Claiming tax deduction on Family Health Insurance covering parents in India

Question

I am going to buy a health insurance policy in India. I am single, salaried and 24 years old. And I want to include my parents(both 50 yrs) too in the health insurance. I have the following queries:

• In almost all the policies, there can be at most 2 adults and their children. Now if I want to have all three of us in the same policy, then I think that I would be insured as a dependable child and my parents as adults. But then can a dependable child be the proposer, ie. can I get tax deduction on this health insurance policy. If not, then how is it possible to get a tax deduction on a policy covering three of us?
• As per section 80D, an individual can get a deduction of upto Rs. 25000 for self(+ spouse and children) and another deduction of upto Rs. 25000 for parents. But I couldn't find anywhere that if my parents and I are included in the same policy, will I get a deduction of upto Rs. 50000. For eg., suppose the premium of our policy(covering both my parents and me) is Rs. 34000, will I get the tax deduction on the whole amount of 34000. But while submitting investment proofs at year-end, there are separate sections for deductions for self and parents, so how can I claim a deduction on the whole health insurance amount? Or how can I break the total amount for claiming deduction for self and parents?

Please advise.

Answer 1

You can claim 34k or any amount up to 50k for your purpose.

There is no requirement under section 80D that the assesee should be the proposer. The health insurance premium should be paid out of your taxable income for you to claim deduction. There is no requirement under sub sections (a) and (b) that they should be separate policies.

The single proof is sufficient for the deduction under both sections as long as the total amount claimed is covered by the proof.

Alternatively, You can negotiate with the insurer for one policy for you and a supplement for parents ( or vice versa) as well a two separate receipts for the total amount paid.