Medical Allowance, Medical Reimbursement and Mediclaim, all these sound similar and there is a common belief that they are just synonyms and have same provisions in Income Tax Act. Let us understand how they differ –

Medical Allowance

Medical Allowance is a fixed monthly allowance which forms a part of Salary. It is paid as a fixed amount which is determined as per the company’s policy where an individual is employed  and it has no relevance with the medical expenses incurred. Medical Allowance is added in taxable income under the head “Salaries” and it is fully taxable.

Medical Reimbursement

Medical Reimbursement is a reimbursement of medical expenses incurred by the employee. Employee claim this reimbursement by submitting bills, cash memos to employer and after verification employer reimburse the expenses upto a certain limit. This reimbursement is not pre-determined or fixed.  Medical Reimbursement upto Rs. 15000 p.a. is exempt from Income Tax. 

Difference between the two of them

Hence, both the Medical Allowance and Medical Reimbursement forms part of salary but Medical Allowance is just an allowance and is fully taxable whereas Medical Reimbursement is a perquisite and is exempt to a certain limit.

Mediclaim

Mediclaim usually refer to Medical Insurance Premium or Health Insurance Premium. In other words, the premium paid towards policy taken on the health of the self, spouse, parents or dependent children can be claimed as deduction u/s 80D. But, the payment should be made by any mode, other than in cash to claim the deduction.

Deduction up to Rs. 15000/- is allowed in case of self and dependent children, an additional deduction of Rs.15000/- is allowed for premium paid towards the medical insurance of parents, that is, a total deduction of Rs. 30000/- can be claimed towards medical insurance premium of self, children and parents.

Further, in case the premium is paid towards any senior citizen (above 65 years), an additional deduction of Rs. 5000/- shall be allowed, that is, in case of senior citizens the above limit of 15,000/- shall be upgraded to Rs. 20, 000/- .

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