Getting health insurance is a smart way to take care of your medical bills during an emergency, without having to suffer any financial setback. All you need to do is pay a certain amount towards the medical insurance premium every year, to keep your policy active.
And to make things easier, Section 80D of the Income Tax Act 1961 allows tax deductions of up to INR 25000 for policyholders below 60 years of age. Senior citizens can avail tax benefits of up to INR 50000 every financial year.
Besides this, individuals or policyholders can enjoy tax deductions of up to INR 5000 on preventive health check-ups. As per the law, you can claim tax deductions on the money spent towards preventive health check-ups even if you are not covered under health insurance.
However, the total tax deductions that you can enjoy on health insurance premium and preventive health check-up bills is up to INR 25000/INR 50000 annually.
What is preventive healthcare?
Preventive healthcare involves preventive measures that you can take to keep different diseases at bay. This includes taking flu shots and immunizations and opting for blood tests, cancer screening, blood pressure and cholesterol monitoring, diabetes tests, HIV tests and more.
Preventive healthcare is particularly important after the age of 40 when the chances of suffering from different health conditions are high. It is also important for those with a family history of certain diseases, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer.
Many medical insurance plans offer complimentary preventive health check-ups for policyholders at the time of policy renewal.
If your insurer does not offer this facility, you can purchase a preventive healthcare package at an affordable premium. Some preventive healthcare packages available in the market are:
List of Preventive Healthcare Packages:
There are various age-specific, gender-specific and disease-specific Preventive Healthcare Packages that you can choose from.
Family Package: An entire family can enjoy the benefits of full-body check-ups, dietary,ophthalmic and dental consultations. Some hospitals also offer customized packages for men and women.
Cardiac Package: This package has been designed to identify the risk of heart attacks or strokesand other cardiovascular accidents and provide corrective consultations.
Diabetes Package: Diabetic patients can avail Diabetes plans to keep their vital organs in theregular check-up and avoid complications.
Cancer Package: For early cancer screening and future risk assessment.
Paediatric Package: Healthcare plans for children up to thirteen years are available and include arange of Paediatric, Ophthalmic, Dental, and general check-ups.
Fertility Check-up: Couples who are struggling to conceive can go for fertility check-ups andreceive expert consultations.
Dental Package: Dental Packages outside the regular check-up plans are increasingly becomingpopular in many hospitals and dental clinics.
What are the benefits and important factors of preventive health check-ups?
Here’s a look at the benefits of opting for preventive health check-ups:
1. Early detection of diseases:
Preventive health check-ups help in the early detection of health conditions and their timely treatment. This helps increase the chances of cure and survival.
2. Reduces the risk of complications:
Timely detection and treatment also alleviate the risk of complications that may arise when a disease is in an advanced stage.
3. Reduces healthcare costs:
The cost of treating a disease in the early stages is much lower. Preventive health check-ups also reduce the chances of costly emergency treatments.
4. Helps identify potential conditions:
Preventive health check-ups help detect signs of potential health conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and more. Thus, you can make necessary changes to your lifestyle or opt for certain treatments to prevent the condition from worsening.
Who can claim a deduction for preventive health check-ups under Section 80D?
Under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, individuals who undergo preventive health check-ups can enjoy tax deductions of up to INR 5000 per financial year. You can also avail tax benefits on the amount spent on preventive health check-ups for your spouse, children and parents. Hence, people eligible for preventive health check-up under Section 80D should definitely file for a claim.
What is the maximum amount that can be claimed?
You can claim a maximum amount of INR 5000 per financial year against preventive health check-ups. This deduction can be claimed by you as well as your spouse, children and parents. So, if you or your loved ones undergo preventive health check-ups that amount to INR 10000, you will be eligible for tax deductions of INR 5000 at the time of filing IT returns. This deduction can beclaimed even if you have paid the bills through cash, unlike for health insurance policies that require policyholders to pay premiums through organized banking channels to avail tax benefits.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you can enjoy a maximum tax deduction of up to INR 25000/50000 jointly on your medical insurance premium and preventive health check-up bills. For instance, if you are 40 years old, you can claim a maximum tax deduction of INR 25000.Say you paid a premium of INR 22000 towards your health insurance policy and spent INR 6000 on preventive health check-ups during the same financial year. Since you can claim a maximum deduction of INR 25000 only, the tax deduction towards preventive health check-ups will be INR 3000 (25000-22000 = 3000).
Conclusion
Opting for preventive health check-ups is one of the wisest things you can do for yourself and your family. These preventive tests help detect health conditions at an early stage, making their treatment easier, quicker and economical. If your MEDICAL INSURANCE policy includes free preventive health check-ups, you can easily avail this facility during policy renewal. In case your health plan does not include preventive health check-ups, or you don’t have health insurance, you can take a suitable preventive health check-up package for yourself and your loved ones. Besides good health, you can also enjoy tax deductions and save some money this way.
Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.
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