This was Section 80DD under the Income-tax Act 1961. See the mapping
Chapter VIII: Deductions
Section 127, Income-tax Act 2025: Deduction in respect of maintenance including medical treatment of a dependant who is a person with disability
Plain-English summary
Section 127 is the deduction for looking after a family member with a disability, the provision the 1961 Act numbered 80DD. If you house, care for and medically treat a dependant who has a disability, or you pay into an approved LIC, UTI or insurer scheme that will support them later, you deduct a flat ₹75,000 from your income, rising to ₹1,25,000 where the disability is severe (80% or more). The figure is fixed: you claim it in full whether you actually spent ₹5,000 or ₹5,00,000 in the year, and no bills go with the return. The dependant can be your spouse, child, parent, brother or sister, and for a Hindu Undivided Family any member; they must be mainly dependent on you and must not have claimed the self-disability deduction (Section 154, the old 80U) in their own return. The 2025 Act keeps every number from 80DD and changes only the address. It belongs to the old regime; the default new regime does not allow it.
What changed when Section 80DD became Section 127?
Only the number. The flat ₹75,000 and ₹1,25,000 amounts, the list of who counts as a dependant, the disability certificate, the approved deposit-scheme route and the bar on the dependant also claiming for themselves all carry over from Section 80DD of the 1961 Act unchanged. The 2025 Act redrafts the provision into cleaner sub-sections, and from TY 2026-27 your return cites Section 127 where it used to cite 80DD.
It sits in a cluster of three deductions that people constantly mix up, and the new numbers keep them next to each other: Section 126 is health insurance premiums (the old 80D), Section 127 is maintenance of a disabled dependant (this one, old 80DD), and Section 128 is the actual medical bills for specified diseases like cancer or kidney failure (old 80DDB). The matching self-claim, where the person with the disability claims in their own return, is Section 154 (old 80U).
Section number cross-checked against multiple published copies of the enacted Act.†
Who can claim, and who counts as the dependant?
A resident individual or Hindu Undivided Family, on the old regime, claiming for a disabled person who depends on them. You cannot claim it for yourself here (that is Section 154); this section is strictly for a dependant.
Two sets of conditions decide the claim, one about you and one about the dependant:
- You must be a resident individual or HUF and must have either spent on the dependant's medical treatment, nursing, training and rehabilitation during the year, or paid into an approved scheme for their benefit. Companies, firms and LLPs are outside the section, and so is anyone on the default new regime.
- The dependant must be your spouse, child, parent, brother or sister, and for an HUF any member of the family. They must be wholly or mainly dependent on you for support, and they must not have claimed the Section 154 (old 80U) deduction for their own disability in their own return.
- The dependant's disability must be certified at 40% or more by the prescribed medical authority. The higher ₹1,25,000 tier needs a severe disability, certified at 80% or more.
Non-residents cannot claim this deduction. It is available only to a resident individual or HUF.
Which disabilities qualify, and how much do you get?
Whatever you actually spend on a 40%–79% dependant
The deduction is a flat amount fixed by the certified degree of disability, not by what you spent. There are exactly two tiers: ₹75,000 for a disability of 40% to 79%, and ₹1,25,000 where the disability is severe, meaning 80% or more.
The conditions recognised for this deduction are the ones defined under India's disability laws, and the list is wider than most people expect:
- Blindness and low vision.
- Leprosy-cured, hearing impairment and locomotor disability.
- Mental retardation and mental illness.
- Autism, cerebral palsy and multiple disabilities.
The list of qualifying conditions follows the disability statutes carried into the 2025 Act; the exact schedule of conditions is cross-checked against published copies of the enacted Act.†
What can the money go on, or into?
The deduction rewards one of two things, and you need only one of them to have happened to claim the full flat amount:
- Expenditure on the dependant during the year: their medical treatment (including nursing), plus training and rehabilitation that helps them live more independently.
- A deposit or payment, under an approved scheme framed by LIC, UTI, another insurer or a body notified for this purpose, that will pay an annuity or a lump sum for the dependant's maintenance.
You do not add the two routes together. Spend ₹90,000 on care and pay a ₹60,000 scheme premium in the same year, and the deduction is still the single flat ₹75,000 or ₹1,25,000, not ₹1,50,000. The flat amount is a ceiling and a floor at once.
The deposit scheme, the death condition and the age-60 relaxation
The scheme route exists to answer the question every parent of a disabled child asks: what happens to them after I am gone. To qualify, the policy must be built to pay an annuity or a lump sum for the dependant's benefit on the death of the person claiming the deduction. That is the classic design, and it is why these are marketed as parents' or guardians' plans.
There is a clawback built in. If the dependant dies before you, the amount the scheme then pays back to you is treated as your income in the year you receive it, reversing the shelter the deposits enjoyed.†
The Finance Act 2022 softened the death condition. From assessment year 2023-24, the deduction also stands where the scheme is allowed to pay the annuity or lump sum to the dependant during your lifetime, once you have turned 60 and payments into the scheme have stopped. That lets a parent see the plan start supporting the child while the parent is still alive, instead of only on death.†
The age-60 relaxation and the clawback are cross-checked against published copies of the enacted Act.†
What certificate does the claim need?
A disability certificate from the prescribed medical authority, and nothing about your spending. Because the deduction is flat, you attach no bills and no receipts for treatment; the one document that carries the claim is the certificate of disability.
For autism, cerebral palsy and multiple disabilities the certificate is issued on Form 10-IA, signed by a specialist such as a neurologist or the Chief Medical Officer of a government hospital. Other conditions are certified by the medical authority notified for them. Where the certificate states an expiry, a fresh one is needed for years after it lapses; a certificate of permanent disability does not need renewing.†
If you use the deposit-scheme route, keep the scheme receipts too; they are the proof that the payment was made, even though no proof of medical spend is required.
Section 127, 128 or 154: which deduction is actually yours?
These three are the reason disability deductions get claimed wrongly every filing season. They look similar and they cannot always be combined, so it is worth being exact:
- Section 127 (old 80DD) is what you claim as the carer of a disabled dependant: a flat ₹75,000 or ₹1,25,000, with no bills.
- Section 154 (old 80U) is the same flat amount, but claimed by the person with the disability in their own return. For one disabled person, either you claim Section 127 or they claim Section 154, never both.
- Section 128 (old 80DDB) is a different animal: it reimburses actual medical expenditure on a list of specified diseases (such as cancer, chronic kidney failure and certain neurological conditions), capped at ₹40,000, or ₹1,00,000 where the patient is a senior citizen, and reduced by any insurance payout.
A family can genuinely use more than one of these where the facts differ, for example Section 127 for a disabled child and Section 128 for a parent's dialysis bills. What you cannot do is claim Section 127 and Section 154 for the same person.
Is Section 127 available under the new regime?
No. Like the rest of the Chapter VIII deductions, it exists only for taxpayers who opt out of the default new regime and pay old-regime slab rates. On the new regime the deduction is worth nothing, whatever you spend on the dependant.
The care itself does not change with the regime: the treatment, the scheme and the dependant's support are the same either way. Only the tax deduction disappears. For a family carrying a large old-regime stack already, the flat ₹75,000 or ₹1,25,000 sits alongside the investment basket (Section 123), health premiums (Section 126) and home-loan interest (Section 22) as one more reason the old regime can still win.
Should you fund the scheme, or just claim on what you spend?
The tax answer is the same either way, so decide it on the dependant's future, not on the deduction. If you already spend more than ₹75,000 (or ₹1,25,000 for a severe disability) a year on the dependant's care, you get the entire flat deduction on that spending alone, and a scheme premium adds no extra tax benefit that year. What the scheme buys is security for the dependant after you, which the expenditure route cannot give.
Put a number on the tax the deduction saves so you size the rest of your planning correctly. At the 30% slab the severe-disability ₹1,25,000 deduction cuts your tax by ₹39,000 a year including cess; over 20 years of claiming that is about ₹7.8 lakh of tax saved. It is real money, but it is capped at the flat amount no matter how much more the disability actually costs you, so the deduction should never be the reason you under-insure or under-spend on care.
Whichever route you take, protect the claim by keeping the disability certificate current. A lapsed certificate loses you the whole deduction for the year, and the fix is a fresh certificate, not an argument at assessment.
Worked examples
Dependant with 40% disability, ₹48,000 actually spent
Rohit keeps his father, certified at 40% locomotor disability and mainly dependent on him, and spends ₹48,000 on physiotherapy and mobility aids in TY 2026-27. Rohit is on the old regime at the 30% slab.
| Actual spend on the dependant this year | ₹48,000 |
| Flat deduction (disability 40% to 79%) | ₹75,000 |
| Tax saved at 30% slab, with cess | ₹23,400 |
The deduction is the flat ₹75,000 even though he spent only ₹48,000; the amount is set by the certified disability, not the bills.
Severe disability, care spend and a scheme premium together
Anita supports her son, certified at 85% (cerebral palsy). In TY 2026-27 she spends ₹90,000 on his therapy and also pays a ₹60,000 premium into an approved LIC scheme that will pay him an annuity after her. She is on the old regime at the 20% slab.
| Care and therapy spend | ₹90,000 |
| Approved-scheme premium paid | ₹60,000 |
| The two routes do not add up | flat amount applies |
| Flat deduction (severe, 80% or more) | ₹1,25,000 |
| Tax saved at 20% slab, with cess | ₹26,000 |
Whether through care spend, the scheme deposit or both, the deduction is the single flat ₹1,25,000, not the ₹1,50,000 she actually laid out.
₹14 lakh salary: does the ₹1.25 lakh deduction beat the new regime?
Karan earns ₹14,00,000 of salary in TY 2026-27 and can claim ₹1,25,000 under Section 127 for his severely disabled sister. Comparing the old regime (₹50,000 standard deduction plus the ₹1,25,000 Section 127 deduction) against the default new regime (₹75,000 standard deduction) on this deduction alone.
| New regime tax on ₹13,25,000 taxable, with cess | ₹81,900 |
| Old regime tax on ₹12,25,000 taxable, with cess | − ₹1,87,200 |
| Old regime costs more by | ₹1,05,300 |
The ₹1,25,000 deduction is real money (₹39,000 saved at the 30% slab), but on its own it does not beat the new regime; it only tips the choice when stacked with a large old-regime set of deductions you claim for other reasons.
Read the section as enacted
The statutory text is loaded verbatim from the Gazette copy of the Income-tax Act 2025, never from secondary sources or memory. The CA-checked copy appears here the moment it clears review.
Section 127 FAQs
Can I claim Section 127 while my disabled dependant also claims Section 154 (the old 80U)?
No, not for the same person. For one disabled individual, either you claim Section 127 as the carer or they claim Section 154 in their own return. The flat amounts are identical, ₹75,000 or ₹1,25,000, so there is no gain to be had even if it were allowed. Where two different disabled people are involved, each claim stands on its own.
Do I need to show bills for what I spent on my disabled dependant?
No. This is a flat deduction: you claim ₹75,000, or ₹1,25,000 for a severe disability, regardless of what you actually spent, and no expenditure receipts are attached to the return. The document that matters is the disability certificate, and if you used the deposit-scheme route, the scheme's payment receipts.
My dependant's disability is certified at 45%. What do I get?
The flat ₹75,000. Any certified disability from 40% up to 79% earns the standard ₹75,000 deduction. The higher ₹1,25,000 tier is only for a severe disability, certified at 80% or more, so a jump from 45% to, say, 70% does not change the amount.
Who can be the disabled dependant for Section 127?
Your spouse, child, parent, brother or sister, and for a Hindu Undivided Family any member of the family. The dependant must be wholly or mainly dependent on you for support and maintenance. Cover for someone outside that list, or someone not dependent on you, does not qualify here.
Is Section 127 available if I file under the new tax regime?
No. It is an old-regime deduction. If you stay on the default new regime you cannot claim it, however much you spend on the dependant's care. Families with meaningful disability costs are among those for whom running both regimes through a calculator before choosing is worth the few minutes.
What is Form 10-IA, and when do I need it?
Form 10-IA is the disability certificate used for autism, cerebral palsy and multiple disabilities, signed by a specialist such as a neurologist or the Chief Medical Officer of a government hospital. Other conditions are certified by the medical authority notified for them. Keep the certificate safe; it is the proof the department can ask for.
What happens to my deduction if my disabled dependant dies before me?
If you claimed only on expenditure, nothing changes; your past deductions stand. If you used the approved deposit scheme and the dependant dies before you, the amount the scheme then pays back to you is treated as your income in the year you receive it, which reverses the earlier shelter.†
Can both parents claim the deduction for the same disabled child?
No. The deduction is per dependant, claimed by one taxpayer. Two parents cannot each claim ₹75,000 or ₹1,25,000 for the same child. Decide which parent claims, usually the one on the old regime or in the higher slab, and keep the certificate and any scheme payments in that parent's name.