Check eligibility and what you have already used before linking an investment or insurance purchase to a tax deduction.
Check the regime and tax-year reference
This guide uses the familiar 80C and 80D names that many readers search for. For tax year 2026–27, the corresponding provisions are Sections 123 and 126 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. These personal investment and health-insurance deductions are not available under the selected new regime. The planner therefore opens in the new regime and shows no benefit from these buckets until you choose the old regime.
Changing the selection in a calculator does not change your tax regime or establish eligibility. Ask a CA to check your circumstances, permitted regime choice and the return you need to file.
Start with payments already using the bucket
The investment deduction bucket has a ₹1.5 lakh limit. Eligible employee provident-fund contributions, life premiums, housing-loan principal, ELSS and other qualifying payments can share it. Enter eligible amounts, not simply every payment with a similar name.
For example, if eligible payments already use ₹1,15,000, the model shows ₹35,000 of investment headroom. Another ELSS investment does not create a second ₹1.5 lakh allowance. Confirm any eligibility conditions and avoid repeating a contribution across fields.
Keep family and parent health limits separate
Health deductions have separate self/family and parent buckets, with age-based limits. The planner asks which eligible insured group includes a senior citizen and records premiums paid by you. Employer-paid premiums do not become your own deduction.
Already eligible preventive check-ups or qualifying medical expenditure may use part of the same limits. The shared preventive-check-up sub-limit must also be considered. The planner accepts eligible utilisation; it does not decide whether a particular receipt qualifies.
A deduction is not a rupee-for-rupee refund
At an assumed 20% marginal rate, ₹35,000 of fully usable deduction gives a simple ₹7,280 illustration including 4% cess. Actual tax can differ if deductions cross slabs, a rebate applies or other rules change the computation. This is an illustration, not a promised or guaranteed return.
ELSS involves market risk, and each SIP investment has its own three-year lock-in. Choosing it only to use an allowance can create a mismatch with a near-term need. Consider affordability, time horizon and existing investments before discussing a transaction.
This is an illustration, not tax advice. Consult a CA about eligibility and the final return.
Review the health-cover calculator
Sources and further reading
Income Tax Department: transition to the 2025 Act and Section 123