Section 80D: Health Insurance Tax Deduction
Section 80D of the Income Tax Act 1961 provides deduction for health insurance premiums paid for self, spouse, dependent children, and parents, with limits varying based on age of insured persons.
Limits (FY 2025-26): ₹25,000 for premiums covering self, spouse, and dependent children below 60; ₹50,000 if any covered family member is a senior citizen (60+). Additional ₹25,000 for parents below 60, or ₹50,000 for senior citizen parents. Maximum combined deduction therefore ₹1 lakh (when both taxpayer and parents are senior citizens).
Eligible expenses include: health insurance premiums (medi-claim policies, family floater plans), preventive health check-up (sub-limit ₹5,000 within the overall cap), and medical expenditure for senior citizens (60+) without insurance (up to ₹50,000). Premiums must be paid by non-cash modes (online, cheque, card, UPI) — cash payments are not eligible except for preventive check-ups.
Section 80D is available only under the old tax regime. New regime taxpayers cannot claim 80D. Premium payments via salary deduction (group insurance) typically appear in Form 16 Part B and are auto-claimed during ITR filing. Independent policies require separate declaration.
Richify Tip
Pay premium via auto-debit or net banking to maintain proof. Critical illness riders attached to life insurance are also eligible if separately identified in the policy schedule. Premium for COVID-specific policies launched in 2020-2021 was eligible. Top-up plans and super top-up plans count toward the same limit as the base policy.
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