Bleaching at the dentist as tax-free treatment

Verdict: For whitening as a follow-up treatment no sales tax is payable
If whitening (bleaching) is objectively related to a previously performed dental treatment, which was paid VAT-free, the whitening is also tax-free. This was decided by the Bundesfinanzhof in its judgment of 19 March 2015 (file reference: V R 60/14).

Teeth whitening to eliminate the negative effects of pretreatment is VAT exempt
According to § 4 no. 14 of the German Value Added Tax Act, no sales tax is payable for medical treatment of the dentist. This also includes aesthetic treatments, as long as they are diagnosed, treated or cured by these diseases or health disorders. Also, aesthetic measure to eliminate negative consequences of a pretreatment is therefore tax-free.

However, in the case under negotiation, the applicant, a dental company, was required by the tax office to pay sales tax on teeth whitening of previously treated teeth. In the case of the patients, for example, a root canal treatment was performed in advance, which results in a dental obscuration due to the treatment. Teeth whitening was therefore considered a tax-free treatment by the dental company.

The Federal Fiscal Court also assessed tooth whitening as a treatment tax-free treatment, as it "in this case to eliminate the negative effects of a pre-treatment, which was tax-free, were performed." (Ag)

Picture: Heike