Hi,
Most of the employees get confused between medical allowance part of the salary structure & medical reimbursement which they receive from employer after submitting their original medical bills.
Medical allowance is a fixed component that you receive every month as part of your monthly salary, that is taxable as salary income. No bills are required to be submitted for taking this allowance.
Whereas Medical reimbursement is a tax-free component and as discussed above, it is exempted up to the amount spent by employee or Rs.15,000 whichever is less.
As per an amendment in the Budget 2018, tax exemption on medical reimbursement amounting to INR 15,000 and transport allowance amounting to INR 19,200 in a financial year have been replaced with a standard deduction of INR 40,000. This amendment will be applicable starting FY 2018-19 (i.e. starting 1st April 2018).
There is no specific set of medical bills mentioned but this can be considered:
Medical bills incurred for self, spouse and children can be submitted for reimbursement. Medical bills of parents and siblings who are wholly dependent on the employee can also be claimed as reimbursement.
These bills could be for the purchase of medicines from pharmacies and medical shops, or medical treatment taken at public or private hospitals and clinics.