Your personal AI for understanding and tracking your personal finance.
Your personal AI for understanding and tracking your personal finance.
Auto-deducted from salary by employer (12% of basic). Already counts toward 80C.
EEE tax status. Govt-backed. Best risk-free 80C option.
Equity mutual fund. Highest expected return. LTCG taxable above ₹1L gains.
Extra ₹50k deduction under 80CCD(1B) over and above 80C.
Premium qualifies; ULIP/endowment maturity may be taxable per Sec 10(10D) rules.
Fixed-rate post office instrument. Interest accrued and reinvested counts under 80C in subsequent years.
Interest is fully taxable. Lower post-tax return than PPF.
Principal portion of EMI counts. Interest is separately deductible under Sec 24(b).
Only tuition fee component qualifies. Donations, transport, books, hostel do NOT qualify.
Bonus deduction over and above the ₹1.5 lakh 80C cap. Only available for NPS Tier 1 contributions. Most overlooked tax saving for high earners.
Section 80C fully utilised — well done
You're maxing both 80C (₹1.5L) and 80CCD(1B) (₹50k) — total ₹2 lakh deduction unlocked.
Richify AI tracks your 80C utilisation across PPF/ELSS/EPF/NPS as you make contributions, so you never under- or over-shoot the cap by March 31.
Download Richify — It's FreeSection 80C allows a deduction of up to ₹1.5 lakh per financial year on qualifying investments and expenses. This is an aggregate cap across ALL 80C instruments combined — PPF, ELSS, EPF, NPS Tier 1, life insurance premium, NSC, 5-year FD, home loan principal repayment, and tuition fees for two children.
Section 80C is only available under the old tax regime; it is not available under the new tax regime.
Best for risk-averse investors: PPF (7.1% guaranteed, EEE tax status, 15-year lock-in). Best for wealth building: ELSS (12-15% historical CAGR, only 3-year lock-in, but LTCG taxable at 12.5% above ₹1.25 lakh of gains per FY).
Best for retirement: NPS Tier 1 (9-12% historical CAGR, lock-in until 60, partial taxation on maturity). For most people, a combination of all three is optimal — you don't have to pick just one.
Yes. Section 80CCD(1B) provides an ADDITIONAL ₹50,000 deduction on NPS Tier 1 contributions, OVER AND ABOVE the ₹1.5 lakh 80C cap.
So you can claim up to ₹2 lakh total on NPS: ₹1.5 lakh under 80C/80CCD(1) + ₹50,000 under 80CCD(1B). For someone in the 30% tax bracket, this saves an additional ₹15,600 (₹50,000 × 31.2%) in taxes per year.
Yes. The employee's contribution to EPF (Employee Provident Fund) — typically 12% of basic salary — qualifies for Section 80C deduction.
For someone earning ₹15 lakh basic, EPF contribution is ₹1.8 lakh per year, which already exceeds the ₹1.5 lakh 80C cap by itself. In this case, additional 80C investments (PPF, ELSS, etc.) would NOT provide further tax benefit.
Check your salary slip for the EPF deduction amount before planning additional 80C.
Yes. Repayment of the principal portion of a home loan EMI is eligible under Section 80C up to ₹1.5 lakh per year.
This counts WITHIN the same ₹1.5 lakh aggregate cap (not in addition to). The interest portion is separately deductible under Section 24(b) up to ₹2 lakh per year.
Many high-income borrowers find their home loan principal alone uses up the entire 80C cap.
Investments above ₹1.5 lakh do not provide additional tax deduction under 80C, but the underlying investment is still valid and earns returns normally. For example, if you invest ₹2 lakh in PPF, only ₹1.5 lakh gets the tax deduction; the remaining ₹50,000 still earns 7.1% interest.
To make use of excess capacity, consider Section 80CCD(1B) NPS (extra ₹50,000), Section 80D health insurance (₹25k-1L), and other deductions outside 80C. Another structural option: form a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) — the HUF has its OWN independent ₹1.5 lakh 80C cap and ₹25,000 80D cap separate from yours, effectively doubling the household's deduction capacity.
See /in/tools/huf-tax-optimiser for income-shifting mechanics and Section 64(2) clubbing safeguards.
