This was Section 80DDB under the Income-tax Act 1961. See the mapping
Chapter VIII: Deductions
Section 128, Income-tax Act 2025: Deduction in respect of medical treatment, etc.
Plain-English summary
The deduction for money spent treating a serious illness, Section 80DDB of the 1961 Act renumbered with its limits intact. On the old regime a resident individual or HUF can deduct what they actually spend in the tax year, up to ₹40,000, on treating a disease named in Rule 11DD (certain neurological conditions, malignant cancers, full-blown AIDS, chronic renal failure and blood disorders such as haemophilia and thalassaemia) for themselves or a dependant. The cap rises to ₹1,00,000 when the patient is a senior citizen, aged 60 or older. You need a prescription from the relevant specialist, and the deduction is cut by any insurance payout or employer reimbursement. The default new regime does not offer it.
What changed when Section 80DDB became Section 128?
The address, not the deduction. The ₹40,000 base limit, the ₹1,00,000 senior-citizen limit, the specialist-prescription requirement and the reduction for reimbursement all carry over from Section 80DDB of the 1961 Act. From TY 2026-27 your return cites Section 128 where it used to cite 80DDB.
The 2025 Act tidies the drafting into five short sub-sections: the ₹40,000 rule and who it covers in 128(1), the specialist prescription in 128(2), the reimbursement cut in 128(3), the ₹1,00,000 senior-citizen limit in 128(4), and the definitions in 128(5). One detail is worth noting: 128(5) borrows its meaning of "dependant" from Section 127, the renumbered home of the old Section 80DD, so the two disability-and-illness deductions now share a single definition.
Section number and sub-section structure cross-checked against multiple published copies of the enacted Act.†
Who can claim, and whose treatment counts?
Resident individuals and HUFs, on the old regime only. A non-resident cannot claim it at all, because Section 128(1) opens with "an assessee who is resident in India". The people whose treatment qualifies are a tighter list than most expect:
- An individual can claim for their own treatment, or for a dependant: a spouse, child, parent, brother or sister who is wholly or mainly dependent on them.
- An HUF can claim for any member who is wholly or mainly dependent on the family.
- Dependence matters here, unlike health insurance. A financially independent parent's treatment does not qualify, even though that same parent's insurance premium would count under Section 126. The person treated must actually lean on you for support, unless it is you.
- Nobody outside that circle counts: in-laws, grandparents, an earning adult child or a friend earn no deduction however real the expense.
- Companies, firms and LLPs are outside the section, and so is anyone filing on the default new regime.
The residence requirement and sub-section wording cross-checked against published copies of the enacted Act.†
Which diseases and ailments does Rule 11DD cover?
Only the illnesses named in Rule 11DD, in five groups, and each group has to be certified by a particular specialist. This is where most rejected claims start: a serious illness that is not on the list, such as ordinary diabetes, hypertension or a routine cardiac procedure, earns nothing under this section however large the bills.
| Disease group | What it includes | Specialist who must prescribe |
|---|---|---|
| Neurological diseases, 40% or more disability | Dementia, Parkinson's, motor neuron disease, ataxia, chorea, hemiballismus, aphasia, dystonia musculorum deformans | Neurologist (DM Neurology) |
| Malignant cancers | A malignant tumour at any site or stage | Oncologist (DM Oncology) |
| Full-blown AIDS | Acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome | Postgraduate in general or internal medicine |
| Chronic renal failure | End-stage kidney disease, dialysis, transplant | Nephrologist (DM) or urologist (MCh) |
| Haematological disorders | Haemophilia, thalassaemia | Haematologist (DM Haematology) |
Disease list and specialist qualifications carry over from Rule 11DD, re-issued under the Income-tax Rules 2026.†
How much can you actually deduct?
The lower of what you actually spent or the cap, then less any reimbursement. Section 128 is not a flat ₹40,000: spend ₹18,000 and you deduct ₹18,000, not the cap. Spend ₹90,000 on a patient under 60 and you deduct ₹40,000, the cap. The cap is a ceiling, never a floor.
Which cap applies turns on the patient's age, not yours. If the person treated is a senior citizen (60 or older at any time in the tax year) the cap is ₹1,00,000; otherwise it is ₹40,000. So a 40-year-old paying for a 68-year-old dependent parent gets the ₹1,00,000 cap, while a 65-year-old paying for a 30-year-old child gets only ₹40,000.
The cap applies first, then reimbursement comes off. Section 128(3) takes the lower of what you spent or the cap, then reduces that figure by any amount received under an insurance policy or reimbursed by an employer. Pay ₹90,000 for a senior parent's treatment and receive ₹50,000 from a health policy: the ₹90,000 sits inside the ₹1,00,000 cap, so ₹90,000 less the ₹50,000 leaves a ₹40,000 deduction. The order only changes the answer once your spend runs above the cap.
How Section 128 differs from health insurance (126) and disability care (127)
Three deductions sit next to each other in the new Act and are constantly confused. Section 126 rewards a health insurance premium; Section 127 rewards caring for a dependant with a certified disability; Section 128 rewards the actual cost of treating a listed disease. You can claim more than one in the same year if each condition is separately met.
| Section 126 (old 80D) | Section 127 (old 80DD) | Section 128 (old 80DDB) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What triggers it | A health insurance premium you pay | A dependant with a certified disability | Actual cost of treating a listed disease |
| The amount | Premium paid, capped ₹25,000 or ₹50,000 per bucket | A fixed amount set by disability severity, whatever you spend | Actual spend, capped ₹40,000 or ₹1,00,000 for a senior patient |
| Must the person depend on you? | No, parents qualify either way | Yes, the person is a dependant | Self, or a dependent spouse, child, parent or sibling |
| Proof | Insurer's premium receipt | Disability certificate from a medical authority | Specialist's prescription for the disease |
| Regime | Old regime only | Old regime only | Old regime only |
The Section 126, 127 and 128 numbers are cross-checked against published copies of the enacted Act; the Section 127 amounts and certificate carry over from the old Section 80DD.†
What proof does the claim need?
A prescription from the right specialist, and nothing filed with the return. Section 128(2) requires a prescription from a neurologist, oncologist, urologist, haematologist, immunologist or other prescribed specialist, matched to the disease group above. Keep it, along with the bills and the payment trail; the department can ask for them later.
Two old hurdles are gone. Since 2015 you no longer need a certificate from a government hospital: treatment at a private hospital qualifies, and only the specialist's prescription is required. The old Form 10-I was scrapped with it. The prescription itself must carry the patient's name and age, the disease, and the specialist's name, address, registration number and qualification; where treatment is in a government hospital, the hospital's name and address too.
Pay through the bank. Nothing in the section forces electronic payment the way the health-insurance rule does, but a card, UPI or bank trail for hospital and pharmacy bills is what turns a prescription into a defensible claim. Salaried claimants should hand the prescription and bills to their employer with Form 12BB so the deduction lands in TDS rather than waiting for a refund.
Is Section 128 available under the new regime?
No. Section 128 is a Chapter VIII deduction, and the default new regime under Section 202 gives up the whole Chapter VIII basket. On the new regime a ₹1,00,000 cancer-treatment bill for a senior parent deducts nothing.
The illness itself is regime-neutral: the treatment, the specialist and the insurance all work the same way whichever regime you file under. Only the deduction disappears. For a household carrying heavy medical costs this is one of the deductions that, stacked with the investment basket (Section 123), health premiums (Section 126) and home-loan interest (Section 22), can tip the regime choice back to the old regime.
How should you plan a Section 128 claim?
The deduction rewards a few deliberate moves, not generic advice:
- Get the specialist prescription in the same tax year you claim, and get it from the exact specialist Rule 11DD names for that disease. A general physician's letter for a cancer or neurological claim is the commonest reason a genuine bill is disallowed.
- Track the patient's age, not your own. If a dependent parent turns 60 at any point in the year, the whole year's eligible spend gets the ₹1,00,000 cap instead of ₹40,000, which at the 30% slab is the difference between ₹12,480 and ₹31,200 of tax saved.
- Cap first, then net the reimbursement. If a ₹1,40,000 senior treatment draws ₹60,000 from a health policy, the ₹1,40,000 is first held to the ₹1,00,000 cap, and the ₹60,000 comes off that, leaving a ₹40,000 deduction worth ₹12,480 at the 30% slab. Claiming the gross ₹1,40,000, or netting to ₹80,000 before the cap, invites a correction.
- Route every bill through the bank and keep the prescription with them. Reconstructing a cash pharmacy trail months later is where claims fall apart.
- If your family is carrying a serious illness, weigh the regime as a whole. A large Section 128 claim only counts on the old regime, so run it alongside your 80C basket, health premium and home-loan interest before locking the regime for the year.
Worked examples
Dependent spouse under 60, part met by insurance
Sunil is on the old regime at the 20% slab. His wife, 52 and dependent on him, is treated for a specified neurological disease. He pays ₹65,000 during the tax year, and his employer's group health cover reimburses ₹30,000. He holds the neurologist's prescription.
| Amount actually paid in the year | ₹65,000 |
| Cap for a patient under 60 | ₹40,000 |
| Lower of actual spend or cap | ₹40,000 |
| Insurance or employer reimbursement | − ₹30,000 |
| Deduction allowed | ₹10,000 |
| Tax saved at the 20% slab, with cess | ₹2,080 |
The cap bites before the reimbursement, not after: the ₹65,000 spend is first held to the ₹40,000 cap, then the ₹30,000 reimbursement comes off that, leaving ₹10,000.
Senior-citizen parent, cost above the senior cap
Anjali is on the old regime at the 30% slab. Her father, 68 and dependent on her, needs long-term dialysis for chronic renal failure. She pays ₹1,45,000 across the year with no insurance, and holds the nephrologist's prescription.
| Amount actually paid in the year | ₹1,45,000 |
| Cap for a senior-citizen patient (60 or older) | ₹1,00,000 |
| Lower of actual spend or cap | ₹1,00,000 |
| Insurance or employer reimbursement | − ₹0 |
| Deduction allowed | ₹1,00,000 |
| Tax saved at the 30% slab, with cess | ₹31,200 |
Because the patient is a senior citizen the cap is ₹1,00,000, not ₹40,000, but the ₹45,000 spent above it earns nothing this year.
Small actual spend, well below the cap
Rohan is on the old regime at the 30% slab and is treated for a specified haematological disorder (thalassaemia). His bills for the year come to ₹18,000, with a valid haematologist's prescription and no reimbursement. He assumes he can claim the full ₹40,000.
| Amount actually paid in the year | ₹18,000 |
| Cap for a patient under 60 | ₹40,000 |
| Deduction allowed (lower of the two) | ₹18,000 |
| Tax saved at the 30% slab, with cess | ₹5,616 |
Section 128 deducts what you actually spent, not a flat ₹40,000: ₹18,000 of bills means an ₹18,000 deduction, however high the cap sits.
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 128 FAQs
Is the 80DDB / Section 128 deduction a flat ₹40,000 or based on actual expenses?
Based on actual expenses. You deduct the lower of what you actually spent in the year or the cap, then subtract any reimbursement. If your bills come to ₹18,000 with no reimbursement, the deduction is ₹18,000, not ₹40,000. The ₹40,000 and ₹1,00,000 figures are ceilings, not fixed amounts.
What is the Section 128 limit for senior citizens?
₹1,00,000, where the patient is a senior citizen (aged 60 or older at any time in the tax year). The higher cap depends on the age of the person treated, not the age of the taxpayer claiming it. For a patient under 60 the cap is ₹40,000.
Can I claim Section 128 for my parents?
Yes, if the parent is wholly or mainly dependent on you. Unlike the health insurance deduction (Section 126), where parents qualify whether or not they depend on you, Section 128 covers a parent only as a dependant. A financially independent parent's treatment does not qualify in your return.
Do I still need a certificate from a government hospital?
No. That requirement was removed in 2015 and the old Form 10-I was scrapped. Treatment at a private hospital qualifies, and all you need is a prescription from the specialist Rule 11DD names for the disease, carrying the patient's details and the specialist's name, qualification and registration number.
Does insurance or employer reimbursement reduce my claim?
Yes, but in the right order: the cap applies first, then the reimbursement comes off. Take a senior parent you pay ₹90,000 on and get ₹50,000 back for. The ₹90,000 sits inside the ₹1,00,000 senior cap, so ₹90,000 less the ₹50,000 leaves a ₹40,000 deduction. Had the patient been under 60, the ₹90,000 would first be held to the ₹40,000 cap and the ₹50,000 reimbursement would wipe out the deduction entirely, leaving nil.
Is diabetes, hypertension or a heart procedure covered under Section 128?
No. Section 128 covers only the diseases named in Rule 11DD: certain neurological conditions with 40% disability, malignant cancers, full-blown AIDS, chronic renal failure and specified blood disorders. Diabetes, hypertension and routine cardiac care are outside it, though a resulting condition such as chronic renal failure can qualify on its own.
Which doctor's prescription do I need?
The specialist matched to the disease: a neurologist for neurological diseases, an oncologist for cancers, a nephrologist or urologist for chronic renal failure, a haematologist for blood disorders, and a specialist with a postgraduate degree in general or internal medicine for AIDS. A general physician's prescription for a listed disease is not enough.
Can I claim Section 128 under the new tax regime?
No. It is a Chapter VIII deduction available only on the old regime. On the default new regime under Section 202 the deduction is nil, whatever you spent. A large medical claim is one of the items that can make opting out to the old regime worthwhile.