section 80U

As per section 80U, If an individual is certified by the medical authority to be a person with a disability or disease then he/she is eligible to claim the tax deduction during the financial year. As prescribed in the income tax act1961, An individual must obtain a certificate to avail of the tax deduction and benefits under section 80U. This article is focused on section 80U.

There are several disabilities mentioned in section 80U for individuals to avail of the tax deductions under section 80U. Some of the major disabilities are given below-
Blindness - This is a condition when an individual can not see anything because of the absence of sight. Those individuals have limited vision eyesight of 20 angles. These individuals are eligible to avail the tax benefits.
Locomotor disability - This is a disability that restricts movements of the body’s parts and any form of cerebral palsy because of the inability of bones and joints muscle.
Leprosy-cured - Those individuals who have recovered from this disease but due to the present effects, they are still going through it such as losing eyesight functioning, and hands movements along with feet can avail of the tax deductions under 80U.
Hearing impairment - Individual who suffers from are unable to hear the sound/frequencies of more than 60 decibels. These individuals fall under the category of section 80U.
Mental retardation - Individuals who have limited or incomplete mental development are considered under this disability.
Mental illness - Mental illness means a disorder related to mental health except for mental retardation.
Low vision - An individual with low vision who has impairment of visual functioning even after treatment or standard refractive modification but who uses or is capable of using eyesight to plan or execute a task with an appropriate device or gadget.

Under section 80U individual is certified by the medical authority to be a person with a disability or disease then he/she is eligible to claim the tax deduction during the financial year. The taxpayer should be going through at least 40% disabilities.

As per section 80U, It is mandatory to get a certified certificate of medical authority. A neurologist who is having a degree of Doctor of Medicine (MD) in Neurology (in the case of children, a Paediatric Neurologist has an equivalent degree) is A Civil Surgeon or Chief Medical Officer in a Government hospital.

• Section 80U does not instruct a taxpayer to include any medical bill or other proof to claim the tax deductions.
• The taxpayer should get a certified certificate in the Form-10-IA medical authority.
• A taxpayer needs to submit the as well as Form-10-IA income tax return.
• A non-resident individual is not allowed to avail of the tax benefits under section-80U.
• A taxpayer can claim the tax deduction while filing the income tax return. In layman's language, mention the eligible amount under the head ‘Deduction under Chapter VIA’ and section 80U.
• If an individual is eligible for a reassessment under section 80u because of the disability. During the financial year, the disease or disability must be applicable as per section 80u.

If an individual has a disability or disease less than 80% but more than 40% then he/she is allowed to claim the deduction of 75,000. If an individual has a disability or disease of 80% or more than 80% then he/she is allowed to claim the deduction of 1,25,000.

Once you get a certificate, Make sure to go through certain mandatory details that should be in the certificate. Following are the important details-

• Patient’s name and age
• Address
• Name of the parents
• Name of the disease or disability
• Registration number and address
• What kind of disability patience is suffering from (progressive/improvable/non-progressive)
• Signature of the patient
• Name of the hospital or institution