Section 80D gives a deduction for health insurance premium and, in defined cases, for medical expenditure, in two separate buckets: one for you, your spouse and dependent children, and one for your parents. Each bucket has a limit that depends on whether the person insured is a senior citizen, meaning aged 60 or above at any time in the year. The limits have not changed for FY 2026-27, and the deduction remains available only under the old regime.
Old regime only. Under the new regime, 80D is not available. Buy the policy anyway; a ₹5 lakh hospital bill does not check which regime you are on. But do not count the premium as a tax saving unless you have run the regime comparison and the old regime wins.
The limits table
| Who is covered | Self, spouse, dependent children | Parents | Maximum in the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nobody over 60 | ₹25,000 | ₹25,000 | ₹50,000 |
| You under 60, a parent 60 or above | ₹25,000 | ₹50,000 | ₹75,000 |
| You or your spouse 60 or above, parents under 60 | ₹50,000 | ₹25,000 | ₹75,000 |
| You or your spouse 60 or above, a parent 60 or above | ₹50,000 | ₹50,000 | ₹1,00,000 |
| HUF, for any member | ₹25,000, or ₹50,000 if the member is a senior citizen | n/a | ₹50,000 |
Within each bucket, the limit covers insurance premium, contribution to the Central Government Health Scheme or a notified scheme (self bucket only), preventive health check-up up to ₹5,000, and, for an uninsured senior citizen, medical expenditure up to ₹50,000.
What goes inside each limit
Health insurance premium
Premium on a policy approved by IRDAI, whether an individual policy, a family floater, a top-up or a critical illness rider on a health policy. A floater covering you, your spouse, your children and your parents in one policy has to be split between the two buckets on the insurer’s own allocation; ask for the premium break-up certificate at renewal. Premium paid for your employer group policy counts only where the employee share is actually deducted from your salary, and the employer share is not yours to claim.
Preventive health check-up: ₹5,000, within the limit
Payments for a preventive health check-up qualify up to ₹5,000 in aggregate across both buckets, and the ₹5,000 sits inside the ₹25,000 or ₹50,000, not on top of it. If your family premium is already ₹25,000, a check-up adds nothing. If the premium is ₹18,000, a ₹5,000 check-up lifts the claim to ₹23,000. It is the only item in the section that may be paid in cash.
Medical expenditure for a senior citizen without insurance: ₹50,000
Where a senior citizen has no health insurance policy in force, medical expenditure actually paid for them qualifies up to ₹50,000, in the bucket the person belongs to. This is the provision that matters most for parents in their seventies whom no insurer will now cover: hospital bills, doctor fees, diagnostics and medicines, paid by any mode other than cash. The ₹50,000 is the whole bucket for that person, so it is either premium or expenditure for a given senior citizen, not both, and the check-up amount also sits within it.
Multi-year premium: proportion it
Insurers discount two- and three-year policies, and the premium is paid at once. The deduction is not: a lump-sum premium for a policy covering more than one year is allowed in equal proportion over the years of cover. A ₹60,000 premium for a three-year family policy gives ₹20,000 a year for three years, and the same proportioning applies to the senior-citizen limit. Keep the policy schedule; it states the term.
The payment mode rule
Premium and medical expenditure must be paid by any mode other than cash: cheque, demand draft, card, net banking, UPI or auto-debit. A premium paid in cash to an agent who then pays the insurer does not qualify, even with a valid receipt. Only the preventive check-up is exempt from this rule. Pay from your own account too: the deduction belongs to the person whose money paid, so a premium for your parents paid from their pension account is their claim, not yours.
Who counts, and who does not
- Self bucket: you, your spouse and your dependent children. A working, financially independent child is out; a student child on your policy is in.
- Parents bucket: your father and mother, dependent or not, with any income. Both spouses can claim for their own parents, so a couple can carry four parents across two returns.
- Never: parents-in-law, siblings, grandparents, and a non-dependent child, however the insurer describes the policy.
- Age is tested in the year: a parent who turns 60 on 30 March 2027 is a senior citizen for the whole of FY 2026-27.
A worked example
Rohit, 42, salaried in Jaipur on the old regime in the 30% slab, pays the following in FY 2026-27, all by net banking except the check-up:
- Family floater for himself, his wife and two school-going children: ₹22,000.
- Full-body check-ups for himself and his wife, paid in cash: ₹4,000.
- Separate policy for his parents, aged 68 and 65: ₹38,000 for one year.
| Bucket | Paid | Limit | Deduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self and family (nobody over 60) | ₹22,000 premium + ₹4,000 check-up = ₹26,000 | ₹25,000 | ₹25,000 |
| Parents (senior citizens) | ₹38,000 premium | ₹50,000 | ₹38,000 |
| Total 80D | ₹64,000 | ₹75,000 | ₹63,000 |
At 30% plus 4% cess, the ₹63,000 deduction saves Rohit ₹19,656 of tax. The ₹1,000 of check-up cost above the family limit is simply lost, which is the point about the ₹5,000 sitting inside the limit. Had the parents been uninsured and Rohit paid ₹60,000 of their hospital and pharmacy bills by card instead, the parents bucket would be ₹50,000, not ₹60,000, and the total ₹75,000.
Whether the old regime is right for Rohit at all is a separate calculation. With this 80D, a full 80C and HRA, the income tax calculator gives the answer in a minute; the slab guide shows that at ₹18 lakh the old regime usually needs home-loan interest as well to win.
Employer cover, top-ups and the retiree claiming for themselves
A group policy from the employer is not a reason to skip 80D; it is a reason to think about what sits on top of it. The employer share of the group premium is not your deduction, and the cover ends the day you leave. A personal top-up or super top-up bought over the group floater is your premium, deductible in full within the bucket, and it is what actually protects a family through a job change. The same logic applies to a parent covered under your group scheme at extra cost: if the parent premium is recovered from your salary, it is your payment and your claim in the parents bucket.
The section also works in the other direction. A retired parent with pension income on the old regime can claim ₹50,000 for their own and their spouse’s premium, or for their own medical expenditure if uninsured. Where a parent has taxable income and a child does not need the deduction, it is often better for the parent to pay and claim than for the child to route the money through their own account. Decide who pays before the premium is paid; the deduction follows the bank account, and it cannot be reassigned afterwards.
Proof, timing and the return
- For the employer: the premium receipt and, for a floater covering parents, the insurer’s break-up of premium by insured member. Submit before the January proof window closes so that Form 16 carries the deduction and the TDS reflects it.
- For medical expenditure: the hospital and pharmacy invoices in the senior citizen’s name, the bank or card statement showing your payment, and a note that no health policy was in force for them in the year.
- Timing: the deduction follows the date of payment. A renewal paid on 3 April belongs to the next year, and a policy that lapsed and was revived in the same year counts only once for the premium actually paid.
- In the return: 80D has its own schedule with separate lines for self and family, parents, check-ups and senior-citizen medical expenditure, and a tick for whether each person is a senior citizen. Filling the total in one line without the split is the usual cause of the deduction being cut back in the 143(1) intimation.
Mistakes that cost the deduction
- Adding the ₹5,000 check-up on top of a ₹25,000 premium and claiming ₹30,000.
- Claiming the full three-year premium in the year of payment.
- Paying in cash, or paying from a parent’s account and claiming in your own return.
- Claiming premium for parents-in-law, or for a married, earning child still on the floater.
- Claiming both premium and medical expenditure for the same senior parent in the same year.
- Claiming 80D in the return while the Form 16 shows the new regime, which produces an adjustment under 143(1)(a) rather than a refund.
- Confusing 80D with 80DD (maintenance of a disabled dependant) and 80DDB (treatment of specified diseases), which are separate sections with their own certificates and limits.
Where we come in
We check the regime, the buckets, the ages and the payment mode before the claim goes on the return, so the deduction is not the reason for a notice. See what we do for salaried employees, and the 80C list for the deduction that sits next to this one.
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum deduction under section 80D for FY 2026-27?
₹1,00,000, reached only when both you (or your spouse) and your parents are senior citizens: ₹50,000 for self and family plus ₹50,000 for parents. The usual combinations are ₹25,000 + ₹25,000 (nobody over 60), ₹25,000 + ₹50,000 (senior parents) and ₹50,000 + ₹50,000. Preventive check-ups sit inside these limits, not on top.
Is 80D available under the new tax regime?
No. Section 80D is a Chapter VI-A deduction and the new regime does not allow it. Health insurance is worth buying regardless, but under the new regime the premium carries no tax benefit. Under the Income-tax Act 2025 applying from FY 2026-27, the deduction continues under the renumbered deductions chapter, still old regime only.
Can I claim 80D for parents who are not dependent on me?
Yes. Parents need not be dependent, and their own income does not matter, as long as you paid the premium from your own funds. The section does not cover parents-in-law, siblings or grandparents, and it covers children only while they are dependent. Each spouse can claim for their own parents separately.
My parents are over 60 and have no health insurance. Can I claim their hospital bills?
Yes, up to ₹50,000 a year of medical expenditure for a senior citizen who has no health insurance policy in force, paid by any mode other than cash. The same ₹50,000 applies for yourself or your spouse if either is a senior citizen without cover. Insurance premium and medical expenditure for the same person cannot both be claimed in the same year.
Does a cash premium qualify under 80D?
No. Insurance premium and medical expenditure must be paid by cheque, card, net banking, UPI or any mode other than cash. The single exception is the preventive health check-up, which may be paid in cash up to ₹5,000. A premium paid in cash at an agent office is the most common reason an 80D claim fails on a Form 16 review.
This article is general information, not professional advice. Limits and conditions change by notification; confirm the position for your own year before acting on it.
