Section 80DDB: Tax Deduction for Specified Disease Treatment

Section 80DDB of the Income-tax Act, 1961 lets a resident individual or Hindu Undivided Family deduct money actually spent on treating certain serious diseases. You can claim up to Rs 40,000 if the patient is below 60, or up to Rs 1,00,000 if the patient is a senior citizen aged 60 or above. One important catch: this deduction is available only if you opt for the old tax regime. Under the default new tax regime, Section 80DDB cannot be claimed at all. These figures and rules apply to FY 2025-26 (assessment year 2026-27).

This page explains who qualifies, which diseases count, how much you can claim, what paperwork you need, and the mistakes that get claims rejected.

If you paid for the treatment of a specified disease, for yourself or a dependant, you can reduce your taxable income by the amount paid, capped at Rs 40,000 (patient below 60) or Rs 1,00,000 (patient is a senior citizen of 60 or more). The deduction is the lower of the actual amount paid and that cap. You must hold a prescription from the right kind of specialist, and you must file under the old tax regime to use it.

The deduction sits in Section 80DDB. The core line reads: “the assessee shall be allowed a deduction of the amount actually paid or a sum of forty thousand rupees, whichever is less.” A later proviso replaces “forty thousand rupees” with “one hundred thousand rupees” where the patient is a senior citizen.

Two points are worth knowing. The senior-citizen limit of Rs 1,00,000 is now a single figure for everyone aged 60 and above. The earlier split, which gave senior citizens Rs 60,000 and very senior citizens Rs 80,000, was scrapped by the Finance Act, 2018 (effective 1 April 2019), and the separate very-senior-citizen proviso was removed. So today there is no separate higher slab for the over-80s: a senior citizen of any age gets the same Rs 1,00,000 ceiling.

The diseases that qualify are listed in Rule 11DD of the Income-tax Rules, 1962. The broad categories are:

• Neurological diseases where a doctor certifies a disability level of 40 percent or more, including dementia, dystonia musculorum deformans, motor neuron disease, ataxia, chorea, hemiballismus, aphasia and Parkinson's disease.
• Malignant cancers.
• Full-blown Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
• Chronic renal (kidney) failure.
• Haematological disorders, namely haemophilia and thalassaemia.

A future note: the Income-tax Act, 2025 takes effect from 1 April 2026 and governs FY 2026-27 onward. It does not change the return you are filing now for FY 2025-26, which is still governed by the 1961 Act.

You must be resident in India. The claim works two ways:

• An individual can claim for the medical treatment of themselves or a dependant.
• A Hindu Undivided Family can claim for any member of the family.

For an individual, a “dependant” means the spouse, children, parents, brothers or sisters of the individual, who are wholly or mainly dependent on the individual for support. You cannot claim under 80DDB for an aunt, a cousin, or a friend, however much you helped pay.

Start with the actual amount you paid during the year for the treatment. Compare it to the cap that applies to the patient's age:

1. Patient below 60: cap is Rs 40,000.
2. Patient is a senior citizen (60 or above): cap is Rs 1,00,000.

Take the lower of the two. Then subtract anything you got back. The law says the deduction “shall be reduced by the amount received, if any, under an insurance from an insurer, or reimbursed by an employer.” So if a health policy or your employer already covered part of the bill, only your net out-of-pocket spend counts.

A worked example: a reader from Pune spent Rs 3,10,000 on her father's cancer treatment in FY 2025-26. Her father is 68, so the cap is Rs 1,00,000. The mediclaim policy reimbursed Rs 1,50,000. Her 80DDB deduction is the actual paid amount minus reimbursement, capped at Rs 1,00,000. Net paid was Rs 1,60,000, which is still above the Rs 1,00,000 ceiling, so she claims the full Rs 1,00,000, provided she files under the old regime.

1. Confirm the disease is in Rule 11DD. If it is a neurological disease, make sure the disability is certified at 40 percent or more.
2. Get a prescription from the correct specialist (see the next section). This is mandatory; no prescription, no deduction.
3. Add up what you actually paid during the financial year for that treatment.
4. Subtract any insurance payout or employer reimbursement for the same treatment.
5. Apply the cap (Rs 40,000 or Rs 1,00,000 by age) and take the lower figure.
6. Choose the old tax regime when you file your return. The deduction is not available under the default new regime.
7. Enter the amount under the Chapter VI-A deductions in your ITR, and keep the prescription and bills safely in case the department asks.

Section 80DDB says no deduction is allowed unless you obtain a prescription “from a neurologist, an oncologist, a urologist, a haematologist, an immunologist or such other specialist, as may be prescribed.” Rule 11DD spells out the matching qualifications, for example a neurologist with a Doctorate of Medicine (D.M.) in Neurology for neurological cases, and an oncologist with a D.M. in Oncology for cancer.

Two things make this easier than people fear. First, the old Form 10-I is gone. Form 10-I was omitted from the rules by the 2015 amendment to Rule 11DD; you no longer fill any fixed proforma. A prescription carrying the prescribed details is enough. Second, the prescription no longer has to come from a government hospital. Since the 2015 change, a specialist in a private hospital can issue it too. If the patient is being treated in a government hospital, the prescription should also carry that hospital's name and address.

The prescription must contain the patient's name and age, the name of the disease or ailment, and the name, address, registration number and qualification of the specialist issuing it.

This is the single most common reason a genuine 80DDB claim fails. The new tax regime under Section 115BAC is the default for individuals and HUFs. Under that default regime, Chapter VI-A deductions like 80C, 80D and 80DDB are simply not allowed, except for a narrow set such as 80CCD(2). To use 80DDB you must actively opt out and choose the old regime when filing. Run the numbers both ways, because the old-regime tax saving from 80DDB has to beat the lower slab rates of the new regime for the choice to be worth it.

For the bigger picture on using public records and the right to information to chase reimbursements, hospital records or government scheme entitlements, see The RTI Playbook.

No. Section 80DDB is a Chapter VI-A deduction, and these are blocked under the default new regime under Section 115BAC. You can claim it only if you opt for the old tax regime when filing for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27).

No, not any more. The old split of Rs 60,000 for senior citizens and Rs 80,000 for very senior citizens was removed by the Finance Act, 2018. From 1 April 2019, every senior citizen aged 60 or above gets the same single cap of Rs 1,00,000.

No. Form 10-I was omitted by the 2015 amendment to Rule 11DD. You now need only a prescription from the right specialist, carrying the patient's name and age, the disease, and the specialist's name, address, registration number and qualification.

The deduction is reduced by any amount you received from an insurer or that your employer reimbursed for the same treatment. You can only claim your net, unreimbursed spend, still subject to the Rs 40,000 or Rs 1,00,000 cap.

Yes, if you are an individual and the parent is your dependant. The definition of dependant covers spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters who depend wholly or mainly on you for support.

If someone in your family is being treated for a disease in the Rule 11DD list, do three things now: ask the treating specialist for a dated prescription with all the prescribed details, keep every bill and insurance settlement letter, and check whether the old regime saves you more tax overall before you file. If you are unsure, compare your tax under both regimes on the income tax e-filing portal, then choose the one that leaves more in your pocket. For related help on income-tax deductions and citizen rights, start at the RTI Wiki homepage.

• Income-tax Act, 1961, Section 80DDB (consolidated text, India Code): https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/2435/1/a1961-43.pdf
• Rule 11DD, Income-tax Rules, 1962 (specified diseases and prescription): https://indiankanoon.org/doc/184569894/
• Income Tax Department, Section 115BAC new regime and Chapter VI-A: https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/help/new-tax-vs-old-tax-regime-faqs