Section 80DD allows a resident individual or Hindu undivided family a deduction of seventy-five thousand rupees where, during the previous year, the assessee has incurred expenditure for the medical treatment (including nursing), training and rehabilitation of a dependant who is a person with disability, or has paid or deposited an amount under an approved scheme of the Life Insurance Corporation, another insurer, the Administrator or the specified company for the maintenance of such a dependant. For a dependant with severe disability the amount is one hundred and twenty-five thousand rupees. The deduction is a fixed sum, not the amount spent.
A scheme qualifies only if it pays an annuity or lump sum for the dependant on the death of the subscriber, or on the subscriber attaining sixty years where payments have stopped, and the assessee nominates the dependant, another person or a trust to receive it. A "dependant" is the spouse, children, parents, brothers or sisters (or, for a Hindu undivided family, a member) wholly or mainly dependent on the assessee, who has not claimed s. 80U for that year. "Person with severe disability" means one with eighty per cent or more of one or more disabilities, or as defined in the National Trust Act, 1999.
Operative consequences
If the dependant predeceases the subscriber, the amount paid or deposited under the scheme is deemed the assessee's income of the year in which it is received (s. 80DD(3)); this does not apply to amounts already received by the dependant as annuity or lump sum on the subscriber reaching sixty (s. 80DD(3A)).
A copy of the medical authority's certificate in the prescribed form must be furnished with the return; where the certificate requires reassessment, no deduction is allowed for later years without a new certificate (s. 80DD(4)).
Under the default regime, s. 115BAC(2)(i) disallows this deduction.
Status
Operative for assessment year 2026-27. Not omitted and not time-limited. The Finance Act, 2026 does not amend s. 80DD.
The Income-tax Act, 1961 governs assessment year 2026-27 and earlier years; the Income-tax Act, 2025 governs tax year 2026-27 onwards. For this subject, the corresponding provision is s. 127.
Case Laws & Commentary
SECTION 80DD — DEDUCTION IN RESPECT OF MAINTENANCE INCLUDING MEDICAL TREATMENT OF A DEPENDANT WITH DISABILITY
Case Laws & Commentary (Income-tax Act, 1961 as amended by Finance Act, 2026)
STATUTORY SCHEME (editorial summary — verbatim bare-Act text in the companion Block-1 file)
Marginal heading: Deduction in respect of maintenance including medical treatment of a dependant who is a person with disability.
Section 80DD allows a resident individual or Hindu undivided family a fixed deduction in respect of (a) expenditure on the medical treatment, training and rehabilitation of a dependant with disability, and (b) amounts paid or deposited under a scheme of the Life Insurance Corporation or other insurer (or the Administrator/specified company) for the maintenance of such dependant. The deduction is a flat Rs 75,000 (Rs 1,25,000 for a dependant with severe disability), irrespective of actual expenditure, subject to production of a certificate of disability in the prescribed form from the prescribed medical authority. Sub-section (2) prescribes the conditions of the insurance scheme (annuity or lump sum for the benefit of the dependant); sub-section (3) recaptures the deduction if the dependant predeceases the assessee.
A. SECTION COMMENTARY
A.1 Structural position
Section 80DD is a disability-support deduction for the caregiver (the assessee maintaining a disabled dependant), as distinct from section 80U which gives a deduction to the person with disability himself. It is a flat-sum deduction, not expenditure-linked, conditioned on a disability certificate.
A.2 Provision taxonomy
Flat deduction (Rs 75,000 / Rs 1,25,000) on satisfaction of (i) a qualifying dependant relationship; (ii) expenditure on treatment/training/rehabilitation or payment under a qualifying insurance scheme; and (iii) a disability certificate. Sub-section (2) fixes the scheme conditions; sub-section (3) recaptures the deduction (deeming it income) if the dependant dies before the assessee, except where the annuity/lump sum has been received by the dependant.
A.3 Core doctrinal themes
The litigated theme is the condition (originally) that the annuity / lump sum under the insurance scheme be payable only on the death of the subscribing parent/guardian — challenged as causing hardship where the disabled dependant needs support during the parent's lifetime. The certificate requirement and the flat-sum (not actual-expenditure) character are the other operative features.
A.4 Legislative evolution / FA amendment trail
The deduction amounts were enhanced over time (to Rs 75,000 / Rs 1,25,000 by the Finance Act, 2015). Following the Supreme Court's observations in Ravi Agarwal, the Finance Act, 2022 amended sub-section (2) with effect from assessment year 2023-24 to allow payment of the annuity or lump sum to the dependant also on the subscriber attaining the age of sixty years (and discontinuing further contributions), not only on the subscriber's death. The Finance Act, 2026 makes no change.
A.5 CA practitioner pointers
(1) The deduction is a flat sum and does not require proof of the quantum of expenditure, but a valid disability certificate (Form 10-IA where applicable) is essential and must be renewed when the certificate lapses. (2) Distinguish section 80DD (caregiver) from section 80U (person with disability) — both cannot be claimed for the same disability by the same expenditure stream. (3) Note the Finance Act, 2022 relaxation permitting scheme payouts on the subscriber attaining sixty. (4) Watch the sub-section (3) recapture if the dependant predeceases the assessee. (5) Available only under the old regime.
B. FA 2026 IMPACT NOTE
Section 80DD is NOT amended by the Finance Act, 2026. The Finance Act, 2022 relaxation (payout permitted on the subscriber attaining sixty) continues to apply; the deduction remains available only under the old regime.
C. CASE LAW — CLUSTERED BY ISSUE
Cluster C-1 : Constitutional challenge to the insurance-scheme condition
Ravi Agarwal v. Union of India (2019) 410 ITR 399 (SC)
Facts: A public interest petition challenged the condition in the Jeevan Aadhar (Table 114) scheme, read with section 80DD(2), that the annuity / lump sum for the disabled dependant becomes payable only on the death of the parent/guardian subscriber, leaving the dependant unsupported during the parent's lifetime in deserving cases.
Issue: Whether the death-linked payout condition in section 80DD(2) is unconstitutional and whether the classification for the disability deduction is valid.
Held: The Supreme Court held the provision valid and the classification for persons with disability a legitimate one, declining to strike it down; but, recognising the hardship in cases where the dependant needs support during the parent's lifetime, it requested the Government / legislature to consider a suitable amendment to section 80DD.
Ratio: Section 80DD and its conditions are constitutionally valid; relaxation of the death-linked payout condition is a matter for the legislature, which the Court urged it to address.
Relevance: The leading (and effectively the only) Supreme Court authority on section 80DD; it directly led to the Finance Act, 2022 amendment permitting scheme payouts on the subscriber attaining sixty.
Editorial note on sourcing
Editorial scheme summary prepared from the Income-tax Act, 1961 as amended by the Finance Act, 2025, read with the Finance Act, 2026; verbatim bare-Act text is carried in the companion Block-1 treatise file. Case law is restricted to reported Supreme Court / High Court authority verified against standard law reports (ITR/Taxman/CTR); for documentary, payment-based deductions that generate little appellate litigation, that scarcity is stated candidly and the governing statutory/CBDT material is given.
Function in the statutory architecture
Section 80DD allows a resident individual or Hindu undivided family a deduction of seventy-five thousand rupees where, during the previous year, the assessee has incurred expenditure for the medical treatment (including nursing), training and rehabilitation of a dependant who is a person with disability, or has paid or deposited an amount under an approved scheme of the Life Insurance Corporation, another insurer, the Administrator or the specified company for the maintenance of such a dependant. For a dependant with severe disability the amount is one hundred and twenty-five thousand rupees. The deduction is a fixed sum, not the amount spent.
A scheme qualifies only if it pays an annuity or lump sum for the dependant on the death of the subscriber, or on the subscriber attaining sixty years where payments have stopped, and the assessee nominates the dependant, another person or a trust to receive it. A "dependant" is the spouse, children, parents, brothers or sisters (or, for a Hindu undivided family, a member) wholly or mainly dependent on the assessee, who has not claimed s. 80U for that year. "Person with severe disability" means one with eighty per cent or more of one or more disabilities, or as defined in the National Trust Act, 1999.
Operative consequences
Status
Operative for assessment year 2026-27. Not omitted and not time-limited. The Finance Act, 2026 does not amend s. 80DD.
The Income-tax Act, 1961 governs assessment year 2026-27 and earlier years; the Income-tax Act, 2025 governs tax year 2026-27 onwards. For this subject, the corresponding provision is s. 127.
Case Laws & Commentary
SECTION 80DD — DEDUCTION IN RESPECT OF MAINTENANCE INCLUDING MEDICAL TREATMENT OF A DEPENDANT WITH DISABILITY
Case Laws & Commentary (Income-tax Act, 1961 as amended by Finance Act, 2026)
STATUTORY SCHEME (editorial summary — verbatim bare-Act text in the companion Block-1 file)
Marginal heading: Deduction in respect of maintenance including medical treatment of a dependant who is a person with disability.
Section 80DD allows a resident individual or Hindu undivided family a fixed deduction in respect of (a) expenditure on the medical treatment, training and rehabilitation of a dependant with disability, and (b) amounts paid or deposited under a scheme of the Life Insurance Corporation or other insurer (or the Administrator/specified company) for the maintenance of such dependant. The deduction is a flat Rs 75,000 (Rs 1,25,000 for a dependant with severe disability), irrespective of actual expenditure, subject to production of a certificate of disability in the prescribed form from the prescribed medical authority. Sub-section (2) prescribes the conditions of the insurance scheme (annuity or lump sum for the benefit of the dependant); sub-section (3) recaptures the deduction if the dependant predeceases the assessee.
A. SECTION COMMENTARY
A.1 Structural position
Section 80DD is a disability-support deduction for the caregiver (the assessee maintaining a disabled dependant), as distinct from section 80U which gives a deduction to the person with disability himself. It is a flat-sum deduction, not expenditure-linked, conditioned on a disability certificate.
A.2 Provision taxonomy
Flat deduction (Rs 75,000 / Rs 1,25,000) on satisfaction of (i) a qualifying dependant relationship; (ii) expenditure on treatment/training/rehabilitation or payment under a qualifying insurance scheme; and (iii) a disability certificate. Sub-section (2) fixes the scheme conditions; sub-section (3) recaptures the deduction (deeming it income) if the dependant dies before the assessee, except where the annuity/lump sum has been received by the dependant.
A.3 Core doctrinal themes
The litigated theme is the condition (originally) that the annuity / lump sum under the insurance scheme be payable only on the death of the subscribing parent/guardian — challenged as causing hardship where the disabled dependant needs support during the parent's lifetime. The certificate requirement and the flat-sum (not actual-expenditure) character are the other operative features.
A.4 Legislative evolution / FA amendment trail
The deduction amounts were enhanced over time (to Rs 75,000 / Rs 1,25,000 by the Finance Act, 2015). Following the Supreme Court's observations in Ravi Agarwal, the Finance Act, 2022 amended sub-section (2) with effect from assessment year 2023-24 to allow payment of the annuity or lump sum to the dependant also on the subscriber attaining the age of sixty years (and discontinuing further contributions), not only on the subscriber's death. The Finance Act, 2026 makes no change.
A.5 CA practitioner pointers
(1) The deduction is a flat sum and does not require proof of the quantum of expenditure, but a valid disability certificate (Form 10-IA where applicable) is essential and must be renewed when the certificate lapses. (2) Distinguish section 80DD (caregiver) from section 80U (person with disability) — both cannot be claimed for the same disability by the same expenditure stream. (3) Note the Finance Act, 2022 relaxation permitting scheme payouts on the subscriber attaining sixty. (4) Watch the sub-section (3) recapture if the dependant predeceases the assessee. (5) Available only under the old regime.
B. FA 2026 IMPACT NOTE
Section 80DD is NOT amended by the Finance Act, 2026. The Finance Act, 2022 relaxation (payout permitted on the subscriber attaining sixty) continues to apply; the deduction remains available only under the old regime.
C. CASE LAW — CLUSTERED BY ISSUE
Cluster C-1 : Constitutional challenge to the insurance-scheme condition
Ravi Agarwal v. Union of India (2019) 410 ITR 399 (SC)
Facts: A public interest petition challenged the condition in the Jeevan Aadhar (Table 114) scheme, read with section 80DD(2), that the annuity / lump sum for the disabled dependant becomes payable only on the death of the parent/guardian subscriber, leaving the dependant unsupported during the parent's lifetime in deserving cases.
Issue: Whether the death-linked payout condition in section 80DD(2) is unconstitutional and whether the classification for the disability deduction is valid.
Held: The Supreme Court held the provision valid and the classification for persons with disability a legitimate one, declining to strike it down; but, recognising the hardship in cases where the dependant needs support during the parent's lifetime, it requested the Government / legislature to consider a suitable amendment to section 80DD.
Ratio: Section 80DD and its conditions are constitutionally valid; relaxation of the death-linked payout condition is a matter for the legislature, which the Court urged it to address.
Relevance: The leading (and effectively the only) Supreme Court authority on section 80DD; it directly led to the Finance Act, 2022 amendment permitting scheme payouts on the subscriber attaining sixty.
Editorial note on sourcing
Editorial scheme summary prepared from the Income-tax Act, 1961 as amended by the Finance Act, 2025, read with the Finance Act, 2026; verbatim bare-Act text is carried in the companion Block-1 treatise file. Case law is restricted to reported Supreme Court / High Court authority verified against standard law reports (ITR/Taxman/CTR); for documentary, payment-based deductions that generate little appellate litigation, that scarcity is stated candidly and the governing statutory/CBDT material is given.