Understand the common old-regime tax-saving deduction bucket.
Common Entries
Employee PF, PPF, ELSS, eligible life insurance premium, tuition fees and home-loan principal are common entries. Others include National Savings Certificates, five-year tax-saver bank deposits, Sukanya Samriddhi deposits, the Senior Citizens' Savings Scheme, and stamp duty and registration paid on buying a home, in the year paid.
Each item has its own eligibility conditions. Tuition fees count only for full-time education of up to two children and only the tuition part, not transport or development fees. ELSS units are locked for three years and tax-saver deposits for five.
Limit
The common 80C cap is shared across eligible entries, so adding more after the cap may not reduce tax further.
Use a planner to avoid over-investing only for tax reasons.
The NPS deduction under 80CCD(1B), up to ₹50,000, sits outside the 80C cap, so it can add to the old-regime saving.
Payments made after your employer's proof deadline can still be claimed in the return, as long as they fall within the tax year and you keep the proof.
Choosing Between Options
Pick by goal first. PPF suits safe long-term saving, at 7.1% for October–December 2026 with tax-free interest. ELSS suits equity exposure with the shortest lock-in. Term insurance protects dependents. Tuition fees or home-loan principal may already fill the limit without any new investment, so check what payroll EPF and existing payments already cover before adding anything.
What It Saves
The saving depends on your old-regime slab. Using the full ₹1.5 lakh saves ₹46,800 at the 30% slab, ₹31,200 at 20% and ₹7,800 at 5%, including the 4% cess.
Example: employee PF of ₹36,000, a life insurance premium of ₹25,000 and tuition fees of ₹60,000 add up to ₹1.21 lakh. Only ₹29,000 of room is left, and anything beyond that gives no extra deduction.
Common Mistakes
Counting employer PF (only your own share counts), buying insurance you don't need in March, forgetting that EPF already fills much of the limit, and investing in 80C products while filing under the new regime are frequent slips. Keep premium receipts, statements and fee receipts as proof.
Regime Impact
This deduction is generally relevant under the old regime, so compare regimes first.
Under the new regime, PPF interest and maturity stay tax-free, but deposits give no deduction. Use the 80C Deduction Calculator to see your remaining limit, the PPF Calculator for long-term projections, and the Income Tax Calculator to check whether the old regime still wins once 80C is counted.