At a time when a large part of the population works in front of a computer, vision defect has become a disease of affluence. And it is often in the employer’s interest that the employee has the right eyeglasses or corrective lenses adapted to the needs and requirements of his or her workplace. Thus, it would seem that it is natural to be able to include such an expense in tax-deductible costs. However, the matter is not so obvious. So when will prescription glasses for an employee be tax-deductible?
Article 2376 § 1 and 3 of the Polish Labour Code indicates that the employer is obliged to provide the employee with personal protective equipment free of charge to protect him against the effects of dangerous and harmful factors occurring in the work environment and to inform him about the methods of using these means, and he is also obliged to provide him with personal protective equipment that meets the requirements for conformity assessment set out in separate provisions.
At the same time, pursuant to §4 of the Polish Occupational Health and Safety Decree, the employer is obliged to organise workstations with screen monitors in such a way that they meet the minimum requirements of occupational health and safety and ergonomics, as set out in the Annex to the Decree.
In addition, pursuant to §8 of the above-mentioned Decree, the employer is obliged to provide employees with
- preventive health care, to the extent and on the terms set out in separate regulations;
- eyeglasses or corrective contact lenses, as prescribed by your doctor, if the results of ophthalmological examinations carried out as part of preventive health care show the need for them when working with a screen monitor.
However, it is important to note that in order for the employer to be obliged to finance the employee’s corrective eyewear for working in front of a screen monitor, the following conditions must be met:
- the employee should use a computer at work for at least half of the daily working time;
- the obligation to wear glasses should be ordered by an ophthalmologist who conducts examinations of the employee as part of preventive health care.
In other words, the employer, in certain situations, should equip (reimburse) the employee for the cost of purchasing glasses or corrective lenses. Such a situation will occur when, during a medical examination, an employee who works at a computer workstation for at least half of the daily working time is advised to use them.
The rules for reimbursement of expenses and the amount of reimbursement should be determined by the employer in the company’s internal regulations. The amount of reimbursement should be set at a minimum amount that allows the employee to purchase at least the basic version of the glasses and frames in accordance with the doctor’s recommendations.
Thus, if the above conditions are met, the reimbursement of glasses or corrective lenses will be a tax-deductible cost for the company. Otherwise, it will not be tax-deductible.
The above is confirmed by the individual interpretation of the Director of the National Tax Information of 20 April 2017 (file reference number 2461-IBPB-1-2.4510.33.2017.2.MS):
“The employer determines the form of provision of corrective glasses. It is essential that the employee is provided with prescription glasses or contact lenses that serve the same purpose as corrective glasses, as prescribed by a doctor.
In view of the obligation imposed by the legislator to provide the employee with personal protective equipment free of charge to protect against the effects of dangerous and harmful factors occurring in the work environment and the obligation of the employer to provide the employee with glasses or contact lenses in the event of medical recommendations issued by the Occupational Medicine Clinic in connection with ophthalmological examinations, it should be concluded that these expenses are in the nature of “costs employees’ rights and may constitute tax-deductible costs for the Company.”
By the way, it is worth defining the employee’s perspective. For the employee, a possible refund for the purchase of recommended corrective glasses is not subject to contributions and personal income tax. The above follows from § 2 sec. 1 point 6 of the Decree of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of 18 December 1998 on the detailed rules for determining the basis for calculating contributions to pension and disability insurance, where it is indicated that the basis for the assessment of contributions does not take into account the value of benefits in kind resulting from the provisions on occupational health and safety and the equivalents of these benefits and Article 21 sec. 1 point 11 of the Polish PIT Act, which excludes from income tax the above-mentioned benefits and equivalents.
To sum up, the tax consequences of reimbursing employees for expenses incurred for the purchase of glasses or corrective lenses will depend on the nature of the employee’s activities and internal regulations. Basically, from the perspective of:
- companies – the expense will be tax-deductible;
- employee, the endowment will not constitute income;
– if it is incurred/received taking into account the conditions resulting from the health and safety rules and is paid on the basis of the provisions resulting from the company’s internal regulations.
