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The calendar year 2023 is about to end. The financial year 2023-24 will end soon too. The last quarter of 2023-24 is about to begin. It is the right time to start planning your tax savings for the financial year 2023-24. It is always advisable to avoid last-minute tax planning as you run the risk of getting locked into non-performing assets.
It is to be noted that there are only limited tax-saving options. You have to choose between these limited options. While going in for tax-saving options, you need to keep in mind that these investments are medium to long-term ones. There are no short-term options that help you with tax deduction. The financial profile, investment need and time horizon are different for each. Therefore, the investment suitable to each person is different too. Planning in advance helps with more efficient tax saving, higher returns on investments, safety of corpus and more liquidity.
Here are some options
that save tax:
Investments under
Section 80C
Section 80C of the Income Tax Act sets a deduction limit of Rs 1.50 lakhs for investments in instruments specified here. Section 80C allows you to reduce your taxable income by investing in tax-saving investments or writing off eligible expenses. The maximum deduction allowed from your total income under Section 80C is Rs 1.50 lakhs every year.
You can invest in equity-linked saving schemes, public provident fund (PPF), life insurance, NSC etc. Repayments towards the principal sum of a home loan are deductible too. However, you need to factor in the lock-in period that comes with these instruments. For example, in case you choose the PPF, you get an interest rate of around seven per cent (as specified by the government), and the investment is totally safe. As the returns are compounded every year, the effective returns are much higher too. But, there is a lock-in period before which you cannot withdraw your balance. Also, you can invest for 15 years only. You can then renew your investment every five years. PPF is by far one of the best options, especially for the youth.
You can go for equity-linked saving schemes. The investment tenures are shorter in these. However, the returns are totally market-related and depend on the market fluctuations.
Investments under
Section 80D
These days, deduction under Section 80D is necessary – premium on a medical insurance policy. Everyone should opt for medical insurance to provide cover for medical/hospitalisation expenses. There are a number of options and you can choose between them – the sum insured, ailments covered, period of commencement of coverage, expenses covered, coverage of day-care expenses and so on. You can choose a variant that suits you. The downside in this case is the premium lapses at the end of the policy term and there is no carry-forward of the sum assured. There is a limit of Rs 25,000 for deductions against this expense in case of an individual. The limit is higher for a senior citizen.
Another popular option is the National Pension Scheme. It allows a deduction of up to Rs 50,000 per year. This saves tax in the year of investment. Further, you can choose the instruments to invest in - equity and/or debt. The returns vary accordingly. The corpus built over time through these instruments is converted into pension over the years based on the terms of the scheme.
So, there are a host of options available. As there is still time for the current year to end, you should explore and choose among them now, depending on your age, income, income requirements over the latter years, safety, expected future liabilities, contingency fund required for the future and so on.
Remember, earlier you begin, the higher the returns and savings.