australian pharmacy can print a summary of the scripts you filled and the amount you paid, though most do not produce it automatically. The steps are simple.
A request as simple as this is usually enough: "Could I have a printed dispensing statement for last year's scripts, showing what I paid for each?" Larger pharmacies may take a day or two if you ask for several years at once. The ATO does not require a single consolidated document, so separate statements from each pharmacy covering the same year are fine.
For anything you might claim through an insurer, an NDIS plan, or a business, it is worth keeping the pharmacy's own receipt that shows the item, the date, and the amount, rather than the eftpos slip, which shows only a total.
Private health "extras" and NDIS plans
People most often need their pharmacy receipts in these two situations. On a private health "extras" policy with a pharmacy benefit, the insurer reimburses a share of what you paid above the PBS price, up to a cap it sets, and you lodge through its app or portal within its window, often two years from the date on the receipt. The pharmacy benefit is usually small, and brand premiums and below-co-payment items may not be eligible, so the policy's product disclosure statement is worth reading before you assume something is covered.
On an NDIS plan, pharmacy items the plan funds, most often continence aids, some assistive equipment, or medicines coordinated in a Webster-pack arrangement, need the receipt for that acquittal at plan review. Pharmacies that are registered NDIS providers can invoice the NDIA directly; self-managed and plan-managed participants pay the pharmacy and claim through the plan. If you are unsure whether an item is covered, your plan manager or support coordinator is the person to ask.
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Frequently asked questions
For most personal taxpayers, no. The Net Medical Expenses Tax Offset ended in the 2018-19 income year and was not replaced, so a personal return has nowhere to claim everyday pharmacy costs in 2026. A few situations (an NDIS plan, private health insurance, salary packaging, a genuine business expense) still use pharmacy receipts, though only the business case runs through the ATO. If your circumstances are unusual, the ATO's guidance is the place to check.
