Disability Deduction under Section 154: Fixed Amounts, Form 30 and Certificate Reassessment

Direct answer: Section 154 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 allows a qualifying resident individual a fixed ₹75,000 deduction for their own disability, or ₹1,25,000 for severe disability, subject to certification and the applicable tax regime. It is not a reimbursement limited to medical bills. The deduction is unavailable under the default section 202 regime.

Law and forms checked on 22 October 2026 for tax year 2026–27. Read section 154 with the definitions incorporated from section 127, the section 202 regime restrictions and the prescribed certificate requirements. The old section 80U label belongs to the 1961 Act; do not confuse current section 154 with the old Act’s rectification provision.

Confirm the claimant and certified statutory category

This is the individual’s own-disability deduction. An HUF cannot claim it merely because a member has a disability, and a non-resident individual does not satisfy its residence condition. A family member maintaining a dependant must assess section 127 instead, including its separate conditions and exclusion where that dependant claims section 154.

The definitions are specific. The percentage-based limb incorporates the medical-authority-certified statutory definition, including the not-less-than-40% threshold; the severe category includes the stated 80%-or-more limb. Section 127 also incorporates National Trust Act categories. Do not reduce every qualifying category to one percentage test or diagnose eligibility from a description of symptoms. The authorised medical assessment and the applicable statutory limb control.

Use the statutory amount rather than a spending percentage

After eligibility is established, section 154 states the amount corresponding to the certified category. Medical expenditure of a smaller amount does not itself reduce that statutory amount, and a larger hospital bill does not enlarge it. Keep the section 154 claim separate from health insurance or specified-disease expense provisions; the same factual condition does not make their eligibility rules interchangeable.

Check the overall deduction computation and available income independently. The illustrations below assume adequate eligible income and no competing overall restriction unless specified. They compute deduction inputs, not tax payable or cash tax saved. A comparison of regimes requires the entire return computation rather than multiplying the deduction by an assumed flat rate.

Form 30 and medical evidence for the current rules

The department’s Form 30 under Rule 61 identifies the taxpayer and tax year, medical certificate and patient, disability category, condition and reassessment details. It is the current form reference shown for the specified certification purposes under sections 127 and 154. Rule 61(2)(a) prescribes Form 30 for disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy and multiple disability; Rule 61(2)(b) specifies the prescribed medical-certificate route for other cases. Verify the route for the actual disability; an old form number or a general hospital invoice should not be substituted without checking applicability.

The official Form 30 guidance note maps Form 10-IA to Form 30 and describes the supporting medical-authority verification. Its general description also discusses dependant claims, so distinguish that procedural guidance from the wording of the self-disability deduction in section 154. Retain the medical authority’s signed evidence and the filing acknowledgement with the claim; do not invent an upload or e-verification step from memory if the portal implementation differs.

Track reassessment expiry by tax year

If the certificate stipulates reassessment and expires, section 154 restricts deduction for a tax year succeeding the tax year of expiry unless a fresh certificate is obtained and furnished as prescribed. Record the expiry date and its tax year. Do not simply mark every certificate permanent, or renew a spreadsheet date while leaving the medical evidence unchanged.

Form 30 separately records whether reassessment is recommended; its notes address specified progressive or not-likely-to-improve conditions. That does not authorise an accountant to change a medical conclusion. Use the certificate’s actual terms and applicable rules, and obtain the required medical reassessment where the claim depends on it.

Regime and family double-claim controls

Section 202 excludes Chapter VIII deductions except its specified exceptions; section 154 is not one of them. A valid option for the other regime is therefore a distinct gate. Also cross-check whether anyone proposes a section 127 deduction for maintaining the same person in the same tax year: section 127 excludes a dependant who has claimed section 154.

The seven examples are fictional certification and return-review scenarios, not medical advice. Percentage examples expressly use the percentage-based statutory limb and assume a competent medical authority has certified the stated category. All permitted claims assume the prescribed evidence and an eligible alternative-regime computation.

Worked illustrations

These illustrations use fictional facts and expressly stated assumptions. Amounts are Indian rupees unless a different currency or unit is specified. They are independent examples, not findings about any actual client.

Illustrative example 1: A fixed deduction can exceed actual medical spending

A resident individual is properly certified as a qualifying person with disability under the percentage-based limb at 40%. Current medical spending is ₹20,000. Subject to all other conditions, section 154 deduction is ₹75,000, which exceeds that spending by ₹55,000. It is not restricted to ₹20,000 merely because those are the bills retained.

Illustrative example 2: Do not round 79% into severe disability

An otherwise eligible resident is certified at 79% under the percentage-based limb and is not certified under another severe-disability limb. The section 154 deduction is ₹75,000. At a properly certified 80% under that limb, the amount would be ₹1,25,000: a difference of ₹50,000. The taxpayer cannot round the medical percentage upward to claim the higher amount.

Illustrative example 3: Larger treatment bills do not enlarge the severe-category amount

A resident individual has a valid severe-disability certificate and incurs ₹2,00,000 medical expenditure. The section 154 amount is ₹1,25,000, not the entire ₹2,00,000. The difference is ₹75,000; any other provision must be assessed independently rather than added automatically under section 154.

Illustrative example 4: Residence is an independent gate

An individual has an otherwise valid severe-disability certificate but is non-resident for tax year 2026–27. Section 154 deduction is nil, rather than ₹1,25,000. The residence condition is not cured by Indian citizenship or by an Indian medical certificate.

Illustrative example 5: The default regime prevents the deduction

A resident severe-category claimant otherwise meets the certification conditions but remains in the default section 202 regime. Section 154 deduction is nil. A valid eligible alternative-regime computation would instead use ₹1,25,000, subject to the other conditions. That difference is a deduction comparison, not ₹1,25,000 of tax saved.

Illustrative example 6: An expired certificate affects the succeeding tax year

A reassessment certificate expired on 15 February 2026, within financial year 2025–26 under the Income-tax Act, 1961, and no fresh required certificate is obtained and furnished. It has already expired before tax year 2026–27 begins on 1 April 2026. The proposed ₹75,000 deduction for tax year 2026–27 is not allowed on that expired evidence. The earlier financial year remains governed by the Income-tax Act, 1961. Retain the dates and the renewed certificate if a later claim is made.

Illustrative example 7: Prevent a parent and child claiming incompatible deductions

A qualifying adult child claims ₹75,000 under section 154 for their own disability. A parent also proposes ₹75,000 under section 127 for maintaining that same child in the same tax year. Section 127’s dependant exclusion prevents that second claim. The proposed combined ₹1,50,000 becomes ₹75,000 on these stated facts, assuming the child’s own claim is otherwise valid.

Ten-step verification table

Step	Verification	Evidence to retain
1	Identify self-disability rather than a dependant-maintenance claim.	Claimant PAN and provision-specific fact sheet.
2	Confirm Indian residence for the relevant tax year.	Residence calculation and travel records.
3	Check the applicable tax regime and any valid option.	Section 202 conclusion and complete comparative computations.
4	Identify the applicable statutory disability category.	Medical-authority certificate and definition analysis.
5	Verify the competent certification route and prescribed form.	Current certificate, Form 30 where applicable and rules reference.
6	Record certificate validity and reassessment requirements.	Certificate dates and renewal calendar.
7	Check successor-year restrictions where a certificate expired.	Tax-year mapping and fresh medical evidence.
8	Use the statutory category amount and check overall computation limits.	Deduction working; no substitution of medical bills for the fixed amount.
9	Reconcile family claims for the same person.	Section 127/154 cross-check and claimant declarations.
10	Retain filing evidence with the final return computation.	Prescribed supporting evidence, acknowledgements and signed-off working.

Sixteen practitioner FAQs

1. Is this the old rectification section 154?

No. This article addresses the own-disability deduction in the Income-tax Act, 2025. Identify the Act and period before using a section number.

2. Can an HUF claim its member’s own-disability deduction?

Section 154 is for a resident individual. A dependant-maintenance claim under section 127 requires its separate analysis.

3. Does Indian citizenship establish eligibility for a non-resident?

No. Residence in India is an express condition of section 154.

4. Is the ordinary deduction limited to medical bills?

The section states a fixed amount for a qualifying certified category; it is not simply reimbursement of actual treatment cost.

5. Can medical bills increase the statutory amount?

No automatic increase follows from higher expenditure. Assess other provisions separately on their own conditions.

6. Does 79% automatically count as severe disability?

Not under the stated 80%-or-more percentage limb. Do not round medical findings or ignore other statutory category definitions.

7. Do all disability categories use one numerical threshold?

No. Section 127 incorporates more than one statutory definition. Match the medical certification to the relevant limb.

8. What form reference applies under the 2026 rules?

The department publishes Form 30 under Rule 61 for the specified certification purposes of sections 127 and 154. Verify applicability to the actual certificate route.

9. Can a general medical invoice replace certification?

No. Spending evidence does not establish the required medical-authority certification.

10. Does the accountant decide whether reassessment is unnecessary?

No. Follow the medical certificate and applicable prescribed requirements.

11. What if the certificate expires during an earlier tax year?

The succeeding-year restriction applies unless the required fresh certificate is obtained and furnished.

12. Is every certificate required to be renewed annually?

Do not assume that. Check its stated reassessment terms and the prescribed certification requirements.

13. Can the default section 202 regime use section 154?

No. Section 154 is outside that regime’s permitted Chapter VIII exceptions.

14. Can a parent also claim section 127 for the same person who claims section 154?

Section 127 excludes a dependant who has claimed section 154 for that tax year. Cross-check the family’s proposed claims.

15. Does Form 30 guidance replace the substantive Act?

No. Use the Act for eligibility and the fixed self-disability deduction, with the applicable rules and form for certification procedure.

16. Is ₹1,25,000 the tax refund for severe disability?

No. It is the statutory deduction amount when eligible. The actual tax result depends on the complete computation.

Working-paper organisation

Keep the source documents, calculation and final conclusion together for the same entity and period. If using assureTax or other assureOffice tools, use only confirmed available functions and retain this evidence with the output.

Conclusion

Establish residence, regime and valid medical classification before using the fixed amount. Keep certificate expiry and incompatible family claims visible in the return-review file.