Think of Section 80U as the tax law's way of saying: if you yourself live with a disability, you get a flat deduction — no bills required. This is different from Section 80DD, which covers expenses on a dependent with disability. Here, the deduction is for the taxpayer who is the person with disability.
The rule is beautifully simple. If you are a resident individual and a medical authority certifies that you have a disability as defined under the law (blindness, low vision, hearing impairment, loco-motor disability, mental illness, mental retardation, autism, cerebral palsy, or leprosy-cured), you get a flat deduction of ₹75,000. No receipts, no actual expenditure — just the certificate. If the disability is severe (i.e., 80% or more disability), the deduction jumps to ₹1,25,000. Again, flat — no questions about what you actually spent.
A few things to pin down for the exam: First, only a resident individual can claim this — HUFs, firms, and companies are out. Second, the disability must be certified by a medical authority (a government hospital's medical board). Third, the deduction is from Gross Total Income, and it cannot exceed GTI — you can't create a loss under this section. Fourth, this is a Chapter VI-A deduction, so it comes after computing income under all heads. One important nuance: the certificate must be valid during the previous year — if it has expired, the deduction is not available even if the disability is real. This is a common trap in MCQs. Severe disability is 80% or more impairment; anything between 40% and 79% is normal disability (₹75,000). This distinction is frequently tested as a 4-mark question in the May exams.