Closed petition: Make all private mental health treatment VAT exempt

Closed on 7 February 2026

We believe there is a mental health crisis. We want to improve access to mental health treatment by making treatment through counselling and psychotherapy exempt from VAT. This would mean those seeking treatment privately would only pay the fee, without an additional 20% VAT.

Therapy waiting lists are long in the NHS and privately, and need is high. Private mental health treatments are not all exempt from VAT. We think this makes treatment unaffordable for many. We also believe this stops therapists from opening up slots to keep income under threshold, decreases patient access due to high fees and impacts recovery and rehabilitation. Registered psychotherapists are VAT exempt in Ireland.