Deductions available under various Sections of Income Tax Act

My comment on an article "How to pay less income tax post-Budget 2017 and beyond" published in the economictimes.com Dated 02/02/2017.


"Very useful information provided by the author of this article regarding tax exemptions that are now available. He discussed all the sections that can be used to invest in the various schemes and get the maximum benefit."

Deductions available:

Under Section 80C (includes 80CCC and 80CCD)
HRA, PF contribution, Medical expenses (Rs 15,000 per annum), Leave Travel Allowance (Rail fare or economy class airfare), Conveyance Allowance (upto Rs 1,600 pm), Child education expenses (100 as fees and 300 as hostel expenses er month),meals vouchers (50 per day), Insurance premium, etc. (Total amount allowed is Rs 1,50,000 per annum).

Section 80CCD (18)
A deduction is allowed for Investments made in National Pension Scheme up to a maximum of Rs 50,000 per annum which is not included in above limit of Rs 1,50,000.

Section 80D
Medical Insurance premium payments for self and parents, including a sum of up to Rs 5,000 towards health checkup. The maximum deductible amount is Rs 60,000.

Section 80E
Interest paid on the educational loan for self, spouse or children is fully allowed as deductible amount.

Section 24
Interest paid on home loans for self-occupied home is deductible under this section up to a maximum limit of Rs 2,00,000.
Interest paid on second homes and rented out by you are fully allowed as deductible amounts without any limit. The rent income is to be shown here as a part of your income.

A Comment on a topic suggesting tweaking of your salary structure to lessen the tax liability

My comment on an article "How to restructure your salary to pay less tax in FY 2016-17" published in the economictimes.com on Dated 19/03/2016.

Very useful tips given here by the author of this article for tweaking the pay structure and pay lesser tax. You can view the full article by clicking at this link.

If you draw a salary of Rs.1 lakh per month, you can show the basic as Rs.50,000 or even 40,000 and get the remaining portion of the salary re-structured as HRA, LTA, Conveyance allowance, Employer contribution to EPF and NPS and balance amount as other allowances. 

The effect is you get tax deduction exemptions on all allowances and tax liability becomes very nominal. Good examples are given by the author to support his arguments.