Deduction under section 80DDB with FAQ

Medical treatment of specified ailments under section 80DDB – Deductions of expenses on medical treatment of specified ailments (such as AIDS, cancer and neurological diseases) can be claimed under Section 80DDB. The maximum amount of deduction allowed from gross total income is restricted to Rs 40,000 (which goes up to Rs 60,000 if the age of the person treated is 60 years or more) on condition that no medical reimbursement is received from any insurance company or employer for this amount. In case of reimbursement the amount paid should  be reduced by the amount received if any under insurance from an insurerer or reimbursed by an employer.

For the purpose of this section in the case of an employee “dependant” means individual, the spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters of the employee or any of them, dependant wholly or mainly on the employee for his support and maintenance.

In order to claim this deduction, however, you will have to submit Form 10-1 from a specialist doctor working in a government hospital in India, confirming the treatment of the disease.

Specified diseases and ailments for the purpose of deduction under section 80DDB- For the purposes of section 80DDB, the following shall be the eligible diseases or ailments :

 (i)  Neurological Diseases where the disability level has been certified to be of 40% and above,—

(a)  Dementia ;

(b)  Dystonia Musculorum Deformans ;

(c)  Motor Neuron Disease ;

(d)  Ataxia ;

(e)  Chorea ;

(f)  Hemiballismus ;

(g)  Aphasia ;

(h)  Parkinsons Disease ;

(ii)  Malignant Cancers ;

(iii)  Full Blown Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) ;

(iv)  Chronic Renal failure ;

(v)  Hematological disorders :

(i) Hemophilia ;

(ii) Thalassaemia.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question – I am undergoing treatment for Cancer currently. Although these expenses are covered under my insurance policy, there is some parallel treatment recommended as preventive measures to control the spread of this disease. Since the parallel treatment (ovarian ablation and IVF treatment) is not covered in my insurance policy, I would have to shell out approximately 2 lakhs for this treatment. Can I avail of exemption in this case and to what extent?

Answer – Section 80DDB provides deduction for expense on cancer patients.Section 80DDB starts with following lines

Deduction in respect of medical treatment, etc.

80 DDB. Where an assessee who is resident in India has, during the previous year, actually paid any amount for the medical treatment of such disease or ailment as may be specified in the rules made in this behalf by the Board

(a) for himself or a dependent, in case the assessee is an individual; or

(b) for any member of a Hindu undivided family, in case the assessee is a Hindu undivided family,

the assessee shall be allowed a deduction of the amount actually paid or a sum of forty thousand rupees, whichever is less, in respect of that previous year in which such amount was actually paid :

So any amount of expenditure is covered u/s 80DDB. However the deduction is limited to maximum Rs 40,000 (which is Rs 60,000 in case patient is 60 years or above.)

However the proviso to section 80DDB provides that if there is any insurance claim , then deduction shall be allowed by reducing the insurance amount received from expenditure incurred .

Read the proviso below

Provided further that the deduction under this section shall be reduced by the amount received, if any, under an insurance from an insurer, or reimbursed by an employer, for the medical treatment of the person referred to in clause (a) or clause (b) :

In nutshell computation of deduction is as under

Total expenditure xxxxx

Less Insurance claim xxxxx

Net Expenditure xxxxx

Net Expenditure allowed as deduction to the maximum of Rs 40,000 (Rs 60,000 in case of Sr. Citizen) .Therefore , in your case , you can claim deduction despite getting the insurance claim upto Rs 40,000 (Rs 60,000 if you are of 60 years or more.)

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Extract of the Section is as follows :-

[Deduction in respect of medical treatment, etc.

80DDB.Where an assessee who is resident in India has, during the previous year, actually paid any amount for the medical treatment of such disease or ailment as may be specified in the rules¹⁴ made in this behalf by the Board—

(a)  for himself or a dependant, in case the assessee is an individual; or

(b)  for any member of a Hindu undivided family, in case the assessee is a Hindu undivided family,

the assessee shall be allowed a deduction of the amount actually paid or a sum of forty thousand rupees, whichever is less, in respect of that previous year in which such amount was actually paid :

Provided that no such deduction shall be allowed unless the assessee furnishes with the return of income, a certificate in such form, as may be prescribed¹⁴, from a neurologist, an oncologist, a urologist, a haematologist, an immunologist or such other specialist, as may be prescribed¹⁴, working in a Government hospital :

Provided further that the deduction under this section shall be reduced by the amount received, if any, under an insurance from an insurer, or reimbursed by an employer, for the medical treatment of the person referred to in clause (a) or clause (b) :

Provided also that where the amount actually paid is in respect of the assessee or his dependant or any member of a Hindu undivided family of the assessee and who is a senior citizen, the provisions of this section shall have effect as if for the words “forty thousand rupees”, the words “sixty thousand rupees” had been substituted.

Explanation.—For the purposes of this section,—

(i)  “dependant” means—

(a)  in the case of an individual, the spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters of the individual or any of them,

(b)  in the case of a Hindu undivided family, a member of the Hindu undivided family,

dependant wholly or mainly on such individual or Hindu undivided family for his support and maintenance;

(ii)  “Government hospital” includes a departmental dispensary whether full-time or part-time established and run by a Department of the Government for the medical attendance and treatment of a class or classes of Government servants and members of their families, a hospital maintained by a local authority and any other hospital with which arrangements have been made by the Government for the treatment of Government servants;

(iii)  “insurer”¹⁵ shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause (9) of section 2 of the Insurance Act, 1938 (4 of 1938);

(iv)  “senior citizen” means an individual resident in India who is of the age of ¹⁶[sixty years] or more at any time during the relevant previous year.]

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14. See rule 11DD and Form No. 10-I. Rule 12 provides that the return of income shall not be accompanied by any document or copy of any account or form or report of audit required to be attached with return of income under any of the provisions of the Act.

15. For definition of “insurer” under section 2(9) of the Insurance Act, 1938, see Appendix.

Section 2(9) of the Insurance Act, 1938,

9) “Insurer” means-

(a) any individual or unincorporated body of individuals or body corporate incorporated under the law of any country other than India, carrying on insurance business not being a person specified in sub-clause (c) of this clause which-

(i) carries on that business in India, or

(ii) has his or its principal place of business or is domiciled in India, or

(iii) with the object of obtaining insurance business, employs a representative, or maintains a place of business, in India;

(b) any body corporate not being a person specified in sub-clause (c) of this clause carrying on the business of insurance, which is a body corporate incorporated under any law for the time being in force in India; or stands to any such body corporate in the relation of a subsidiary company within the meaning of the Indian Companies Act, 1913 (7 of 1913), as defined by sub section (2) of section 2 of that Act, and

(c) any person who in India has a standing contract with underwriters who are members of the Society of Lloyd’s whereby such person is authorised within the terms of such contract to issue protection notes, cover notes, or other documents granting insurance cover to others on behalf of the underwriters. but does not include a principal agent’ chief agent, special agent’ or an insurance agent or a provident society as defined in Part III;

16. Substituted for “sixty-five years” by the Finance Act, 2012, w.e.f. 1-4-2013.

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Extract of Rule 11D

[Specified diseases and ailments for the purpose of deduction under section 80DDB.

11DD. (1) For the purposes of section 80DDB, the following shall be the eligible diseases or ailments :

 (i)  Neurological Diseases where the disability level has been certified to be of 40% and above,—

(a)  Dementia ;

(b)  Dystonia Musculorum Deformans ;

(c)  Motor Neuron Disease ;

(d)  Ataxia ;

(e)  Chorea ;

(f)  Hemiballismus ;

(g)  Aphasia ;

(h)  Parkinsons Disease ;

(ii)  Malignant Cancers ;

(iii)  Full Blown Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) ;

(iv)  Chronic Renal failure ;

(v)  Hematological disorders :

(i) Hemophilia ;

(ii) Thalassaemia.

(2) The certificate in respect of the diseases or ailments specified in sub-rule (1) shall be issued by the following specialists working in a Government hospital—

(a)  for diseases or ailments mentioned in clause (i) of sub-rule (1) – a Neurologist having a Doctorate of Medicine (D.M.) degree in Neurology or any equivalent degree, which is recognised by the Medical Council of India;

(b)  for diseases or ailments mentioned in clause (ii) of sub-rule (1) – an Oncologist having a Doctorate of Medicine (D.M.) degree in Oncology or any equivalent degree which is recognised by the Medical Council of India;

(c)  for diseases or ailments mentioned in clause (iv) of sub-rule (1) – a Nephrologist having a Doctorate of Medicine (D.M.) degree in Nephrology or a Urologist having a Master of Chirurgiae (M.Ch.) degree in Urology or any equivalent degree, which is recognised by the Medical Council of India;

(d)  for diseases or ailments mentioned in clause (v) of sub-rule (1) – a specialist having a Doctorate of Medicine (D.M.) degree in Hematology or any equivalent degree, which is recognised by the Medical Council of India :

Provided that where in respect of any diseases or ailments specified in sub-rule (1), no specialist has been specified or where the specialist specified is not posted in the Government hospital in which the patient is receiving the treatment, such certificate, with prior approval of the Head of that hospital, may be issued by any other specialist working full-time in that hospital and having a post-graduate degree in General or Internal Medicine, which is recognised by the Medical Council of India.

(3) The certificate from the prescribed authority to be furnished along with the return of income shall be in Form No. 10-I.]

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Brief Amount Some of the eligible diseases or ailments

(a)  Dementia ; Dementia is a broad category of brain diseases that cause a long term and often gradual decrease in the ability to think and remember such that a person’s daily functioning is affected. Other common symptoms include emotional problems, problems with language, and a decrease in motivation. A person’s consciousness is not affected. For the diagnosis to be present it must be a change from a person’s usual mental functioning and a greater decline than one would expect due to aging. These diseases also have a significant effect on a person’s caregivers.

(b)  Dystonia Musculorum Deformans ; Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder, in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures. The movements may resemble a tremor. Dystonia is often initiated or worsened by voluntary movements, and symptoms may “overflow” into adjacent muscles.

(c)  Motor Neuron Disease ; A motor neuron disease (MND) is any of five neurological disorders that selectively affect motor neurons, the cells that control voluntary muscle activity including speaking, walking, swallowing, and general movement of the body. They are neurodegenerative in nature, and cause increasing disability and, eventually, death. In the most common classification, the term “motor neuron disease” applies to the following five disorders which affect either upper motor neurons (UMN) or lower motor neurons (LMN), or both:

Type	UMN degeneration	LMN degeneration
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)	yes	yes
Primary lateral sclerosis (PLS)	yes	no
Progressive muscular atrophy (PMA)	no	yes
Progressive bulbar palsy (PBP)	no	yes – bulbar region
Pseudobulbar palsy	yes – bulbar region	no

(d)  Ataxia ; Ataxia is a neurological sign consisting of lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements. Ataxia is a non-specific clinical manifestation implying dysfunction of the parts of the nervous system that coordinate movement, such as the cerebellum. Several possible causes exist for these patterns of neurological dysfunction. Dystaxia is a mild degree of ataxia.

(e)  Chorea ; Chorea (or choreia, occasionally) is an abnormal involuntary movement disorder, one of a group of neurological disorders called dyskinesias.  The term hemichorea refers to chorea of one side of the body, such as chorea of one arm but not both (analogous to hemiballismus).

(f)  Hemiballismus ; Hemiballismus, formerly called ballism, is a very rare movement disorder, caused in most cases by a decrease in activity of the subthalamic nucleus of the basal ganglia, resulting in the appearance of flailing, ballistic, undesired movements of the limbs. It can also appear rarely due to certain metabolic abnormalities. It is a rare movement disorder, being 500 times more rare than Parkinson’s disease. Hemiballismus can cause significant disability. Symptoms can decrease during sleep.

(g)  Aphasia ; Aphasia  is an acquired language disorder caused by damage to the brain. This class of language disorder ranges from having difficulty remembering words to losing the ability to speak, read, or write, but does not affect intelligence. This also affects visual language such as sign language. Aphasia is usually caused by brain damage, most commonly caused by stroke. Brain damage linked to aphasia can also be caused by other brain diseases, including cancer, epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s disease.

(h)  Parkinsons Disease ;Parkinson’s disease (PD, also known as idiopathic or primary parkinsonism, hypokinetic rigid syndrome/HRS, or paralysis agitans) is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. The motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease result from the death of dopamine-generating cells in the substantia nigra, a region of the midbrain; the cause of this cell death is unknown. Early in the course of the disease, the most obvious symptoms are movement-related; these include shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement and difficulty with walking and gait. Later, thinking and behavioral problems may arise, with dementia commonly occurring in the advanced stages of the disease, whereas depression is the most common psychiatric symptom. Other symptoms include sensory, sleep and emotional problems. Parkinson’s disease is more common in older people, with most cases occurring after the age of 50.

(Republished with amendments)