Paying more tax than you need to?
Every way to save tax, measured on your salary.
- What each legal saving is worth to you
- How much money it ties up
- A plan from the ones you'd use
Start from someone like you
Your plan saves you
a year · tax ₹1.01 L instead of ₹1.37 L, about ₹2,992 a month
- You'd set aside
- ₹2.01 L
- a year, in NPS, 80C or cover
- Saved per ₹100
- ₹18
- of what you set aside
- File in the
- New regime
- with this plan
Every way to cut your tax
Tick the ones you'd really do. A ticked row shows its part of your plan; the rest show what they'd add.
Your inputs
Start from someone like you
Your salary
₹
₹3 L₹1 Cr
%
30%60%
PF
%
0%14%
₹
₹0₹50 L
What you claim today
You file in the
City
₹
₹0₹2 L
₹
₹0₹1.5 L
₹
₹0₹1 L
₹
₹0₹50K
₹
₹0₹2 L
₹
₹0₹1.5 L
Your investments
₹
₹0₹1 Cr
Keep your inputs as a file; it never leaves your device.
What this means
- 80C, 80D and NPS 1B save nothing in the new regime.
Why?
Even with them all, the new regime's lower slabs still win on your salary.
- Your tax now includes ₹16,250 waiting on ₹1.25 L of equity gains.
Why?
That's what those gains would cost when you sell. Booking up to ₹1.25 L of them each financial year, and buying back, makes them tax-free in either regime.
- Your plan sets aside ₹2.01 L a year, much of it locked for years.
Why?
Only lock money away for tax if it fits a goal you have anyway, like retirement for NPS. Keep your emergency fund liquid first.
More details
Your tax, step by step
How it's calculated
- Tax now: income tax in the regime you file in, worked out as in the old vs new regime calculator, plus the tax waiting on up to ₹1.25 lakh of your unbooked equity gains.
- Each way to save is filled to its limit: employer NPS to 14% of basic (10% in the old regime), 80C to ₹1.5 lakh with your PF counted, your own NPS to ₹50,000, 80D to ₹50,000, and ₹1.25 lakh of gains booked tax-free.
- Your plan: the ways you tick are applied one after another in the order listed, so the steps add up to the total. With "cheaper regime" ticked, each step files in whichever regime then costs less.
- Per ₹100: tax saved for each ₹100 you put in or move out of your pay.
HRA and home-loan interest depend on what you already pay, so they count but aren't suggested. Check your final figures when you file.
Tax figures follow Budget 2025 rules, for FY 2025-26 onward.
Common questions
What is the best way to save tax in the new regime?
Employer NPS under 80CCD(2), up to 14% of basic, is the one big deduction the new regime allows; ask HR to restructure your CTC. Booking up to ₹1.25 lakh of equity gains tax-free each year also works in either regime.
Is 80C still worth it?
Only in the old regime, and only if the old regime is cheaper for you once all your deductions are counted. In the new regime 80C saves nothing, so choose PPF or ELSS for your goals, not for tax.
How much tax can I save with NPS?
Your own NPS contribution of up to ₹50,000 under 80CCD(1B) saves up to ₹15,600 in the old regime. Employer NPS saves tax in both regimes: up to 14% of basic in the new, 10% in the old.
Does health insurance save tax?
In the old regime, 80D allows up to ₹25,000 for your family's premium and ₹25,000 for your parents' (₹50,000 each once they're 60). It saves nothing in the new regime, but buy the cover anyway.
Should I lock money away just to save tax?
No. NPS is locked till 60 and PPF for 15 years. Use them if they fit a goal you already have, and keep your emergency fund liquid first.
Where do I enter my home loan?
Put the interest you paid in a year under home-loan interest (Section 24(b), up to ₹2 lakh) and the principal you repaid under home-loan principal, which counts inside the ₹1.5 lakh 80C limit with your PF and other investments. Your bank's yearly interest certificate shows both. Both only matter in the old regime.