Tax Benefit Available On Money Spent On Hospitalisation Of Dependent Senior Citizen

You can claim tax benefit for expenses incurred on the hospitalisation of your father under Section 80D of the Income-tax Act, 1961 only if your father does not have any health insurance policy and he is a senior citizen, i.e., he has completed 60 years of age. In that case, both you and your father can claim deduction under Section 80D up to Rs 50,000 for medical expenses incurred including hospitalisation. In case he has not completed 60 years of age, no tax benefits are available for normal hospitalisation.

In case your father is suffering from any specified disease, you can claim the benefit under Section 80 DDB to the extent of Rs 40,000 in a year if he is below 60 years of age. You can claim a higher deduction of Rs 1 lakh in case your father is a senior citizen. Please note that this deduction is available only in respect of certain specified diseases.

For investing in SCSS before 60 years of age one has to fulfil two conditions. You should have completed 55 years of age, and the investment is made within one month of receipt of the retirement benefits. Since both the conditions are not satisfied now and will not be satisfied when you turn 55 years old too, you cannot invest in SCSS before completing 60 years of age.

Any amount sent by your son-in-law to you will not be treated as your income nor will your son in law have any tax implications for such remittances. It is advisable to record this transaction in writing. A simple offer by him on an email to you and your acceptance thereof should be kept on file by the both of you. There are no limits for sending such funds under the FEMA provisions. You can check the restrictions if any applicable in the country of his residence. Do note that some countries like the US have restrictions on remittance of foreign currency.