The eyewear bonus will soon be payable after the positive opinion of the Privacy Guarantor on the decree of the Ministry of Health which includes the one-off contribution of 50 euros for the purchase or reimbursement (if the purchase has already been made) of eyeglasses or corrective contact lenses purchased between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2023. The bonus is part of the aid plan for citizens in economic difficulty after the Covid-19 pandemic . In the pre – pandemic period , however, it was possible to benefit from the 19% personal income tax deductions for the purchase of medical devices. The expected measure was foreseen by the Budget Law 2021, but a long process has extended times until today when it seems to be in the process of being implemented.
The eyewear bonus was introduced by Law no. 178 of 2020, the 2021 Budget Law. “Also in consideration of the economic difficulties resulting from the epidemiological emergency from COVID-19”, a Fund for the protection of sight was established with an endowment of 5 million euros for the years 2021, 2022, 2023 .
The eyewear bonus is reserved for families with an Isee income of less than 10 thousand euros, and the incentive will be paid to those who submit the application for the purchase of glasses or contact lenses , in the form of a voucher or, for those who have already paid for the purchase. , as a refund. To submit the application, in both cases, it will be necessary to follow a procedure: the user must register on the dedicated platform in the area available on the website of the Ministry of Health, by authentication via Spid, Cie or Cns. Once the income requirements have been met, after the INPS checks, the beneficiaries will access the voucher. However, the bonus is not yet payable because the platform to which to apply is still missing, so the implementation process will continue.
How to get the Eyewear Bonus
- Reimbursement for those who have already made the purchase (starting from 1 January 2021) at least until the publication of the specific ministerial platform
- Voucher for purchases of glasses or contact lenses to be used until the end of 2023.
- One-time contribution of 50 euros for the purchase of glasses or contact lenses.
- Isee less than 10 thousand euros
- The bonus is guaranteed to each of the members of thefamily unit indicated in the ISEE, from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2023, once each.
- Registration on the Ministry of Health platform with Spid, CIE or CNS
- The voucher must be spent within 30 days of issue
- The refund will be made with documentation (invoice, receipts) that proves the purchase
- The reimbursement will be made by crediting the cc via iban to be communicated when filling in the application data.
How much is
The eyewear bonus is a one-off contribution of a total amount of 50 euros for the purchase of prescription glasses or corrective contact lenses . The expenses for these products – made starting from January 1st 2021 – are covered by the bonus until December 31st 2023. Therefore the bonus is valid both for expenses already made and to be made. For those who request it, before purchasing, it will be possible to receive the 50 euros in the form of a voucher. If, on the other hand, the expense for prescription glasses or contact lenses has already been incurred, the bonus can be obtained as a refund.
How to claim the 2022 eyewear bonus
Both for the voucher and for the reimbursement for expenses already made, the disbursement of the contribution will take place after registration on a specific area of the website of the Ministry of Health. It will be necessary to have a SPID , CIE (Electronic Identity Card) or CNS (National Service Card) for digital authentication . The pre-purchase voucher will be made available directly on the web portal, after verification by the INPS of the possession of the required Isee requirements. The reimbursement will instead be paid on the beneficiary’s IBAN coordinates , which will be provided at the time of registration on the platform together with a copy of the invoice or documentation (receipt) of the purchase.
Once the 50 euro voucher has been received, the purchase must be made within 30 days of the issue for the purchase of accredited corrective glasses or contact lenses.
The data relating to the reimbursements paid must be communicated to the Revenue Agency. The draft decree prepared by the Ministry of Health takes into account the observations provided by the Privacy Authority in the previous months.
The bonus cannot yet be requested because the rule that regulates the facility is part of the so-called non-self-application measures , which therefore require an implementing decree to materialize and be accessible and payable to those who can benefit from it.
