Preventive Health Check-Ups and Tax Deductions

As its name suggests, a preventive health check-up is a medical examination that is conducted to assess the overall state of your health and enable the timely detection of any diseases or infections. There are some ailments that have fairly obvious symptoms. Then there are those that are asymptomatic and largely indiscernible.

It is important to invest time and money in periodical preventive health check-ups so that you can keep abreast of your health and take corrective action in time if required. It is a well-known fact that the premiums that you pay towards a health insurance plan are eligible for tax deduction under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

However, a fact that is perhaps lesser known is that there is also a preventive health check up income tax deduction available under Section 80D. The health check up deduction 80D has been introduced to encourage people to opt for such check-ups and not refrain from them owing to the associated costs. Therefore, not only do preventive health check-ups help you stay aware of your prevailing medical condition but they also make you eligible for certain tax benefits.

If you are wondering what are the tax benefits on health check ups, then the following information shall be handy for you.

Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961 has a provision for tax deductions on health insurance premiums. You can claim these deductions for the health insurance premium that you pay for yourself, your spouse, your parents, and your dependent children.

For assessees under the age of 60 years, Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961 allows you to avail of a tax deduction up to ₹25,000 for the premium that you pay for a health insurance policy. This deduction is permissible for the premium of medical insurance plans covering yourself, your wife/husband, and dependent children. This deduction is ₹50,000 for the assessees who are above 60 years of age.

If you pay the premium towards a health insurance policy for your parent(s), you get to claim an extra tax deduction to the tune of ₹25,000. The ceiling of this deduction gets increased to ₹50,000 if one or both of your parents are above the age of 60 years.

In addition to tax deductions on your health insurance premium, Section 80D also allows you to claim a tax deduction on the charge of annual preventive health check-ups. You can claim a total of ₹5000 as preventive health check up 80D deduction. This goes up to ₹7000 for senior citizens.

However, it is important to remember that this amount is included in the total ceiling of income tax deductions under Section 80D as mentioned above.

Let us understand this with an example. Sneha, aged 30 years, paid ₹22,000 towards the premium of her health insurance policy last year. Furthermore, she spent ₹7,000 on preventive health check-ups during the same year. While filing her income tax return for the financial year, she could only claim a total of ₹25,000 as tax deduction under Section 80D even though her actual expense on healthcare expenses during the year amounted to ₹32,000.

If you are wondering which documents you need to file a claim for preventive health check up deduction as stated in Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961, then the answer is that you need no documents to claim this deduction. The aforementioned act has not mandated the requirement of any specific documents for the tax deduction claims under Section 80D.

Although you do not need any documents to substantiate your claim for a tax deduction for preventive health check-ups under Section 80D, it is considered a good practice to maintain clear and transparent records of such expenses in the form of invoices of doctor's consultation fees, bills for X-Ray and other diagnostic tests, etc.

It is important to note here that the payments made for preventive health check-ups in any mode, including cash, are eligible for deduction under Section 80D.

As the old adage goes: Prevention is better than cure. Therefore, the earlier any ailments or medical conditions you may have got diagnosed, the better placed you shall be in terms of addressing them. Preventive health care is not a fancy term reserved for certain sections of society. It is important for everyone, which is why you must prioritize scheduling regular preventive health check-ups.

Not only does being proactive about your health enable you to stay one step ahead of any ailments, it also allows you to claim certain tax deductions under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act. Whether you look at it from a health perspective or a financial one, preventive health check-ups certainly qualify as a win-win scenario.

Go book your preventive health check-up now. And while you are at it, purchase a suitable health insurance policy as well. Choose well and stay safe!