Did you know that amount spent on the treatment of certain diseases is deductible from your income, thus reducing your income tax? Read on, and also download the necessary form.
[Inspired by queries from readers Ritesh, Srinivas]
| We know that any amount paid as a premium for medical insurance is deductible from income under section 80D. (For more information on this, please read “Insure your health, save your income tax”) |
But you can also deduct any amount paid towards medical treatment of certain diseases. Let’s see what diseases are covered, and how much can be deducted from your income.
Who can claim this deduction?
Any individual or a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) can claim this deduction. However, you have to be a resident – a Non Resident Indian (NRI) can not claim this deduction.
Diseases / ailments covered
Not all diseases are covered – the diseases mentioned in rule 11DD of the Income Tax (IT) Act are covered under this section. These diseases are:
- Neurological Diseases (where the disability level has been certified as 40% or more)
– Dementia
– Dystonia Musculorum Deformans
– Motor Neuron Disease
– Ataxia
– Chorea
– Hemiballismus
– Aphasia
– Parkinsons Disease - Malignant Cancers
- Full Blown Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
- Chronic Renal failure
- Hematological disorders
– Hemophilia
– Thalassaemia
How much is deductible?
Any amount paid for the medical treatment is deductible from your income, subject to a cap of Rs. 40,000.
If the amount is spent for a senior citizen (age 65 years or more), the upper limit is higher – Rs. 60,000.
However, if you get the amount reimbursed by your employer or you get the amount from an insurer, you would not be able to claim deduction under section 80DDB.
If you get partial amount from an insurance company or get a partial amount reimbursed by your employer, the balance can be claimed as deduction from your income.
Examples
Let’s say the amount spent by you is Rs. 25,000. You have medical insurance, and claim the amount from your insurer. The insurer passes the claim, and gives you Rs. 25,000. In this case, you would not be able to claim any amount as deductible.
Now, let’s say the amount spent by you is Rs. 25,000. Your employer reimburses Rs. 15,000 for this treatment. In this case, you would be able to claim a deduction of the balance amount (Rs. 10,000) under section 80DDB.
Treatment of relatives
You can of course claim deduction for the amount spent by you on your treatment.
Apart from that, you can also claim deduction for money spent by you on medical treatment of some of your dependent relatives. These are:
- Your spouse
- Your daughter / son (children)
- Your father / mother (parents)
- Your brother / sister (siblings)
Please note that for you to claim deduction u/s 80DDB, these people should be wholly or mainly dependent on you for their support and maintenance.
Hindu Undivided Family (HUF)
HUFs can also claim deduction under sec 80DDB.
Medical expense borne by the HUF on any member of the HUF can be claimed as deductible from the income of the HUF as long as the member is wholly or mainly dependent on the HUF for his support and maintenance.
The process – what is needed to claim the deduction?
In order to claim this deduction, you would need to get a certificate from a specialist working in a government hospital.
Depending on the disease treated, it would be:
- A neurologist
- An oncologist
- A urologist
- A hematologist
- An immunologist
- Other specialist as applicable
This certificate has to be obtained in a format as prescribed in Form 10I.
(You need to be logged-in to download the spreadsheet. Please take advantage of the free registration that takes less than a minute. To know the benefits of registration, please click here.)
Please note that only the certificate needs to be obtained from a specialist working in a government hospital – the treatment can be done anywhere.
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- Insure your health, save your income tax
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