Medical Oncologist
Tax benefits for cancer treatment
Section 80DDB and — Tax Deductions for Cancer Treatment
If you or a family member is being treated for cancer, the Income Tax Act gives you a specific deduction for treatment expenses. Section 80DDB reduces your taxable income — and therefore your tax bill — by what you actually spent, up to the legal ceiling.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla, Medical Oncologist, MBBS · MD · DM (Adyar, Chennai) · ECMO · MRCP SCE (UK) · Last reviewed August 2026
- Applies to dependants too — You can claim for treatment costs you paid for a spouse, child, parent or sibling who is financially dependent on you.
- Two limits by age — The ceiling is lower for patients below 60 and higher for senior citizens — the Income Tax Act sets both.
- Reduced by insurance payouts — If your insurer or employer reimburses part of the cost, only the unrecovered balance qualifies for deduction.
- Old tax regime only — This deduction is not available if you have opted into the new tax regime under Section 115BAC.
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Section 80DDB of the Income Tax Act lets you deduct cancer treatment expenses from your taxable income. The limit is ₹40,000 if you or the patient is below 60, and ₹1 lakh for senior citizens aged 60 and above. You need a certificate from your specialist oncologist and original payment receipts to claim it.
How much can you save under Section 80DDB?
| Patient below 60 | Patient aged 60 or above | |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum deduction allowed | ₹40,000 | ₹1,00,000 |
| Indicative saving in 20% slab | around ₹8,000 | around ₹20,000 |
| Indicative saving in 30% slab | around ₹12,000 | around ₹30,000 |
| Amount deducted from claim | Whatever your insurer or employer repaid | Whatever your insurer or employer repaid |
How to claim the Section 80DDB deduction
Get a certificate from your oncologist
Ask your treating oncologist for a written certificate confirming your diagnosis and that treatment is being given for a specified disease under Rule 11DD. This replaces the older Form 10-I. It should carry the doctor's name, qualification, registration number, and hospital name. CION oncologists can provide this.
Collect all payment receipts
Keep original bills and receipts for every hospital payment, pharmacy purchase, and consultation fee directly related to cancer treatment paid during that financial year.
Calculate what you actually paid out of pocket
Check your insurance settlement letters and any employer medical benefit statements. Subtract every rupee reimbursed from your total spend. The deductible amount is your net out-of-pocket cost, capped at the legal ceiling for your age.
Claim under Chapter VI-A when filing your ITR
Enter the eligible amount in the 80DDB row under Schedule VI-A deductions in your Income Tax Return. Use ITR-1 or ITR-2 as applicable to your income sources.
Store documents for six years
Do not attach the certificate or receipts to your return, but keep them safely. The assessing officer can request them within six years of the relevant assessment year.
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Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla
MBBS, MD(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Adyar,Chennai), ECMO, MRCP SCE(UK)
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Dr. Owais Mohammed
MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DrNB (Medical Oncology), ECMO, MRCP SCE (Medical Oncology) (UK)
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How does 80DDB compare with other health-related deductions?
| Feature | Section 80DDB | Section 80D | Section 80DD |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it covers | Treatment expenses for specified diseases including cancer | Health insurance premiums and preventive health check-ups | Treatment or care of a dependant with a recognised disability |
| Annual limit | ₹40,000 or ₹1 lakh depending on patient's age | Up to ₹25,000; up to ₹50,000 if the insured is a senior citizen | ₹75,000 or ₹1.25 lakh depending on severity of disability |
| Certificate required? | Yes — from a specialist oncologist or relevant doctor | No | Yes — disability certificate from a competent government authority |
| Can you claim both? | Yes — 80DDB and 80D can be claimed in the same year if conditions for each are met | Yes — alongside 80DDB if premiums were also paid | Yes — if the dependant qualifies separately under disability criteria |
| Available in new tax regime? | No | No | No |
Did you know?
Cancer treatment in India regularly runs into several lakhs of rupees over a single financial year, yet a significant proportion of eligible families do not claim the Section 80DDB deduction at all.
A family in the 30% tax bracket treating a senior citizen parent could reduce their tax bill by around ₹30,000 in a single year — by asking their oncologist for a certificate and filing one additional row in their ITR.
Source: Income Tax Act 1961, Section 80DDB; Finance Act 2018
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Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Which family members can I claim 80DDB for?
You can claim for treatment costs you paid for yourself, your spouse, your children, your parents, or your siblings — provided they are financially dependent on you. In-laws are not covered unless genuine financial dependence can be demonstrated. The test is who actually paid the bills, not whether the family member lives with you. Ask a chartered accountant if you are uncertain about a particular relationship before you file.
What should the certificate from my oncologist include?
The certificate should be on the doctor's letterhead and confirm the diagnosis, that it falls under the specified diseases list in Rule 11DD (which includes malignant cancers), and that the patient is under active treatment. It must carry the doctor's name, qualification, registration number with the Medical Council, and the name of the hospital. There is no longer a mandatory prescribed form — the 2015 amendment to the rules replaced Form 10-I with a certificate in the doctor's own format, provided it contains this information.
Does claiming 80DDB affect my health insurance claim?
No. A tax deduction and an insurance claim are separate processes. The only interaction is in calculating your deductible amount: if your insurer repaid a portion of the bill, you subtract that amount before applying the 80DDB ceiling. Your tax deduction does not reduce your insurance entitlement or affect your premium in any way.
I have opted into the new tax regime. Can I still claim 80DDB?
No. Under the new tax regime under Section 115BAC, most Chapter VI-A deductions including 80DDB are not available for that financial year. If 80DDB is material to you — for instance, if treatment costs were high — it may be worth asking a chartered accountant to compare your total tax under both regimes before you file, since the choice can be revisited each year.
Does it matter whether treatment was in a government or private hospital?
No. The deduction is available for treatment in any recognised hospital — government or private. What matters is that the treating doctor is a qualified specialist in the relevant field and is registered with the Medical Council of India or the relevant state council. CION oncologists meet this requirement and can provide the certificate you need.
What can a CION financial counsellor help with?
A CION financial counsellor can help you identify which treatment bills may be eligible under 80DDB, guide you on requesting the right certificate from your treating oncologist, and point you toward other financial support — including state government health schemes, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, and drug access programmes. They do not file your taxes, but they can ensure you have the correct documents before you sit down with a chartered accountant.