Eligibility of service tax for mediclaim insurance

[Guest]

WHETHER SERVICE TAX AMOUNT IS ALSO ELIGIBLE FOR MEDICLAIM INSURANCE PREMIUM U/SEC 80D.PL PROVIDE DETAILS OF CIRCULAR,NOTIFICATION OR ANY OTHER INFORMATION TO SUPPORT

[Surender Gupta]

No circular, notification or any other authenticated information is available as of now. We hope the govt. would clarify the matter in due course.

[Guest]

As per 80D of IT Act 'any sum paid to effect or to keep in force an insurance on the health....' is eligible for deduction. Service tax on mediclaim is a statutory levy which is to be paid along with premium to keep in force the policy. Thus, it is the amount paid towards mediclaim insurance and should be eligible for deduction.

AI Summary

Service tax on mediclaim may qualify for deduction under section 80D as a policy upkeep expense. The key operative contention is whether service tax paid with a mediclaim premium is part of the deductible sum for income tax purposes: one reply notes no authoritative circular exists, while another contends that because the statutory levy is paid along with the premium to keep the policy in force, it should be treated as part of the amount paid towards mediclaim insurance and eligible for deduction.