Section 80U of the Income Tax Act

Definition of a Person with Disability (PwD)

Persons with a disability, also abbreviated as PwD, are defined under the Persons with Disability (Protection of Rights, Full Participation and Equal Opportunities) Act, 1995.

• To qualify for an 80U deduction, you should have a disability as defined under the Income Tax Act 1961. 

• Definition: Any person suffering from at least 40% disability as certified by appropriate medical authorities is defined as a disability.

• Under the 80U Section, disability is mainly categorized into 7 types: 

  

  • Low Vision: Low vision is applicable to you if you have visual function impairment, which cannot be corrected by any surgery, but you still have the capability to use your vision via assistance from other devices.

  • Blindness: This disability is referred to as a complete field of limitation of vision or lack of sight by 20 degrees of angle or worse than this, or visual acuity not more than 6160 after the corrective lenses.

  • Hearing Impairment: You are certified as hearing impaired if you have a hearing power of not more than 60 decibels.

  • Leprosy Cured: You are called leprosy cured if you have been cured of leprosy, but your sensation in your hands or feet has been lost, and you have paresis in the eye or eyelid. In addition, you should have intense deformities that may obstruct the performance of any beneficial occupation.

  • Mental Retardation: You are declared mentally retarded if you have arrested development or incomplete development of mental abilities that results in subnormal levels of intelligence.

  • Loco Motor Disability: In this case, you may have strictly limited limb movement because of a disability of joint bones or muscles.

  • Mental Illness: Mental disorders other than mental retardation. 

Definition of Severe Disability

The law of the Government of India also defines severe disability other than disability. It is defined as the condition where you may suffer from 80% or more disabilities in the categories mentioned above. This severe disability also includes the following:

• Autism

• Cerebral palsy, and

• Multiple disabilities

You may also like: Section 80C Deduction of Income Tax act 1961

Tax Deduction under Section 80U

Documents Required to Claim Tax Benefits Under Section 80U of the Income Tax Act

Government employees and other taxpayers must submit the following document to register the claim with the 80U income tax:

• Disability certificate in Form 10-IA (issued by a recognized medical authority)

1. What is Form 10-IA?

   Form 10-IA is a medical certificate form that is used to certify the disability of a person for the purpose of claiming tax deductions under Section 80U. The certificate must be signed by a medical authority recognized by the Central Government.

2. What Constitutes the Medical Authority?

   The following authorities are allowed to issue a valid medical certificate for the purpose of Section 80U:

   • A civil surgeon

   • the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of a government hospital

   • a neurologist holding an MD in Neurology

   • a paediatric neurologist for children

Difference Between Section 80DD and Section 80U

The key differences between the Section 80U and Section 80DD are as follows: