Income-tax Act, 2025 | Section 128

Section 128 - Deduction in respect of medical treatment, etc

A resident individual or HUF can deduct actual qualifying medical-treatment expenditure for specified diseases, capped at ₹40,000, increased to ₹1 lakh where the patient is a senior citizen. Reimbursements reduce the claim.

Reviewed by CA Nikhil Gupta · Updated 9 October 2026

Section 128: operativeEffective 1 April 2026Tax Year 2026-27 onwardLegally reviewed 8 October 2026

Current-law control

This page uses the consolidated Income-tax Act, 2025 as amended by the Finance Act, 2026. The Act and Income-tax Rules, 2026 operate from 1 April 2026. Earlier years and saved proceedings remain subject to the repeal-and-savings framework.

Primary statute: Income Tax Department consolidated Act | Rules: Notified Income-tax Rules, 2026

2-minute decode

Who should use this section

Individuals/HUFs or other persons falling within the eligibility wording of this personal-payment deduction; status and payment conditions must be checked for the tax year This applicability note is specific to section 128.

Old-law bridge

1961 Act section 80DDB

The bridge is navigational only. A 1961 Act case or rule is carried forward only after checking wording, transition provisions and the current 2025 Act text.

Professional alert

Exception / professional alert A general medical bill is not enough. Obtain the specialist prescription required by Rule 62 and preserve reimbursement evidence.

Connected Income-tax Rules, 2026 and Forms

Rule	Current control	Form
Rule 62	Prescription for specified diseases and ailments	No standalone form mapped

Worked application

A resident pays ₹1.30 lakh for treatment of a senior-citizen dependant for a Rule 62 disease and receives ₹20,000 insurance reimbursement. The net eligible spend is ₹1.10 lakh, but the statutory cap is ₹1 lakh.

Evidence / compliance checklist

For section 128, retain proof of payment and the instrument/recipient document that establishes statutory eligibility.
Match beneficiary, ownership/residency/status conditions to the text for the relevant tax year (section 128: Deduction in respect of medical treatment, etc.).
Preserve certificate/approval/registration details where the deduction depends on an approved institution or authority (section 128: Deduction in respect of medical treatment, etc.).
Keep a computation showing the statutory ceiling, qualifying base and any cash/payment-mode restriction (section 128: Deduction in respect of medical treatment, etc.).

Common mistake

Claiming section 128 from a payment receipt alone without testing the statutory ceiling, recipient/instrument eligibility, payment mode and required certificate.

Recommended approach

For section 128, fix the governing tax year, identify the operative sub-section for “Deduction in respect of medical treatment, etc.”, trace every amount to evidence, apply only verified Rule/Form links, and retain a computation that another reviewer can reproduce from the primary source.

Thresholds, periods and timing checkpoints

amount actually paid during the tax year or a sum of ₹ 40000, whichever is
less, from income chargeable to tax of that tax year, for the medical treatment of
“₹ 100000” for “₹ 40000”.

Judicial / interpretive bridge

No section-specific Supreme Court bridge is included for section 128 unless text-equivalence with the 2025 Act has been checked. Legacy cases should not be transplanted into section 128 merely because the subject is similar.

Related provisions

Current statutory text

128. (1) An assessee who is resident in India, shall be allowed a deduction of the amount actually paid during the tax year or a sum of ₹ 40000, whichever is less, from income chargeable to tax of that tax year, for the medical treatment of such disease or ailment as may be prescribed— (a) for himself or a dependant, in case the assessee is an individual; or (b) for any member of a Hindu undivided family, in case the assessee is a Hindu undivided family. (2) A deduction shall be allowed under this section only if the assessee obtains the prescription for the medical treatment from a neurologist, oncologist, urologist, haematologist, immunologist, or any other specialist, as may be prescribed. (3) The deduction under this section shall be reduced by any amount received under an insurance from an insurer, or reimbursed by an employer, for the medical treatment of the person as referred to in sub-section (1)(a) or (b). (4) If the amount actually paid is in respect of the assessee or his dependant or any member of a Hindu undivided family of the assessee and who is senior citizen, the amount of deduction as referred to in sub-section (1) shall be substituted with “₹ 100000” for “₹ 40000”. (5) For the purposes of this section,— (a) “dependant” shall have the meaning as assigned to it in section 127(9); (b) “insurer” shall have the meaning assigned to it in section 2(9) of the Insurance Act, 1938 (4 of 1938).

Primary-source trail

FAQs

What does section 128 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 cover?

Section 128 covers deduction in respect of medical treatment, etc.. The operative result depends on the exact statutory conditions shown on this page and applies from 1 April 2026, subject to transition/savings provisions.

Section 128 - Deduction in respect of medical treatment, etc

Current-law control

2-minute decode

Who should use this section

Old-law bridge

Professional alert

Connected Income-tax Rules, 2026 and Forms

Worked application

Evidence / compliance checklist

Common mistake

Recommended approach

Thresholds, periods and timing checkpoints

Judicial / interpretive bridge

Related provisions

Current statutory text

Primary-source trail

FAQs

What does section 128 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 cover?

Who should check section 128?

Are there specific Rules or Forms for section 128?

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