Section 126 — Health Insurance Premia

Section 126 is the substantive equivalent of 1961 s. 80 D. Individual / HUF assessee allowed deduction for health insurance premium / preventive-health-checkup / medical-expenditure-on-senior-citizen-without-insurance. Limits: ₹ 25,000…

Section 126 — HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIA DEDUCTION (1961 s. 80D SUCCESSOR)

Section 126 is the substantive equivalent of 1961 s. 80D. Individual / HUF assessee allowed deduction for health insurance premium / preventive-health-checkup / medical expenditure (for a senior citizen, only where uninsured: s.126(7); see the editorial note below). Limits: ₹ 25,000 (self + spouse + dependent children); ₹ 50,000 if any insured is senior citizen (60+); additional ₹ 25,000 / ₹ 50,000 for parents (similar split). Aggregate maximum: ₹ 1,00,000 if all four (self + parents) are senior citizens. Within the limits, ₹ 5,000 sub-cap for preventive health checkup. Available ONLY in OLD regime.

Statutory text — Income-tax Act, 2025

Marginal note — Deduction in respect of health insurance premia

(1) An assessee, being an individual or a Hindu undivided family, shall be a llowed a deduction of a sum as specified in sub-sections (2) to (8), payment of which is made by any mode as specified in sub-section (9), out of his income chargeable to tax in the tax year.

(2) In the case of an assessee, being an individual, the sum referred to in sub-section (1), shall be the aggregate of the whole of the amount paid—

(a) to effect or keep in force an insurance on the health (herein referred to as health insurance) of the assessee or his family, or any contributions made to the Central Government Health Scheme or such other scheme, as may be notified by the Central Government in this behalf, or any pay- ment made for preventive health check-up of the assessee or his family, up to ` 25000 in aggregate;

(b) to effect or to keep in force the health insurance, or any payment made for preventive health check-up, for the parent or parents of the assessee, up to ` 25000 in aggregate;

(c) on account of medical expenditure incurred on the health of the assessee or any member of his family, up to ` 50000 in aggregate; and

(d) on account of medical expenditure incurred on the health of any parent of the assessee, up to ` 50000 in aggregate.

(3) The deduction in respect of amounts referred to in sub-section (2)(a) or (2)(b), which are paid on account of preventive health check-up, shall be allowed up to ` 5000 in aggregate.

(4) The amount of sum referred to in sub-section (2) shall not exceed ` 50000 in aggregate of the sum specified under sub-section (2)(a) and (c) or aggregate of the sum specified under sub-section (2)(b) and (d).

(5) In the case of an assessee, being a Hindu undivided family, the sum referred to in sub-section (1), shall be the aggregate of the whole of the amount paid—

(a) to effect or keep in force an insurance on the health of any member of such Hindu undivided family, up to ` 25000 in the aggregate; and

(b) on account of medical expenditure incurred on the health of any member of such Hindu undivided family, up to ` 50000 in the aggregate.

(6) The amount of sum under sub-section (5) shall not exceed ` 50000 in the aggre- gate of the sum specified under sub-section (5)(a) and (b).

(7) For the purposes of this section, where the amount is paid on account of medical expenditure incurred on the health of a senior citizen under sub-section (2)(c) or

(d) or (5)(b), deduction shall be allowed, if no amount has been paid to effect or to keep in force the health insurance of such person.

(8) Where the sum specified in sub-section (2)(a) or (b) or (5)(a) is paid to effect or keep in force the health insurance of any person specified therein, and—

(a) such person is a senior citizen, the amount of sum as provided in such clauses, shall be substituted with ` 50000 for ` 25000; and

(b) such sum is paid in lump sum in the tax year for more than a year, a deduction shall be allowed for each of the relevant tax year equal to the appropriate fraction of such amount.

(9) For the purposes of deduction under sub-section (1), the payment shall be made by any mode,—

(a) including cash, in respect of any sum paid on account of preventive health check-up; or

(b) other than cash in all other cases not falling under clause (a).

(10) For the purposes of this section,—

(a) “appropriate fraction” means the fraction where the numerator is one, and the denominator is the total number of relevant tax years;

(b) “family” means the spouse and dependant children of the assessee;

(c) “relevant tax year” means the tax year beginning with the tax year in which such lump sum amount is paid and the subsequent tax year or years during which the health insurance remains in force.

(11) The health insurance referred to in this section shall be as per the scheme made in this behalf by—

(a) the General Insurance Corporation of India formed under section 9 of the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, 1972 (57 of 1972) and approved by the Central Government in this behalf; or

(b) any other insurer and approved by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority established under section 3(1) of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 (41 of 1999).

Corresponding provision — 1961 regime

INCOME-TAX ACT, 2025	INCOME-TAX ACT, 1961
INCOME-TAX ACT, 2025 — s. 126	INCOME-TAX ACT, 1961 — s. 80D
Self + spouse + children — ₹ 25K (₹ 50K senior)	1961 s. 80D(1)/(2)
Parents separate slab — ₹ 25K (₹ 50K senior)	1961 s. 80D(2)(b)
Preventive health checkup — ₹ 5K within limits	1961 s. 80D(2A)
Medical expenditure for senior without insurance	1961 s. 80D(2)(c)

DEDUCTION SLABS

(I) SELF + SPOUSE + DEPENDENT CHILDREN: ₹ 25,000 per FY (premium + ₹ 5,000 preventive-checkup sub-limit); If any insured is SENIOR CITIZEN (60+), increase to ₹ 50,000. (II) PARENTS (whether dependent or not): Separate ₹ 25,000 per FY (₹ 50,000 if parent is senior citizen). (III) MEDICAL EXPENDITURE: For senior-citizen parents WITHOUT insurance, actual medical expenditure deductible up to ₹ 50,000. Total maximum (assessee SR + parents SR): ₹ 50K + ₹ 50K = ₹ 1 lakh. Mode of payment: Insurance premium MUST be by non-cash (cheque/online/UPI); preventive checkup may be in cash.

PLANNING NOTES

(i) For senior-citizen parents, choose between (a) annual health-insurance premium OR (b) actual medical-expenditure (₹ 50K cap) — whichever higher. (ii) Multi-year health-insurance premium (e.g., 3-year plan paid upfront) — proportionate yearly deduction permitted u/s 126. (iii) For preventive checkup, spread across family members to maximise ₹ 5K limit. (iv) Document mediclaim policy + premium-receipt + bank-debit; AO scrutiny common on health-deduction claims. (v) New regime forfeits — model OLD vs NEW carefully if health-insurance is significant deduction.

EDITORIAL NOTE — MEDICAL EXPENDITURE UNDER SECTION 126

Under the 1961 Act, the first proviso to section 80D(2) allowed medical expenditure only where it was paid "in respect of a senior citizen" and no amount had been paid to keep in force an insurance on that person's health. Section 126 of the 2025 Act is worded differently.

Sub-section (2)(c) allows medical expenditure "incurred on the health of the assessee or any member of his family", and sub-section (2)(d) medical expenditure on the health of any parent, each up to Rs 50,000. Neither clause says the person must be a senior citizen.
Sub-section (7) adds a condition only "where the amount is paid on account of medical expenditure incurred on the health of a senior citizen": the deduction is allowed if no amount has been paid to keep that person's health insurance in force.
Read on its words, medical expenditure on a person under 60 therefore falls within sub-section (2)(c) or (d), subject to the Rs 50,000 aggregate cap in sub-section (4), with no insurance condition.

The text does not say whether this wider reading was intended, and no circular or rule has addressed it. The difference matters only under the old regime: section 126 is not among the deductions allowed under section 202.

CROSS-REFERENCES

Section 127 — Disabled-dependant deduction.
Section 128 — Medical-treatment-of-specified-disease deduction.
Section 195 — New regime forfeit.

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