Section 80DDB steps in when you or a family member is fighting a serious, specified illness — cancer, neurological disorders, chronic renal failure, haemophilia, and similar conditions listed under Rule 11DD. This is not a general medical deduction; it is specifically for these named diseases, and it covers the actual money you spend on treatment, not insurance premiums (that's 80D's job).
Who can claim, and for whom? Only a resident individual or a resident HUF qualifies — non-residents are excluded. An individual can claim for themselves or for a dependant (spouse, children, parents, brothers, sisters). An HUF can claim for any HUF member. The deduction is capped at the lower of the actual amount paid or the ceiling: ₹40,000 when the patient is below 60 years, and ₹1,00,000 when the patient is a senior citizen (aged 60 or more at any point during the previous year). Note carefully — it's the patient's age that determines the limit, not the assessee's. Two more rules you must never forget: First, you need a prescription from a recognised specialist — neurologist, oncologist, urologist, haematologist, or immunologist — without which the deduction is disallowed outright. Second, if your insurer or employer reimburses any part of the bill, that reimbursement is subtracted from your deduction. Only the net, out-of-pocket cost survives.
This section is asked frequently as a 4-mark or 6-mark numerical in CA Inter exams. Examiners love to mix a senior citizen patient with a partial reimbursement to see if you get the arithmetic right. Three things to lock in: the correct ceiling (₹40K vs ₹1L), subtract reimbursements before finalising the deduction, and never apply 80DDB to a disease that isn't in the specified list.
Example 1 — Non-Senior Citizen Patient with Employer Reimbursement
Mr. Sharma (aged 45) paid ₹75,000 for his wife's (aged 42) cancer treatment during PY 2025-26. His employer reimbursed ₹20,000. Compute the deduction under 80DDB.
| Step | Particulars | Amount |
|------|-------------|--------|
| 1 | Actual amount paid | ₹75,000 |
| 2 | Ceiling (wife is not a senior citizen) | ₹40,000 |
| 3 | Lower of Step 1 & Step 2 | ₹40,000 |
| 4 | Less: Employer reimbursement | (₹20,000) |
| 5 | Deduction u/s 80DDB | ₹20,000 |
---
Example 2 — Senior Citizen Patient with Insurance Reimbursement
Ms. Iyer (aged 62) paid ₹1,20,000 for her own treatment of a neurological disorder. Her health insurer reimbursed ₹30,000. Compute the deduction.
| Step | Particulars | Amount |
|------|-------------|--------|
| 1 | Actual amount paid | ₹1,20,000 |
| 2 | Ceiling (Ms. Iyer is 62 years — senior citizen) | ₹1,00,000 |
| 3 | Lower of Step 1 & Step 2 | ₹1,00,000 |
| 4 | Less: Insurance reimbursement | (₹30,000) |
| 5 | Deduction u/s 80DDB | ₹70,000 |
Note: Had the reimbursement been ₹1,10,000 (more than the cap), the deduction would be ₹Nil — it cannot go negative.
📖 Bare Act text — Section 80DDB, Income Tax Act 1961
(click to expand)
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 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 obtains the prescription for such medical treatment from a neurologist, an oncologist, a urologist, a haematologist, an immunologist or such other specialist, as may be prescribed: 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 "one hundred 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; (iii) "insurer" 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 sixty years or more at any time during the relevant previous year;