Health insurance premium is claimed under section 80D today. Under the Income-tax Act, 2025 the same deduction is section 126, and the three related medical deductions renumber alongside it.
Quick answer: the mapping
| Income-tax Act, 1961 | Subject | Income-tax Act, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 80D | Health insurance premia and preventive health check-up | 126 |
| 80DD | Maintenance and medical treatment of a disabled dependant | 127 |
| 80DDB | Medical treatment of specified diseases | 128 |
| 80U | Deduction for a person with disability | 154 |
The Income-tax Act, 2025 received Presidential assent on 21 August 2025 and takes effect from 1 April 2026. The Income-tax Act, 1961 continues to govern every tax year up to 31 March 2026, and all assessments, appeals, penalties and prosecutions relating to those years are completed under the old Act by virtue of the repeal and savings provision in section 536. The mapping on this page is drawn from the section-wise concordance published with the Act, including the corrigenda notified in the Gazette on 3 September 2025.
What the 1961 provision did
Section 80D of the Income-tax Act, 1961 allowed a deduction for health insurance premia paid for self, family and parents, along with preventive health check-up expenditure and, in specified cases, medical expenditure for senior citizens.
Where it sits in the Income-tax Act, 2025
Section 126 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 is headed “Deduction in respect of health insurance premia”. It is the direct successor to section 80D and sits in Chapter VIII with the other deductions.
What actually changed
- The medical deduction family renumbers as a block: 80D becomes 126, 80DD becomes 127, 80DDB becomes 128 and 80U becomes 154.
- The gateway conditions moved. The general rules that were in sections 80A to 80B are now in section 122, including the requirement to file the return in time.
- The deduction stays regime-dependent. Section 202 (old section 115BAC) governs whether the deduction is available under the default new regime.
What to do about it
- Change the section reference on client checklists and premium receipts summaries from 80D to 126 for tax year 2026-27 onwards.
- Keep 80DD, 80DDB and 80U mapped to 127, 128 and 154 respectively — these are frequently confused.
- Verify the regime under section 202 before claiming.
The sections around it in the new Act
Renumbering is easier to absorb in context. The table below lists the neighbouring provisions of the Income-tax Act, 2025 with the 1961 sections each of them carries forward, so you can see where this provision sits and what moved with it.
| New section (2025) | Provision | Corresponding 1961 section(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 126 | Deduction in respect of health insurance premia | 80D |
| 127 | Deduction in respect of maintenance including medical treatment of a dependant who is a person with disability | 80DD |
| 128 | Deduction in respect of medical treatment, etc | 80DDB |
| 129 | Deduction in respect of interest on loan taken for higher education | 80E |
| 130 | Deduction in respect of interest on loan taken for residential house property | 80EE |
| 131 | Deduction in respect of interest on loan taken for certain house property | 80EEA |
| 132 | Deduction in respect of purchase of electric vehicle | 80EEB |
| 133 | Deduction in respect of donations to certain funds, charitable institutions, etc | 80G |
| 134 | Deductions in respect of rents paid | 80GG |
| 135 | Deduction in respect of certain donations for scientific research or rural development | 80GGA |
| 136 | Deduction in respect of contributions given by companies to political parties | 80GGB |
| 137 | Deduction in respect of contributions given by any person to political parties | 80GGC |
How to read a section mapping
- A corresponding section is not always an identical section. Where several 1961 sections map to one new section, conditions that used to sit apart are now read together.
- Where one 1961 section maps to several new sections, the old provision was split, and each new section carries only part of what you used to cite.
- Some new sections have no 1961 equivalent at all — the registered non-profit code in sections 332 to 355 is the largest example.
- Always cite by year. The Act that applies is decided by the tax year in question, not by the date you are writing on.
This page is a structural mapping guide, not tax advice. A corresponding section is not always an identical section — several provisions were merged, split or re-worded when they were carried over. Always read the actual text of the new section before relying on it, and check for later amendments, rules and CBDT notifications.