Preventive Health Check Up - Tax Benefits & Deductions

What is a Preventive Care Health Check-Up?

Modern lifestyles make it easy to fall into unhealthy habits and routines which can have a negative impact on your health. Although a significant progress in the field of medicine has made it possible to treat various life-threatening diseases, prevention is still the best medicine. That is why Preventive Health Check-Ups are being recommended by doctors all over the world. Not only do they help you avoid health complications but they may also be your best shot at preventing disease altogether.

Physical, social, spiritual and mental health are all equally important aspects of your well-being. A balanced diet, regular physical activity and adequate rest are all essential for keeping you in good shape. However, this does not guarantee that you will remain disease-free your entire life. The meaning of a preventive health check-up is essentially a test or series of tests conducted by a medical professional to detect the signs of a particular disease or medical condition.

Hence, a Preventive care health check-up is designed to detect diseases and minimise health risks early on. By detecting potential symptoms early on, preventive health check-ups can be very effective in both reducing the likelihood of the disease spreading to a critical level, and reducing the need for costly treatments.

Many insurance providers offer free check-ups when you’re getting an insurance plan or renewing your old one. Some also provide special add-ons to the insurance plan which cover any preventive health checkups you may opt to do, for an affordable increase in the premium.

Preventive Health check-up - Tax exemption under Section 80D

Under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act of 1961, you can avail a preventive health check-up deduction of Rs. 5000 as a starting point. The overall deduction claim can go up to Rs.25,000 on yourself or medical expenses for your spouse and dependents. You are also able to request an additional Rs.25,000 deduction for your parents, given that they are under 60 years of age. If they are above 60 years old, the deduction amount can go up to Rs.50,000. Additionally, if the taxpayer as well as their parents are over 60 years of age, the maximum preventive health check-up tax benefit or deduction is as much as Rs.1 Lakh.

Benefits & Important Factors of Preventive Health Check-Up?

Preventive health check-ups come with a plethora of benefits that can significantly improve your quality of life. Here are some features you should be aware of while buying a Preventive Health Check-up package:

1. Reliable, up-to-date and highly essential health education

2. Comprehensive evaluation of the likelihood of disease or illness

3. Early detection of possibly life-threatening health issues

4. Ensures greater chances of getting treatment at an early stage

5. Periodic monitoring of current health problems and minimized risk of complications

6. If the recommended precautions and lifestyle changes are taken into account, health check-ups can increase longevity

7. Overall healthcare expenditure is kept at a minimum by reducing the need for expensive or emergency medical treatments.

8. Encourages you to actively participate in maintaining your own health.

Who Requires Preventive Medical Check-Up?

If you are 30 years old or above, you should ideally start looking into preventive check-ups. A standard check-up screens your physical condition with the objective of detective a number of diseases, some of which are:

• Diabetes

• Cardiac issues or heart disease

• Obesity

• Hypertension

List of the Tests under Preventive Health Check-Up

Here is a list of tests that are typically conducted as part of a preventive health check-up:

This preventive health check-up list is not a comprehensive one, but these are the standard tests conducted by most providers.

In Conclusion

Often, signs and symptoms of serious diseases don’t show up until it is too late, and this can also leave a huge dent in your funds due to medical expenses. By opting for a preventive health check-up, you are giving the future you with a better chance at beating lifestyle diseases and living a long healthy life. You can further protect yourself financially by getting a health insurance plan. Head over to the Finserv MARKETS website to browse offerings by leading insurance providers and get one that's suited to your needs.

Best Health Insurance Plans Available at Finserv MARKETS