Deduction under section 80U of Income Tax Act

The individual resident taxpayer, being a person with a disability, is eligible to avail deduction under section 80U of the Income Tax Act and the provisions attached with the same are taken up and explained in the current article.

Availability of Deduction under section 80U –

Deduction under section 80U is available to a resident Individual who is certified by the medical authority to be a person with a disability.

Understanding various important terms –

Explaining here under various important terms relevant for understanding provisions of section 80U –

1. Disability means –

a. Low vision;

b. Mental illness;

c. Blindness;

d. Loco motor disability;

e. Mental retardation;

f. Hearing impairment;

g. Leprosy cured;

h. Multiple disabilities;

i. Cerebral Palsy; and

j. Autism.

2. ‘Person with disability’ means a person suffering from not less than 40% of any disabilities.

3. ‘Person with severe disability’ means a person suffering with 80% or more of one or more disabilities.

Amount of deduction available under section 80U –

The maximum amount of deduction available under section 80U differs between ‘person with disability’ and ‘person with severe disability’, and the same is tabulated here under –

Differentiating section 80DD and Section 80U –

Both sections 80DD and 80U provide a deduction on the basis of disability or severe disability. The difference between the two section is that section 80DD provides a deduction to an individual in case any of the dependent family member (like a spouse, children, parents and siblings) is suffering from disability / severe disability. However, section 80U provides a deduction to an individual himself suffering from disability / severe disability.

Listing certain important points –

• The individual claiming deduction under section 80U is required to obtain a certificate from a medical authority in Form 10-IA.
• Following are the medical authorities from which certificate can be obtained –
  • A civil surgeon / a chief medical officer of a Government hospital.
  • A neurologist having a degree of Doctor of Medicine in Neurology.
  • A Pediatric Neurologist (in case of children).
• The certificate in Form 10-IA is to be submitted at the time of filing of return of income.
• In case the certificate of disability issued by the medical authority gets expired, deduction under section 80U will not be available for the respective previous year unless a new certificate is obtained.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) –

Q.1 What is Section 80u?

Ans: Section 80U of the Income Tax Act provides a deduction to an individual who is certified by the medical authority to be a person with a disability or person with a severe disability.

Q.2 What is the flat amount of deduction under section 80u?

Ans: In case the person is suffering with a disability, the maximum amount of deduction available in INR 75,000. Whereas, in case the person is suffering with severe disability, the maximum amount of deduction available in INR 1,25,000.

Q.3 Can I claim both 80dd and 80u?

Ans: Claiming deduction under section 80dd is possible when any dependent family member is suffering from a disability or severe disability, however, claiming deduction under section 80u is possible when the individual himself is suffering from a disability. Only in the case when both a dependent family member and an individual himself is suffering from a disability, claiming deduction under both section 80dd and 80u gets possible.

Q.4 What is the difference between 80dd and 80u?

Ans: Both section 80dd and 80u provide a deduction on the grounds of disability / severe disability. Section 80dd covers dependent family members, whereas, section 80u covers individual himself.

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