Most salaried Indians pay ₹30,000 to ₹1,50,000 more tax every year simply because they never claim every deduction they are entitled to. This guide fixes that.
Every year, millions of salaried professionals across India hand over more money to the Income Tax Department than the law requires. The reasons are almost always the same: they do not know which deductions exist, they forget to declare investments on time, or their employer simply deducts TDS at the default rate without accounting for all eligible exemptions.
The Indian Income Tax Act offers more than a dozen legal deductions specifically designed for salaried employees. If you earn ₹10 lakh per year and use every deduction in this guide, you could reduce your taxable income to roughly ₹5–6 lakh under the Old Tax Regime, translating into a potential tax saving of ₹1,00,000 to ₹2,00,000 per year.
Important note for AY 2026-27: The New Tax Regime is now the default. If you want to claim deductions like 80C, 80D, HRA, or home loan interest, you must explicitly opt for the Old Tax Regime when filing your ITR or when submitting Form 12BB to your employer at the start of the financial year.
The single most important tax decision you make each year is choosing your tax regime. There is no universal right answer — it depends on your salary structure, rent situation, and investment habits.
Quick rule of thumb: If your total eligible deductions (80C + 80D + HRA + home loan) exceed ₹3.5 lakh, the Old Regime almost always saves more tax for incomes between ₹10L and ₹20L. Run the numbers using our Income Tax Calculator before deciding.
Section 80C is the most widely used deduction in India and the first place every salaried employee should look. It allows you to reduce your taxable income by up to ₹1,50,000 per financial year by investing in or paying for any of the following:
Most salaried employees already have their EPF contribution going in automatically. Top up with ELSS or PPF to fill the ₹1.5L limit. If your annual EPF contribution is ₹72,000, you only need ₹78,000 more (about ₹6,500/month in ELSS) to max out.
💰 Saving at 30% bracket: ₹46,800 per year (including 4% cess)Paying health insurance premiums is not just financially prudent — it is also tax-efficient. Under Section 80D, you can claim:
If both you and your senior-citizen parents are covered, the maximum combined deduction is ₹75,000. A family floater policy costing ₹18,000–₹25,000 for a family of four is well within the self/spouse limit and also provides genuine medical protection.
Note: Premiums must be paid by any mode other than cash (except preventive check-up). Group insurance provided by your employer also qualifies, but only for the portion you actually pay out of pocket.
💰 Saving at 30% bracket: ₹7,800–₹23,400 depending on coverageIf you have a home loan on a self-occupied property, the interest portion of your EMI qualifies for a deduction of up to ₹2 lakh per year under Section 24(b). For a let-out property, there is no upper cap on interest deduction — the entire interest amount can be set off against income from house property.
On a ₹50 lakh home loan at 8.5% interest rate with a 20-year tenure, your annual interest in the early years is around ₹4–4.2 lakh. You can claim ₹2 lakh of that under Section 24(b) and the principal repayment (typically ₹1–1.5 lakh in early years) under Section 80C — giving you close to ₹3.5 lakh in combined deductions from a single EMI.
Remember: Section 24(b) deduction is available only if the house was bought/constructed using a loan from a bank, housing finance company, or employer. Loans from friends or relatives do not qualify unless they are covered entities.
💰 Saving at 30% bracket: ₹62,400 per yearThe National Pension System (NPS) gives salaried employees a powerful extra deduction that works in addition to the ₹1.5L limit under Section 80C. By voluntarily contributing ₹50,000 to your NPS Tier-1 account in a financial year, you can claim an additional ₹50,000 deduction under Section 80CCD(1B).
This brings your total potential deduction from 80C + NPS to ₹2,00,000. At the 30% tax bracket, that alone saves you over ₹62,400 per year.
NPS investments go into a mix of equity (E), corporate bonds (C), and government securities (G) — you choose the allocation. The pension corpus is partially taxable at withdrawal (60% lump sum is tax-free; 40% must be used to buy an annuity), so NPS is best treated as a long-term retirement vehicle rather than a short-term tax hack.
💰 Saving at 30% bracket: ₹15,600 per year on top of 80C savingsIf you live in a rented house and your employer provides HRA as part of your CTC, you can claim an exemption on a portion of that HRA. The exempt amount is the lowest of these three figures:
Example: Basic salary ₹40,000/month, HRA received ₹18,000/month, rent paid ₹15,000/month in Mumbai. Exempt HRA = lowest of (₹18,000 | ₹15,000 − ₹4,000 = ₹11,000 | ₹20,000). The exempt amount is ₹11,000/month = ₹1,32,000/year.
If your employer does not provide HRA but you pay rent, you can still claim deduction under Section 80GG (up to ₹5,000/month or 25% of total income, whichever is lower) — though the amount is modest.
To claim HRA, you need rent receipts and, if annual rent exceeds ₹1 lakh, also the landlord's PAN. Use our HRA Calculator to find the exact exempt amount for your situation.
💰 Typical saving at 30% bracket: ₹20,000–₹60,000 per yearThe standard deduction is the easiest deduction you will ever claim — you do not need to submit a single document, receipt, or proof. It is automatically applied by your employer when computing TDS.
For FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27), the standard deduction is ₹75,000 under the New Tax Regime and ₹50,000 under the Old Tax Regime. The increase in the New Regime was part of the Union Budget 2024 changes designed to make the New Regime more attractive.
This deduction effectively means that the first ₹50,000–₹75,000 of your salary income is not taxed at all, regardless of which regime you choose. For pensioners, the same standard deduction also applies to pension income.
💰 Saving at 30% bracket: ₹15,600 (Old) / ₹23,400 (New) — completely freeLeave Travel Allowance (LTA) lets you claim exemption on the travel fare for domestic trips taken with your family during leave. The exemption covers only the actual travel fare (train/air/bus) — not hotel stays, food, or local transport.
Key rules to remember:
LTA is part of your CTC only if your employer has structured it that way. Check your salary slip or appointment letter for the LTA component. If you have not claimed it in the current block, you can carry forward one unclaimed journey to the next block.
💰 Typical saving at 30% bracket: ₹5,000–₹25,000 per trip claimedThe interest you earn on your savings bank account is taxable as "Income from Other Sources." However, Section 80TTA provides a deduction of up to ₹10,000 per year on savings account interest for individuals below 60 years of age. The deduction covers savings accounts held at banks, cooperative societies, or post offices — but not fixed deposits or recurring deposits.
For senior citizens (60 years and above), Section 80TTB offers a far more generous deduction of up to ₹50,000 per year. This covers interest from savings accounts, fixed deposits, and recurring deposits — making it a significant benefit for retirees who park funds in FDs.
While ₹10,000 may seem small, it is essentially free money — many salaried employees forget to claim this even though their bank statement shows the interest clearly. Make sure to check your savings account interest total each year in your AIS (Annual Information Statement) on the Income Tax portal.
💰 Saving at 30% bracket: ₹3,120 (80TTA) / ₹15,600 (80TTB)Donating to registered charitable organisations not only does good — it also saves tax. Under Section 80G, donations to approved funds and institutions qualify for a deduction of either 50% or 100% of the donated amount, subject to various conditions.
Donations that qualify for 100% deduction without any ceiling include:
Most other registered NGOs, trusts, and charitable institutions qualify for a 50% deduction, subject to a 10% of adjusted gross total income ceiling. Donations must be made by cheque, demand draft, or online transfer — cash donations above ₹2,000 no longer qualify.
Always collect the 80G receipt and verify the organisation's registration on the Income Tax portal before donating for tax purposes. The Unique Registration Number (URN) should appear on the receipt.
💰 Saving at 30% bracket: ₹15,600 on ₹1L donated to PMNRF (100% deduction)If you took an education loan for higher studies — whether for yourself, your spouse, children, or a student for whom you are the legal guardian — the entire interest paid on that loan is deductible under Section 80E. There is no upper cap on this deduction, making it particularly valuable for those who borrowed large amounts for professional or postgraduate studies.
The deduction is available starting from the year you begin repaying the loan and continues for up to 8 consecutive assessment years — or until the interest is fully repaid, whichever is earlier. Note that only the interest component qualifies; the principal repayment does not.
Eligible courses include full-time courses for graduation or post-graduation in any field (including management, engineering, medicine) pursued after completing Class 12. The loan must be taken from a recognised financial institution or approved charitable institution — not from family members.
💰 Example: ₹3L interest on education loan saves ₹93,600 at 30% bracketLet us put all 10 deductions together for a salaried employee earning ₹15 lakh gross per year (basic ₹7.5L, HRA ₹3L, other allowances ₹4.5L) with a home loan, health insurance, and rent in a metro city under the Old Tax Regime.
| # | Deduction | Section | Max / Claimed | Tax Saved (30%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Investments (ELSS + EPF + PPF) | 80C | ₹1,50,000 | ₹46,800 |
| 2 | Health insurance (self + senior parents) | 80D | ₹75,000 | ₹23,400 |
| 3 | Home loan interest (self-occupied) | 24(b) | ₹2,00,000 | ₹62,400 |
| 4 | NPS voluntary contribution | 80CCD(1B) | ₹50,000 | ₹15,600 |
| 5 | HRA exemption (metro, ₹15K rent/month) | HRA | ₹1,32,000 | ₹41,184 |
| 6 | Standard deduction | Flat | ₹50,000 | ₹15,600 |
| 7 | LTA (one trip claimed) | LTA | ₹18,000 | ₹5,616 |
| 8 | Savings account interest | 80TTA | ₹10,000 | ₹3,120 |
| 9 | Donation to PM relief fund | 80G | ₹5,000 | ₹1,560 |
| 10 | Education loan interest (if applicable) | 80E | ₹1,20,000 | ₹37,440 |
| Total Deductions (including education loan) | ₹8,10,000 | ₹2,52,720 | ||
Key takeaway: Even without the education loan deduction, this salaried employee can reduce their taxable income by over ₹6.9 lakh and save approximately ₹2,15,280 in tax per year — money that would otherwise go straight to the government. The numbers above include 4% health and education cess on income tax.