Some time back i wrote an article Why do we need Health Insurance Policy? It is quite unfortunate that in India, people buy insurance only for investment purpose that too with a carrot of Tax Benefit. Recently, one of my friend was explaining me the benefits of Health Insurance Policy. I was glad that atleast few people are realizing the true benefit of Health Insurance and thinking beyond tax benefit. After 15 mins, he told me that the key reason for buying health insurance is tax benefit under section 80D :)
He paid a premium of Rs 10,240/- for family floater plan and was regretting that though he is in 30% tax bracket but he is not able to save tax on full amount i.e. Rs 15,000/- (Max deduction allowed under section 80D). I bowled a googly and briefed him about Tax Benefit of Rs 5,000/- on Preventive Health Check-up u/s 80D. Preventive Health Check-up is one of least known tax benefits.
Section 80D was amended w.e.f April 01, 2013 and a sub limit/deduction of Rs 5000/- was introduced within overall max deduction of Rs 15000/- under section 80D. The deduction of Rs 5000/- for preventive health check-up can be availed even without opting for Health Insurance under section 80D.
Preventive Health Check-up is an alien concept for India. It can be interpreted as Annual Health Check up or to know risk factors in advance to maintain healthy lifestyle. The correct definition of Preventive Health Check-up is “Health check-up not to cure or diagnose any disease”. According to Finance Bill, 2012 the amendment to section 80D include any payment made by an individual on account of preventive health check-up of self, spouse, dependent children or dependent parents is eligible for max deduction of Rs 5000/-.
Best part is that Tax benefit under Section 80D (for Preventive Health Check-up) is also available for cash payments towards Preventive Health Check-up. Though it is mandatory to make payment only through cheque or electronic mode to avail tax benefits under various other sections of income tax act including Health Insurance under Section 80D but Preventive Health Check-up is the only exception.
Imp Point: If you have availed separate health insurance policy for dependent parents than Section 80D provides a Max deduction of upto Rs 35,000/- i.e. tax benefit can be availed by clubbing A + B or A + C
A = Rs 15,000/- Health insurance premium for Self, Spouse and Children
B = Rs 15,000/- Health insurance premium for Dependent Non-Senior Citizen Parents
C = Rs 20,000/- Health insurance premium for Dependent Senior Citizen Parents (Completed age of 60 years at the beginning of FY or during FY)
Even if you have not availed separate health insurance for dependent parents, You can claim deduction of Rs 5000/- for Preventive Health Check-up of dependent parents. In short, Total deduction under Preventive Health Check-up can be max Rs 5000/- i.e. for self, spouse, children & dependent parents. You can claim tax deduction of Rs 5000/- for any of your family members including parents.
FAQ’s:
Que 1: Mr. Sunil Bhargava from Gurgaon asked me that he has paid a health insurance premium of Rs 13,453/- during FY 2013-14 and also spent Rs 7,500/- towards Preventive Health Check-up of his family i.e. self, spouse and dependent children. What is the max tax deduction available u/s 80D in his case?
Ans 1: The max deduction available u/s 80D is Rs 15,000/- with sub limit of Rs 5,000/- for Preventive Health Check-up therefore Mr. Sunil can claim deduction of Rs 15,000/- u/s 80D by showing either of following break up
(a) Health Insurance Premium = Rs 13,453 + Preventive Health Check-up = Rs 1,547
(b) Health Insurance Premium = Rs 10,000 + Preventive Health Check-up = Rs 5,000
Que 2: Ms. Gunjan Madan from Hisar asked me that she claimed Rs 15,000 as a medical reimbursement u/s 10 and she paid Rs 3,500 towards Preventive Health Check-up. Can she claim tax benefit u/s 10 and u/s 80D?
Ans 2: Yes, she can claim tax benefit under both the sections during FY i.e. Medical Reimbursement u/s 10 and Preventive Health Check-up u/s 80D.
Please feel free to ask your queries through following comments section.
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Hi nitin.
I have a doubt here. Pl clarify below point.
Suppose I have not taken any medical insurance for my parents. But i spend annualy around 3500+ for full health medical check up,each , in private hospitals / labs.
Is still i can claim this 3500+3500 , under U/S 80D.
Though you spend Rs 7000/- but you can claim Max deduction of Rs 5000/- for preventive health check-up of your parents under section 80D.
As i mentioned that it is not mandatory to avail Health Insurance to claim Preventive health check-up deduction so you can claim Rs 5000/- deduction without health insurance.
Thanks nitin :)
Hi Sir,
Can you please suggest a good Family health Insurance Plan which includes me, my wife and my 2 year old daughter?
You may buy Apollo Munich Optima Restore or Max Bupa Family First Gold. Both are equally good
Thanks.
Me and my wife both are working in govt department. can both of us claim for 5000 towards preventive health check up or only one can claim ?
You and your wife can claim separately Rs 5000 each.
Hi Nitin,
What all can be part of Preventive Health Check up?
Though there is no standard definition and each hospital has its own set of lab tests under preventive health checkup for men, women etc. Some of the common test are
1. Complete Haemogram, Peripheral Smear and ESR
2. Blood Sugar Fasting
3. Blood Grouping and RH Factor
4. Lipid Profile-LDL, HDL, VLDL, Cholestrol, TRIGLYCERIDES
5. Bilirubin Total and Direct
6. SGOT – Aspartate Amino Transferase, Serum
7. SGPT – Alakaline Phosphatese
8. Creatinine, Serum
9. TSH
10. Urine Routine and Microscopy
11. Stool Routine and Microscopy
12. ECG
13. X-Ray Chest PA/AP View
14. Ultrasound Whole Abdomen
I got a MRI for abdomen done. I get MRI done every couple of years to watch the size of growth in liver and to that extent it is preventive, should there be a rapid over growth. Now can that expense towards the check up be considered under this 80D for deduction?
In my opinion, you will not get deduction on this because deduction is allowed only on those packages which are offered by hospitals as “Preventive Health Check-Up Package “. It include set of tests depending on the age of the person. I have mentioned list of common tests in trail comment.
I spent Rs 7,000 for health check up of my wife however I don’t have bills for this? Can I claim it?
Without Bills you cannot claim
Hi Nitin,
I had a query related to preventive health checkup. I underwent for Thyrocare Arogyam Tests which are preventive tests for myself and my parents and ideally I should be able to claim Rs 5000+5000=10000 under 80D. However my finance department is saying that they cannot provide this benefit as receipt doesn’t say that this is covered under section 80D and hence this would come under normal medical expenses and not 80D. Just wanted to know your views on the same.
Thanks
Anshuman
Even I have same query, test done like CBC, Thuroid are under preventive health check-ups according to Doctor but Accounts department don’t accept that
You may complain to Income Tax Department regarding the same if employer is not passing the tax benefit as it is violation of Govt of India’s Finance Bill. Please check Page 15, Clause 25 of Finance Bill, 2012 through following link
http://indiabudget.nic.in/ub2012-13/mem/mem1.pdf
Thanks Nitin Sir
You can claim max deduction of Rs 5000 including preventive health check up of your parents. You should explain to your finance department that payment towards preventive health check up is not a premium paid towards insurance which will mention tax deduction available u/s 80D.
Deduction under preventive health check up can be claimed by producing payment receipt and payment receipt does not mention whether expense is incurred specifically u/s 80D. Also explain that normal medical expenses are incurred by ill person and preventive health check up expense is incurred by fit person to check his health status which cannot be tagged as medical expense.
You may complain to IT department if your employer refuse to pass tax deduction u/s 80D.
If i do checkup 2-3 times in a year and total cost is around 5000, will that be allowed
Yes, it will be allowed. There is no restriction that 5000 should be spent in single installment.
i get preventive tests of Tyroid done for my kids from a reputed lab and some other preventive tests from lesser known labs. is i can claim tax benefits under this section.
You may claim. You have to produce original bills.
Hi, Nitin, Can i submit my wife’s delivery expenses under 80DDB?
Delivery expenses cannot be claimed u/s 80D. This section is only for preventive health check up.
thank you..!
Dear Sir
I have query about 80D –
I have mediclaim for me, spouse and children of Rs – 6830
Medical test for me, spouse and children of Rs – 6000
I have mediclaim for my parents (Mother & father) of Rs – 6830
Medical test for my parents (Mother & father) of Rs – 10000
How much rebate i can get under section of 80D?
Can i get rebate of (6830+5000) for my family + (6830+5000) for my parents = Rs23660 Only?
Thanks & Regards
You have not mentioned whether medical tests were done under preventive health check up or diagnostic in nature.
Hello Mr. Nitin..need your valuable advice in my case…i have diagnostic test bills of Rs. 6000 in the name of my mother (dependent) and Rs. 5000 in the name of my wife…plus i pay medical insurance premium of Rs. 1500 every year for myself…what would be the total deduction under section 80D in my case? would it be 1500+5000+5000 = 11500 or 1500+5000 = 6500? kindly advise..thanks
You can claim Rs 11500.
Thanks a lot!
hi Nitin,
My company sends me for preventive health check up every year at its own cost.
During the health check up this year the doctor asked me to include a few more tests (on a chargeable basis . charged to me) . Can I claim this additional amount under sec 80D
You can claim u/s 80D
Dear sir
i have spent Rupees 2000 towards health checkup as recommended by a doctor. Will this money can be use deduction under section 80 D
Please with doctor whether check up is preventive or diagnostic. If it is preventive then you can claim tax deduction.
Preventive health check-up, Sir, does this check needs to be done from company owned service agents or a letter from my family doctor on preventive health will help
You only need payment receipts for preventive health check up.
Nitin Ji,
In my opinion, “Total deduction under Preventive Health Check-up can be Rs 10,000/- i.e. Rs 5,000/- for self, spouse and children & Rs 5,000/- for dependent parents” does not qualify for tax deduction. This is Rs 5000 in aggregate. As per Income tax website
****************************************************************************************************
Amount of deduction
(1)In case of an individual, amount of deduction cannot exceed:
a. Rs. 15,000, in aggregate, in respect of premium/expenditure on preventive
health check-up (*) of individual/spouse/dependent children and
contribution made to the Central Government Health Scheme or any
scheme notified by the Central Government; and
b. Rs. 15,000, in aggregate, in respect of premium/ preventive expenditure on
health check-up (*) paid on health of parents of the individual.
(*) total amount of deduction for the expenditure incurred on preventive health check up
of assessee, his family and parents could not exceed Rs. 5,000.
*********************************************************************************************************
parents are already included with in Rs 5000.
Please clarify.
You are right. I also mentioned that for parents you can claim Rs 5000/= even if there is no separate health policy for parents. Total cannot exceed Rs 15000/= for FY 2014-15. Max limit for preventive health check up for all family members including parents is Rs 5000/=.
Nitin Sir,
1.if a person takes health plan for himself(A) and another for his spouse and childrens(B) .will he get 80d benifits on total amount of (A)+(B). 2.Can you advice which plan is better one floater or individual .3.if the total premium of two separate plan is less even for same S.A.separately.
You can claim tax benefits subject to max limit u/s 80D. I will suggest you to buy the family floater plan as it is financially more beneficial.
Hi Nitin,
I paid 20,000 for my parents (both senior citizen) + I have paid 15,000 thousand on preventive health check up. Whats the max tax benefit I can avail under 80D 20,000 or 35000..??
Max deduction under preventive health check up is Rs 5000. Secondly, it is sub-limit therefore you can only claim max deduction of Rs 20,000.
You can claim it under preventive health check up.
Hi Nitin,
I have payed my parents premium of Mediclaims = 16365/-
And payed Preventive health checkup amt for parents = 4600/- And for me: 3630/-
I have payed nothing for my own or my family medicalims ,
Please advice the amt of deduction i can claim for U/S 80D
It is for which financial year.
Financial year 2014-15
Rs 5000 preventive health check is sub limit u/s 80D. If your parents are senior citizen (Completed 60 years during FY), you can claim Rs 20,000 else you can claim Rs 15,000 including preventive health check up.
I have done stem cell banking and paid and amount of Rs. 57990/-.towards it. Will I get any tax relief for the same?
You are not eligible for tax deduction towards Stem Cell Banking.
Dear Nitin ji, thank you for your web inputs. very helpful.
I took an EMI option with Cordlife for stem cell banking of my infant child. Now i am paying INR 1700/- per month for the same. Can that suffice the 15000/- medical for which generally people give medicine bills (at times fake ones!)
Please advice.
thanks
Arin
Yes
Nice post Nithin. I was not aware of this. Can I ask how I need to provide bills for this (upt o) 5000 INR ? I might be doing an online filing . Do I just fill the preventive heath checkup amount in ITR ?
You need bills. You have not mentioned whether you are salaried or not. You can mention the amount.
Thanks for the information Nithin. I wanted to know if I can claim Rs. 5000 for x-ray and ct scans.
It depends whether these scans are diagnostic or preventive in nature
I am a senior citizen (74 years +). What is the limit of deduction from total income i can avail under
80D (Health Insurance premium + Health Check Up )- the ceiling is Rs. 15000 or 20000 total in AY 2015-16 ?
Total Rs 20000 for senior citizens for AY 2015-16.
Hi Nitin
If I am a corporate employee, how do I avail this benefit? My salary is paid after full tax deductions as per my IT bracket. Through my employer I have insurance under a group cover. Additionally I have a health insurance cover of 5 lakhs for myself and family for which I pay around 9000 premium. Please advise.
You may opt for preventive health check up from reputed lab/hospital and submit the bills to your employer.
Also, my wife does not have a health insurance policy (as she is covered under the family floater policy paid by me). However, she has done a preventive check this year. Can she claim?
She can claim.
what documents i need to submit to avail this benefit i.e. whether i have to take any packages from any hospital/clinic, tests done there and submitting the bills/vouchers or i can go to any clinic/laboratory asking them to do some tests like lipid profile/blood sugar test etc. and submit the vouchers or both. will you please elaborate
It is advisable to opt for preventive health check package from reputed lab or hospital.
sir, i have no health insurance scheme. can i claim 5000 for preventive health
check up
You can claim even if you don’t have health insurance policy.
Sir, I have a query on deduction of Income Tax on ULIP Policy. On maturity of my ULIP Policy, LIC has deducted 2% TDS as I have provided my PAN, otherwise they were going to deduct 20% as TDS. Now what amount I have to show in my income :
i) The whole amount received from LIC
ii) The amount received from LIC after minus of Original Sum Assured
Please clarify.
Please let me know the premium paid, sum assured and date on which you bought this ULIP policy. Tax on ULIP maturity proceeds will depend on these 3 values.
I am Software professional & i file ITR4.
In jan 2015 i had minor stomach surgery.
Can i claim expenses like (medicines Rs 7110, minor surgery Rs 3500, diagnosis like MRI RS 9350, Doctor OPD RS 3460)
And in financial year 2014-15 i had paid Rs 3400 Interest on earnest amount availed from ICICI bank for DDA housing scheme draw, but in draw i was not awarded flat, can i claim tax benefits ?
Surgery was related to Vascular malformation.
You cannot claim tax deduction on surgery expenses and interest paid for DDA Housing scheme.
I had an MRI done for around 11,000.
Now I understand I can claim tax deduction of 5000 under preventive health checkup.
Can I claim the remaining 6000 in medical exemption, the limit of which is 15000 ?
I am working with a Software company.
Rgds,
You have not mentioned whether MRI is diagnostic or preventive i.e. prescribed by doctor for diagnosis or under preventive check up.
Yes sir, MRI is under preventive check up.
Also, can physiotherapy bills be considered under 15000 medical exemption limit ?
Rgds,
You can claim max Rs 5000 under preventive health check up.
I have paid Rs. 16,000 as mediclaim insurance premium in FY 2014-15 under a family floater policy covering me, my wife, 2 dependent children and my mother (63 years old). Being a floater policy, it is not possible to identify how much premium is allocable to parent’s coverage (i..e. my mother) for which a separate deduction/limit is applicable. How much deduction I can claim under Section 80D in this case? Also, whether the service tax element (on insurance premium) should be included for deduction under section 80D or not? Request your help.
As it is family floater plan therefore you can claim max tax deduction of Rs 15,000 for FY 2014-15. You cannot claim tax deduction on service tax component. Tax deduction u/s 80D is allowed only on health insurance premium.
Sir as you said in the article ecen without a medical insurance we can simply claim 5000 for preventive check ups. My questions are .is it necesary to show any documents as proof for check up done.
2. I get 5500 rupees as medical reimbursement from my employer by a simple form of declaration. So can i include this 5500 under 80d.
Thank you
1. Documentary proof is required
2. No
Why should the premium paid in only in cheque or electronic mode only?? Why not in cash?
You can pay in Cash also. Please go through the post.
Can we submit the treatment related medical bills and/or hospitalization (x days for treatment) invoice from hospital for Tax exemption? If so, does it fall under 80D?
Medical bills for treatment cannot be submitted to claim exemption u/s 80D.
Hello sir
can i claim Medical expenditure of my wife for pregnancy treatment( like Ultrasound , Blood test etc) under preventive health checkup tax exemption.
No. You cannot claim
Hi Nitin,
I got a babyshield new born screening done for my new born child. Can this amount be claimed for preventive health checkup under 80 D?
1)My employer provides and option as Flexi pay scheme, where in 15000 can be set aside and on submission of bills, you can get the amount back as reimbursement, is this the same as the above you’ve discussed.
2)Also do I need to take a annual health package and then submit the receipt for the same to avail tax benefit under Preventive Health Check up ?
3) I have bills from visits to the doctor for regular checkups and the tests done as recommended by the doctor, do these count for
Preventive Health Check up?
1. No, you are referring to medical reimbursement.
2. You need to avail preventive health check up normally offered by reputed clinics/hospitals & submit payment receipt to your employer.
3. No. Diagnostic bills/check ups cannot be claimed.
hi
can i deduct amount of Medical Reimbursement under 80D without mediclaim insurance?
i met to an accident. and i expended about 7000 rs. so can i deduct that under 80D?
No, you cannot deduct. 80D is either for preventive health check up or health insurance premium. You may claim medical reimbursement if you are salaried.
Sir,
in this accident my leg is crack and i got a fracture…so i concerned to the orthopedic doctor…so is this fracture included under 80D?
thank you so much sir
Unfortunately, Any expense on medical treatment cannot be claimed u/s 80D
So is there any other way to claim that expense? excluding claim of medical reimbursement.
Unfortunately there is no other way to claim the expenses.
ok. thank u so much sir.
Hi Nitin,
A clarification required. Can an individual claim Rs. 5000 tax benefit under 80D as preventive health check-up even if I don’t have an health insurance policy?
Yes
Is health check up from any agency allowed
Yes but it should be preventive health check up.
Sir,
My mediclaim 2012 policy with new india assurance allows me to claim 1% of the amount on preventive health checkups once every 4 years. That amount in this case is 3000 each for me and my wife. Can i claim this reimbursement from new india assurance and still get an exemption of Rs. 5000 u/s 80D? If yes, How do i show the proof to the IT dept as I have to submit the original bills to the insurer.
You cannot claim deduction on preventive health check up as the amount is not paid by you. You are claiming reimbursement of same.
But if the actual amount spent exceeds the amount reimbursed by the insurance company, can I claim exemption on the balance amount? Eg: if my bill is rs 4000 and the insurance company reimburses me rs 3000. then can i claim 1000 u/s80D?
Thanks,
Yes, you can claim.
Sir, Can I claim Preventive Health checkup for all the Vaccination on my new born daughter. As it is given to prevent future disease.
Vaccination is not a health checkup as it is administered only to prevent disease therefore vaccines does not qualify for deduction under preventive health check up.
Hi Sir,
I have health insurance family floater plan for Rs 14826(A).
This does not include my mom.Now my question is whether i can claim Rs
5000(B) additional as preventive health checkup for myself and family
and another Rs 5000(C) 0r less for my mom preventive health checkup?.So
can it be that i can claim Scenario 1)Rs 14826(A)+5000(B)+5000(C) or
Scenario 2) Rs 14826(A)+Rs 5000(C).Its for this current financial
year.Kindly advise me for the same.
It is scenario 2 in your case. The definition of family include dependent parents.
Max claim, for my insurance 25,000 ,,My parents insurance 30,000(senior citizen)… Preventive health checkup – 5000.. ..Is it possible to claim 60,000 or 55,000..?
Sir,
Is it possible to do claim exemption like below?
Individual heat insurance = 25,000
Parent health insurance = 30,000 (senior citizen)
Medical check up = 5,000
total = 60,000
Rs 5,000 preventive health checkup deduction is covered under max limit of Rs 25,000. Therefore you can claim max tax deduction of Rs 55,000.
Thank you very much Sir. Today I confirmed the same in ET Wealth.
Dear Sir,
my mother treatment is going on for kidney treatment worth 6000 Rs/month including blood tests worth 1000 rs , dr consultation worth 1000 rs and medicine worth 4000.
1. Can i claim tax benifits for this treatment
2. Can i show these blood tests bills as preventive health checkups
And is there any way in which i can get tax benifits for such case.
Please suggest.
1. You can claim it under medical reimbursement sub to max limit of Rs 15000 p.a. Any kind of diagnostic treatment is not covered under preventive health check up.
2. No
I expense rs 4000 for my pregnant wife’s health check up.can I claim this amount for tax exept??
Check up during pregnancy is not a preventive health check up therefore you cannot claim tax deduction on same.
Please suggest if blood tests during pregnancy is part of the preventive health check up.
Blood tests during pregnancy are not part of preventive health check up.
Can we claim Stem Cell Storage charges under 80D?
No
I have a similar question. Can it be claim under any section? Anyhow, we are investing for our kid as a medical benefit?
You can claim it under medical reimbursement if provided by your organization subject to max limit of Rs 15000 p.a.
Hi,
Can I claim PET-CT whole body scan under preventive health checkup? I have a bill of 13k for PET CT, I also have a separate insurance for parents floater which costs me 30,000/- Please suggest how to proceed.
You have not mentioned whether the scan was suggested by doc or availed under preventive health check up. If it is for some diagnosis then you cannot claim. Also whether the parents are senior citizen or not.
Is it necessary to mention on health check bill covered under 80D
If you are submitting to your employer then you can mention with pencil else the bills are normal bills.