CA Sandeep Kanoi
CA Sandeep Kanoi
Deduction u/s. 80DD for expenses on
maintenance/ medical treatment of disabled dependent
In Past few years cost of medical
treatment has shoot up very sharply and has made medical treatment almost out
of reach of Lower and Middle class families in India. Government of India has
in order to provide some relief to those who have a dependent with disability
or sever disability provided some relief’s from Income tax under section 80DD
of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
Who is eligible to claim deduction?
· Individual or a Hindu undivided
family, who is a resident in India.
· Deduction u/s 80DD is not
available to non-resident Indian (NRI).
What Expenses are eligible for
deduction?
· Expenditure for the medical
treatment (including nursing), training and rehabilitation of a disabled
dependent.
· Money paid to Life Insurance
Corporation (LIC), Unit Trust of India or any other insurer for the purpose of
buying specified scheme or insurance for the purpose of maintenance of such
dependant.
Definition of relative: Who can be
your disabled dependant?
⇒ For individuals, your spouse, son / daughter (any child),
parents and brother / sister (siblings) can be your handicapped dependants.
⇒For HUFs, any member of the HUF can be a disabled dependant.
⇒The disabled person should be wholly or mainly dependant on
you for his / her support and maintenance, and should not have claimed
deduction under section 80U.
Some considerations for the
insurance premium
· Not all schemes qualify – there
are specific schemes meant for this purpose. The policy has to insure your
life. i.e. it should be in your name.
· Premium is required to be paid on
annual basis or a lump sum amount for the benefit of the disabled dependant.
· Nomination of Policy should be in
the name of (a) your disabled dependant, or (b) any other person or trust that
would receive the money for the benefit of your disabled dependant
Policies in which one can invest
♣ Life Insurance Corporation
of India offers Jeevan Vishwas policy for the benefits of parents or guardian
of person with physical disabilities which qualify for tax benefit under
Section 80DD.
This policy ensure that the
dependant person with physical handicap does not have to depend on anybody for
financial support in case something happens to his parent or guardian.
Jeevan Vishwas is a policy which participates in profits.
Under this insurance policey, the
life of the person, on whom the handicapped person is dependant, is insured. In
case the dependant dies before the guardian/parent, the parent/guardian will
have the option to either keep the policy for a reduced paid-up sum assured or
entitled to receive the refund of premiums paid.
However if the parent/guardian dies
before the dependant, 20% of the lump sum assured becomes payable for the
benefit of the dependant. Moreover the balance is paid by way of monthly
annuity for 15 years for sure and thereafter for life on the life of dependant.
♣ The health insurance cover
provided by National Trust needs special mention. The trust has introduced
“Niramaya” health Insurance Scheme for persons with disabilities like Autism,
Cerebral Palsy and Mental Retardation etc. Under this scheme, for those who
have family income of less than Rs. 15,000 per month, you need to make a
payment of Rs. 250 per year. For the person having family income of more than
Rs. 15,000 per month is required to pay an amount of Rs.500 per year. For the
families which are Below Poverty Line (BPL) this scheme is free, provided the
applicant holds the BPL card. This scheme covers health expenses up to a limit
of Rs. 100,000 per year for the person suffering from these disabilities. The
scheme is administered by National Trust in collaboration with ICICI Lombard.
Under this scheme even existing disease are covered without any medical check
up. Moreover this plan covers routine expenses like medical check up,
transportation and corrective surgery etc. which are not covered under regular
health insurance products.
What is considered as disability and
Severe Disability?
Disability would be as defined under
clause (i) of section 2 by the “Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities,
Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995” and will also include
disabilities referred to in clauses (a), (c) and (h) of section 2 of
National Trust for welfare of Person with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental
Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999.
It includes the following:
· Blindness
· Low vision
· Leprosy-cured
· Hearing impairment
· Locomotor disability
· Mental retardation
· Mental illness
· Autism
· Cerebral palsy
· Multiple disabilities
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.
Other Conditions to claim deduction
· For claiming the deduction in
respect of the above, you have to furnish a medical certificate of disability
from a Government Hospital certifying the disability of the dependant. The
certificate needs to be renewed periodically.
· For people having Autism, Cerebral
Palsy or multiple disabilities, form number 10-IA needs to be filled up. There
are two other formats for person suffering from mental illnesses and all other
disabilities.
· People have to furnish self
declaration certifying the expenditure incurred on account of medical treatment
(including nursing), training and rehabilitation of the handicapped dependant.
· You do not have to preserve the
actual receipts for expenses incurred. However you will have to produce the
actual receipts in case you claim deduction in respect of payment made to LIC,
UTI etc for the purpose of buying insurance or other schemes for maintenance of
such dependant.
Who can issue medical certificate of
disability?
· Neurologist having a degree of
Doctor of Medicine (MD) in Neurology (or, in case of children, a Pediatric
Neurologist having an equivalent degree)
· A Civil Surgeon or Chief Medical
Officer (CMO) of a government hospital
Taxability of Premium Amount Paid in
Case disable dependant dies before the taxpayer:- In case your disabled dependant predeceases you (that is,
dies before you); the amount in the policy is returned to you. This would be
treated as your income for the year in which you receive it, and would be fully
taxable in your hands.
Amount of Deduction and Tax Saving
- The deduction allowed is Rs. 50,000 if disabled
dependant is not suffering from severe disability. Limit is Raised to Rs.
75,000/- from A.Y. 2016-17.
- Deduction allowed goes up to Rs. 1,00,000 if disabled
dependant is a person with severe disability.Limit is Raised to Rs.
1,25,000/- from A.Y. 2016-17.
- Deduction not depend on amount of expenses
incurred:- Even if your actual expenses on above mentioned disabled
dependent relative is less then amount mentioned above you will be
eligible to full deduction.
Please Note –
a) Individuals would need to produce
a copy of the disability certificate as issued by the central or state
government medical board to claim deduction.
b) Insurance policy obtained must be
in your name and should be a policy for life. It could pay either an annuity or
a lump sum amount for the benefit of the dependent on your death.
c) If the disabled dependent
predeceases you, the policy amount is returned to you, and treated as income
for the year in which you receive it, thus fully taxable in your hands.
Conclusion:- The physical and mental agony experienced by the parents/
guardian of such dependants cannot be taken away but Government of India,
National Trust, LIC and other charitable institutions are doing commendable job
by reducing the financial agony of such families. It is important for all of us
to look for such benefits available and talk these about in various media to
take it across as many people as possible. This is a bit of social work which
can give relief to handicapped persons and their parents.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question – I am a salaried person
who had a son with hearing impairment. My son underwent an operation for
cochlear implantation and I spent around Rs 6 lakh for it. Can I get any tax
benefit for the treatment expenses?
Answer:- Section 80DD allows a
deduction to an individual or HUF if the person has incurred in the previous
year any expenditure on medical treatment (including nursing), training and
rehabilitation of a dependant with a disability or paid or deposited any amount
under a scheme framed in this behalf by an insurer for the maintenance of a
dependant with a disability.
A person with a disability is one
suffering from not less than 40 per cent of a disability (as certified by a
medical authority working in a hospital or institution notified by the
Government), which could be blindness, low vision, leprosy – cured, hearing
impairment, locomotor disability, mental retardation, mental illness.
Hearing impairment, for this
purpose, means a loss of 60 decibels or more in the better ear in the
conversational range of frequencies.
A person with disability also
includes the one suffering from autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation or a
combination of any two or more. Section 80DD allows a deduction of up to Rs
75,000 a year and if the disability is severe, up to Rs 1,25,000 a year. Severe
disability means a person with 80 per cent or more of the disability. You can
claim deduction if your fits into these categories.
Question:- My father is a pensioner
and his pension is less than my salary. My sister is a disabled dependant with
85% disability. She is dependant on me. Can I get rebate under section 80DD? My
Assessing Officer says that your father is alive and is getting pension; so you
cannot claim deduction. Is it true?
Answer:- Your Assessing Officer is
not correct. The deduction u/s 80DD is for dependant of an individual tax payer
and dependant includes brother and sister of Individual. You can furnish to
Your Assessing officer an undertaking from your father that your sister is
dependant on you and not on your father.
Question:- I have a handicapped
dependant who is my cousin ( Daughter of my mother’s sister). She is completely
dependant on me and every month I spend Rs 10,000. She is suffering from 85 %
Blindness and mental problem. I wanted to know whether I can claim tax benefit
under 80DD?
Answer U/s. 80DD dependant means in
the case of an individual, the spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters
of the individual or any of them;
It is clear that section 80DD is
applicable only if the person on whom you are spending are any one of following
- your wife or husband
- your children
- your parents
- your brother
- your sister
- your wife’s or husband’s brother or sister
- your parents’ brother or sister
The Daughter of your mother’s sister
is, clearly, not coming under the definition of dependant for the purpose of
claim of deduction u/s 80DD. So, you can not claim deduction u/s. 80DD in
respect of expenses incurred for her maintenance and medical treatment.
Question– Brother of Mr. Raja (a resident) is totally blind and is
dependent on Mr. Raja. During the Assessment year 2016-17, Mr. Raja has
incurred expenditure of Rs. 10,000 on training and rehabilitation of his
brother. Can Mr. Raja claim any deduction in respect of expenditure incurred by
him on maintenance of his physically handicapped brother?
Answer- In this case, all the criteria of section 80DD are
satisfied and hence, Mr. Raja can claim a flat deduction of Rs. 1,25,000 under
section 80DD (since his brother is suffering from 100% disability).
Suppose in the above case, instead
of 100% disability, his brother is suffering from disability of less than 80%,
then the amount of deduction will be limited to Rs. 75,000.
(Republished with Amendments)
Regards, E.R.Iyer
