Income Tax Exemptions For Senior Citizens: Income tax is a portion of your income that you have to share with the government for fulfilling various needs of the country. The tax rate varies from person to person based on his or her income and the exemption available to him or her. This apart, there are also exemptions available to senior citizens, those who are 60 years or above.
Section 80D of Income Tax Act
One can avail of tax benefits against the cost incurred to purchase health or critical illness insurance. The tax benefit of up to Rs 25,000 is, however, available not only for a health insurance plan for self but also premium paid for the policy to cover a spouse, dependent children or parents.
Under this benefit, if one or both parents are above 60 years of age or senior citizens, the maximum tax deduction allowed is Rs 50,000.
Every individual or HUF can claim a deduction from their total income for medical insurance premiums paid in any given year under Section 80D. This deduction is also available for top-up health plans and critical illness plans.
If senior citizen pays a premium for themselves and their family members including parents i.e. all above 60 years of age, they are eligible to claim up to Rs 1 lakh.
“Similarly, Section 80D also allows the policyholder to claim tax benefits for preventive health check-ups of Rs 5,000 i.e. inclusive in this limit of Rs 25,000 or Rs 50,000,” said Siddharth Singhal, business head (health insurance) at Policybazaar.com, told livemint.
According to livemint, Clear founder and CEO Archit Gupta said, “Senior citizens enjoy all the tax benefits available to non-senior taxpayers. Additionally, where senior citizens opt for the old regime, they can get a higher basic exemption limit, Rs 3 lakh for those between 60-80 years of age, and Rs 5 lakh for those above 80 years of age.”
Though there is no separate income tax slab for senior citizens, these tax benefits are available for them to reduce tax liability.
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