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Are you disabled? Save income tax under section 80U

Do you have a disability? Are you handicapped in any way? If yes, you can have some benefit in income tax under sec 80U.



In “Have a disabled dependent? Save income tax using section 80DD”, we saw that you can save tax if you have a dependent having a disability.

But what if you yourself are handicapped? Do you get any tax benefit? Yes, you can. Section 80U of the IT act provides you a facility of claiming a deduction if you have a disability.

(Most of the provisions are similar to Section 80DD, the only difference is that in Section 80U, you get the benefit of deduction if you yourself have a disability)

How much income tax can you save?

The deduction allowed is Rs. 50,000 or Rs. 75,000 depending on the extent of your disability.

A deduction of Rs. 50,000 is generally allowed if you have a disability, but it increases to Rs. 75,000 if your disability is severe.


Remember: this is a lump-sum deduction, and doesn’t depend on the amount that you spend on medical treatment, etc. You get this deduction for the fact that you have a disability – you don’t have to show proof of spending any money.

The income tax that you can save would depend on the tax bracket that you fall into – it can range from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 15,000 (for Rs. 50,000 deduction) or from Rs. 7,500 to Rs. 22,500 (for Rs. 75,000 deduction).

(To know the current income tax slabs, please read “Income Tax (IT) Slabs / Brackets”)

How do you qualify for this deduction?

As mentioned earlier, the very fact that you have a disability qualifies you for this deduction. No bills or receipts are required.

The only requirement is to have a certificate from a medical authority certifying that you have a disability. You can claim the deduction u/s 80U as long as the certificate is valid.

But you can claim the deduction for the year in which the certificate expires. For example, if the certificate expires on 10th August 2008, you can claim the deduction for FY 2008-09, but not for FY 2009-10 and beyond unless you renew the certificate or obtain a new one.


What is considered as disability?

Disability would be as defined by the “Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995”.

It includes the following:

  • Blindness
  • Low vision
  • Leprosy-cured
  • Hearing impairment
  • Locomotor disability
  • Mental retardation
  • Mental illness

A person with disability means a person suffering from not less than 40% of any of the above disabilities.

Severe disability means 80% or more of one or more of the above disabilities.

Who is qualified to claim this deduction?

Any individual can claim this deduction. Please note that the individual has to be a resident of India – a non-resident Indian (NRI) can not claim deduction u/s 80U.

Also, a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) can not claim deduction u/s 80U.


What are the requirements?

You need to have a proof of disability to claim deduction under section 80U. This certificate of disability needs to be obtained from relevant medical authorities.

If you have Autism, Cerebral Palsy or multiple disabilities, form number 10-IA needs to be filled up. There are two other formats: for mental illnesses and all other disabilities.

(Please scroll down to download the forms / formats / specimen)

The relevant authorities who can sign these forms are:

– A Neurologist having a degree of Doctor of Medicine (MD) in Neurology (or, in case of children, a Pediatric Neurologist having an equivalent degree)

or

– A Civil Surgeon or Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of a government hospital

Downloadable Forms

Here are the forms (or format of certificates) that you would require to claim deduction under section 80U.

(You need to be logged-in to download the forms / certificate formats. Please take advantage of the free registration that takes less than a minute. To know the benefits of registration, please click here.)





Form / FormatPurpose
Download Form 10-IAFor Autism, Cerebral Palsy or multiple disabilities
Download the formatCertificate of mental retardation
Download the formatCertificate of any other disability

(You need to be logged-in to download the forms / certificate formats. Please take advantage of the free registration that takes less than a minute. To know the benefits of registration, please click here.)

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