Reviewed by Finin2min Editorial Desk · Last reviewed 12 August 2026
Aggregate PF, PPF, life insurance, ELSS, housing principal, tuition fees and other eligible payments within the ₹1.5 lakh ceiling.
Build an eligible investment deduction
Deduction plan
Only eligible payments actually made during the relevant period should be entered.
Eligible amount entered
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Deduction admitted
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Measure
Amount
Amount above statutory ceiling
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Remaining capacity
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Reference shown in filing records
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Income-tax Act, 2025 note: Section 80C, the subject of this entire page, becomes Section 123 (read with Schedule XV) under the Income-tax Act, 2025, effective FY 2026-27. For FY 2025-26 and earlier, Section 80C remains the correct citation and the ₹1.5 lakh cap and eligible-instrument list are unaffected by the renumbering. Section numbering note: This page uses Income-tax Act, 1961 terminology for AY 2026-27 references. If applying the Income-tax Act, 2025 for a later year, verify the corresponding provision and exact wording from the official Gazette or Income Tax Department before citing a section number.
How This Is Calculated
Section 80C allows a combined deduction of up to ₹1,50,000 per year across multiple instruments — EPF, PPF, life insurance premiums, ELSS mutual funds, home loan principal repayment, children's tuition fees, 5-year tax-saving bank deposits, NSC, and SCSS (via Section 80C read with related provisions), among others. This is a single combined cap across all these instruments, not ₹1.5 lakh per instrument. This deduction is only available under the old tax regime.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the maximum Section 80C deduction?
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The combined maximum deduction under Section 80C is ₹1,50,000 per financial year, shared across all eligible instruments together — not ₹1.5 lakh per instrument. If you invest ₹1 lakh in ELSS and ₹1 lakh in PPF, your deduction is still capped at ₹1.5 lakh total, not ₹2 lakh.
Is Section 80C available under the new tax regime?
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No. Section 80C deduction is available only under the old tax regime. Taxpayers who opt for the new regime cannot claim any 80C deduction, regardless of how much they've invested in eligible instruments.
What investments qualify for Section 80C?
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Common eligible investments include EPF/VPF contributions, PPF, life insurance premiums, ELSS mutual funds, home loan principal repayment, children's tuition fees (up to 2 children), 5-year tax-saving bank/post office deposits, NSC, and Sukanya Samriddhi deposits, among others.
Scope: Plans and tracks Section 80C deductions (and the related Schedule XV categories under the Income-tax Act, 2025) across common eligible instruments, applying the overall ceiling and flagging over-allocation.
Calculation logic
Sum entered amounts across all eligible categories (EPF/VPF, PPF, ELSS, life insurance premium, principal repayment of home loan, Sukanya Samriddhi, tax-saving FD, NSC, tuition fees for up to 2 children, and other Schedule XV-listed items).
Cap the total deduction at the currently prescribed overall ceiling (₹1,50,000/year), regardless of how much is actually invested across the individual categories combined — the planner flags any amount invested above the ceiling as not yielding incremental tax benefit under this section.
Where life insurance premium is entered, apply the specific sub-condition that premium exceeding 10% (or 20% for policies issued before a specified date, or 15% for a person with disability/specified disease) of the sum assured is not eligible for deduction on the excess portion, per the applicable proviso.
Inputs and assumptions
Available only under the old tax regime — the new regime does not permit these deductions, which the calculator reflects.
Category list and the specific caps/conditions (life insurance premium-to-sum-assured ratio, tuition fee limited to 2 children, etc.) follow the current Income-tax Act, 2025 Schedule XV provisions (the renumbered successor to the erstwhile Section 80C and related sections).
Exclusions and edge cases
Does not itself verify that each entered investment genuinely qualifies (e.g., that an insurance policy meets the minimum term/sum-assured conditions) — the user should confirm each instrument's specific eligibility conditions with the provider/scheme rules.
Section 80CCC (pension fund contribution) and Section 80CCD(1) (NPS employee contribution) share the same overall ₹1,50,000 ceiling with 80C — the planner includes these if entered, to give an accurate combined-ceiling view.
Finin2min is not registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as an Investment Adviser or as a Research Analyst. This tool performs an arithmetic calculation on the figures you enter and is published for general information and educational purposes only. It is not investment advice, it is not personalised to your financial circumstances, objectives or risk tolerance, and it is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security, scheme or product. Projected values are illustrative and follow directly from the assumptions you supply; actual returns will differ, and past performance does not indicate future results. Consider consulting a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser before acting on any investment decision.