Section 80DDB allows a resident assessee a deduction for amounts actually paid during the previous year for the medical treatment of a disease or ailment specified in the rules made by the Board. For an individual the treatment may be for himself or a dependant; for a Hindu undivided family, for any member. The deduction is the amount actually paid or forty thousand rupees, whichever is less, allowed for the year in which the amount was actually paid.
Where the patient is a senior citizen (a resident individual aged sixty years or more at any time during the previous year), the limit is one hundred thousand rupees. A "dependant" is the spouse, children, parents, brothers or sisters of an individual, or a member of a Hindu undivided family, wholly or mainly dependent on the assessee.
Operative consequences
No deduction is allowed unless the assessee obtains a prescription for the treatment from a neurologist, oncologist, urologist, haematologist, immunologist or other prescribed specialist (first proviso).
The deduction is reduced by any amount received under insurance from an insurer, or reimbursed by an employer, for the treatment (second proviso).
The deduction is linked to actual payment in the year, not to the year in which treatment was given.
Under the default regime, s. 115BAC(2)(i) disallows this deduction.
Status
Operative for assessment year 2026-27. Not omitted and not time-limited. Clauses (ii) and (v) of the Explanation appear as "[***]". The Finance Act, 2026 does not amend s. 80DDB.
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. 128.
Case Laws & Commentary
SECTION 80DDB — DEDUCTION IN RESPECT OF MEDICAL TREATMENT OF SPECIFIED DISEASES
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 medical treatment, etc.
Section 80DDB allows a resident individual or Hindu undivided family a deduction for amounts actually paid for the medical treatment of specified diseases or ailments (as prescribed in Rule 11DD — e.g. certain neurological diseases, malignant cancers, full-blown AIDS, chronic renal failure, haematological disorders), incurred for the assessee or a dependant. The deduction is the amount actually paid or Rs 40,000 (Rs 1,00,000 where the patient is a senior citizen), whichever is less, reduced by any amount received from an insurer or reimbursed by an employer. A prescription from a specialist is required.
A. SECTION COMMENTARY
A.1 Structural position
Section 80DDB is the specified-disease treatment deduction, distinct from section 80D (insurance) and section 80DD (disability maintenance). It is expenditure-linked (subject to a cap) and net of insurance recovery / employer reimbursement.
A.2 Provision taxonomy
A capped, actual-expenditure deduction (Rs 40,000 / Rs 1,00,000 for senior citizens) for treatment of Rule 11DD diseases, reduced by insurance/employer reimbursement, conditioned on a specialist's prescription.
A.3 Core doctrinal themes
The operative themes are the closed list of diseases (Rule 11DD), the senior-citizen enhancement, the netting-off of insurance/reimbursement, and the certification requirement. The certificate condition has been administratively eased — a prescription from a specialist (no longer necessarily in a Government hospital, and Form 10-I dispensed with) now suffices.
A.4 Legislative evolution / FA amendment trail
The senior-citizen and very-senior-citizen sub-limits were consolidated to Rs 1,00,000 by the Finance Act, 2018. The CBDT amended Rule 11DD (with effect from assessment year 2016-17) to allow certification by a specialist and dispense with the Government-hospital certificate and Form 10-I. Not amended by the Finance Act, 2026; unavailable under the default regime.
A.5 CA practitioner pointers
(1) Confirm the ailment is within Rule 11DD and obtain the specialist's prescription with the required particulars. (2) Reduce the claim by insurance receipts and employer reimbursement. (3) Apply the senior-citizen Rs 1,00,000 cap where applicable. (4) The deduction is for actual payment, subject to the cap. (5) Unavailable under the default regime.
B. FA 2026 IMPACT NOTE
Section 80DDB is NOT amended by the Finance Act, 2026; the existing caps, the Rule 11DD list and the specialist-certification regime continue, and the deduction remains available only under the old regime.
C. CASE LAW — CLUSTERED BY ISSUE
Cluster C-1 : Conditions and administrative relaxation
Note on the case-law field and Rule 11DD relaxation
Facts: Section 80DDB is a capped, actual-expenditure deduction conditioned on a specialist's certification for a Rule 11DD disease.
Issue: Whether the section generates substantial interpretive case law and what the certification condition now requires.
Held: Appellate litigation is sparse; the principal development is administrative — Rule 11DD was amended (from assessment year 2016-17) to require only a prescription from a specialist, dispensing with the earlier Government-hospital certificate and Form 10-I.
Ratio: The deduction turns on a Rule 11DD ailment, a specialist's prescription, the monetary cap and the netting of insurance/reimbursement; the certification burden has been administratively eased.
Relevance: States candidly the scarcity of reported authority and records the operative administrative relaxation that practitioners rely on.
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 80DDB allows a resident assessee a deduction for amounts actually paid during the previous year for the medical treatment of a disease or ailment specified in the rules made by the Board. For an individual the treatment may be for himself or a dependant; for a Hindu undivided family, for any member. The deduction is the amount actually paid or forty thousand rupees, whichever is less, allowed for the year in which the amount was actually paid.
Where the patient is a senior citizen (a resident individual aged sixty years or more at any time during the previous year), the limit is one hundred thousand rupees. A "dependant" is the spouse, children, parents, brothers or sisters of an individual, or a member of a Hindu undivided family, wholly or mainly dependent on the assessee.
Operative consequences
Status
Operative for assessment year 2026-27. Not omitted and not time-limited. Clauses (ii) and (v) of the Explanation appear as "[***]". The Finance Act, 2026 does not amend s. 80DDB.
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. 128.
Case Laws & Commentary
SECTION 80DDB — DEDUCTION IN RESPECT OF MEDICAL TREATMENT OF SPECIFIED DISEASES
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 medical treatment, etc.
Section 80DDB allows a resident individual or Hindu undivided family a deduction for amounts actually paid for the medical treatment of specified diseases or ailments (as prescribed in Rule 11DD — e.g. certain neurological diseases, malignant cancers, full-blown AIDS, chronic renal failure, haematological disorders), incurred for the assessee or a dependant. The deduction is the amount actually paid or Rs 40,000 (Rs 1,00,000 where the patient is a senior citizen), whichever is less, reduced by any amount received from an insurer or reimbursed by an employer. A prescription from a specialist is required.
A. SECTION COMMENTARY
A.1 Structural position
Section 80DDB is the specified-disease treatment deduction, distinct from section 80D (insurance) and section 80DD (disability maintenance). It is expenditure-linked (subject to a cap) and net of insurance recovery / employer reimbursement.
A.2 Provision taxonomy
A capped, actual-expenditure deduction (Rs 40,000 / Rs 1,00,000 for senior citizens) for treatment of Rule 11DD diseases, reduced by insurance/employer reimbursement, conditioned on a specialist's prescription.
A.3 Core doctrinal themes
The operative themes are the closed list of diseases (Rule 11DD), the senior-citizen enhancement, the netting-off of insurance/reimbursement, and the certification requirement. The certificate condition has been administratively eased — a prescription from a specialist (no longer necessarily in a Government hospital, and Form 10-I dispensed with) now suffices.
A.4 Legislative evolution / FA amendment trail
The senior-citizen and very-senior-citizen sub-limits were consolidated to Rs 1,00,000 by the Finance Act, 2018. The CBDT amended Rule 11DD (with effect from assessment year 2016-17) to allow certification by a specialist and dispense with the Government-hospital certificate and Form 10-I. Not amended by the Finance Act, 2026; unavailable under the default regime.
A.5 CA practitioner pointers
(1) Confirm the ailment is within Rule 11DD and obtain the specialist's prescription with the required particulars. (2) Reduce the claim by insurance receipts and employer reimbursement. (3) Apply the senior-citizen Rs 1,00,000 cap where applicable. (4) The deduction is for actual payment, subject to the cap. (5) Unavailable under the default regime.
B. FA 2026 IMPACT NOTE
Section 80DDB is NOT amended by the Finance Act, 2026; the existing caps, the Rule 11DD list and the specialist-certification regime continue, and the deduction remains available only under the old regime.
C. CASE LAW — CLUSTERED BY ISSUE
Cluster C-1 : Conditions and administrative relaxation
Note on the case-law field and Rule 11DD relaxation
Facts: Section 80DDB is a capped, actual-expenditure deduction conditioned on a specialist's certification for a Rule 11DD disease.
Issue: Whether the section generates substantial interpretive case law and what the certification condition now requires.
Held: Appellate litigation is sparse; the principal development is administrative — Rule 11DD was amended (from assessment year 2016-17) to require only a prescription from a specialist, dispensing with the earlier Government-hospital certificate and Form 10-I.
Ratio: The deduction turns on a Rule 11DD ailment, a specialist's prescription, the monetary cap and the netting of insurance/reimbursement; the certification burden has been administratively eased.
Relevance: States candidly the scarcity of reported authority and records the operative administrative relaxation that practitioners rely on.
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.