Section 80C Calculator – Calculate Your Tax Saving Under Section 80C
A Section 80C calculator adds up your eligible investments and expenses, caps them at ₹1,50,000, and shows the tax you save at your slab rate. The deduction works only under the old tax regime. A taxpayer in the 30% slab who claims the full amount can save up to ₹45,000 before cess.
It is October, your payslip shows EPF leaving your salary every month, and you are not sure how much of the ₹1.5 lakh limit is already gone. Enter your numbers in the Section 80C Calculator above, and you will see the eligible deduction, the unused headroom and the rupees saved, all in one go.
What Is a Section 80C Calculator?
A Section 80C calculator is a tool that totals your qualifying payments, applies the ₹1,50,000 ceiling and converts the result into a tax saving at your slab rate.
The deduction reduces your taxable income, not your tax bill directly. So the saving depends on the slab where your last rupee of income falls. The arithmetic is short:
Tax saved = lower of (your 80C total, ₹1,50,000) × your slab rate × 1.04
The 1.04 adds the 4% health and education cess that you would otherwise have paid on the tax. Think of 80C as a bucket with a fixed capacity: pour in more than ₹1.5 lakh and the extra spills over without earning anything.
An 80C deduction calculator is useful for two decisions. It tells you how much room is left before 31 March, and it shows whether the old regime is worth choosing in the first place (more on that below).
How to Use the Section 80C Calculator
Pick your slab, enter what you have paid, and read the result. Takes about two minutes.
1
Choose Your Tax Slab
Choose your tax slab: 30%, 20% or 5%. If you are unsure, take the rate on the top slice of your taxable income (see the table in the tax-saving section).
2
Enter EPF or VPF
Your Form 16 or the year's payslips show the employee share. Many salaried people find this alone is ₹60,000 to ₹1,00,000.
3
Add PPF, ELSS, Life Insurance and Home Loan Principal
Add PPF, ELSS, life insurance premium and home loan principal. The principal part of your EMI is on the bank's annual interest certificate.
4
Add Tuition Fees, NSC and Sukanya Samriddhi
Add tuition fees, NSC and Sukanya Samriddhi deposits in the last box. If you also hold a five-year tax-saver FD, pay SCSS deposits or paid stamp duty on a new home, add those to the same box; the cap works on the total.
5
Press Calculate
Read three numbers: eligible deduction, unused limit and estimated tax saved.
If the unused limit is positive, you can still invest before 31 March. If it is zero, stop: extra 80C money earns no further deduction. Pair this with our
income tax calculator to see your full liability under both regimes.
Section 80C Deduction Limit for FY 2026-27
The Section 80C deduction limit is ₹1,50,000 per person per year, and it covers three provisions combined: 80C, 80CCC (pension fund) and 80CCD(1) (your own NPS or APY contribution). The Income Tax Department's text of Section 80CCE says the total of these three cannot exceed ₹1,50,000 (Income Tax Department, Section 80CCE).
| Provision | What it covers | Limit |
|---|
| Section 80C | PPF, EPF, ELSS, LIC, NSC, tuition fees, etc. | Within ₹1,50,000 |
| Section 80CCC | Pension fund / annuity plan contributions | Within ₹1,50,000 |
| Section 80CCD(1) | Your own NPS or APY contribution | Within ₹1,50,000 |
| Section 80CCD(1B) | Extra own NPS contribution | ₹50,000, on top of the above |
| Section 80CCD(2) | Employer's NPS contribution | Separate, outside the cap |
So the most you can deduct for NPS and the 80C basket together is ₹2,00,000: ₹1.5 lakh combined, plus ₹50,000 under 80CCD(1B).
Renumbered, not reduced
The Income-tax Act, 2025 replaced the 1961 Act from 1 April 2026. Secondary sources tracking the new Act (ARTH, CalcGuru, 2026) say the old 80C is now Section 123, the list of qualifying payments sits in Schedule XV, and the ₹1,50,000 cap is built into the section itself. Limits and eligible items are unchanged. Returns for FY 2025-26 are still governed by the 1961 Act's section numbers; income from FY 2026-27 onward (called "Tax Year 2026-27" in the new Act) uses the new numbers. Your tax software or CA may show either label, so don't be thrown if you see "Section 123".
Eligible Investments and Expenses Under Section 80C
Anything on this list counts toward the same ₹1.5 lakh. The 80C investments list below shows the lock-in and the tax treatment of returns, so you can choose by need rather than by habit.
| Item | Lock-in | Rate / note (Oct–Dec 2026) | Tax on returns |
|---|
| EPF / VPF (your share) | Until retirement or exit | Declared yearly by EPFO | Exempt within limits |
| PPF | 15 years | 7.1% (floating, reset quarterly) | Exempt |
| ELSS mutual fund | 3 years | Market-linked, no guaranteed return | Capital gains taxable |
| NSC | 5 years | 7.7% | Interest taxable; reinvested interest qualifies (except the last year) |
| 5-year tax-saver FD | 5 years | Bank-specific | Interest taxable |
| Sukanya Samriddhi | Until the girl turns 21 (partial withdrawals allowed) | 8.2% | Exempt |
| SCSS (age 60+) | 5 years | 8.2%, up to ₹30 lakh | Interest taxable |
| Life insurance / ULIP premium | Policy-specific; ULIP 5 years | Premium cap rules apply | Maturity rules vary |
| Home loan principal | None | Part of your EMI | Not applicable |
| Stamp duty and registration | None | Only in the year paid | Not applicable |
| Children's tuition fees | None | Up to two children | Not applicable |
| Own NPS (80CCD(1)) | Until age 60 | Market-linked | Partly taxable at exit |
Small-savings rates above are the ones the Ministry of Finance kept unchanged for October to December 2026 (reported by Outlook Money, October 2026). They reset every quarter, so check before you invest.
Conditions that trip people up
Life insurance: the premium counts only up to 10% of the sum assured for most policies issued after 1 April 2012. A cheap term plan with high cover usually clears this easily.
Home loan principal: if you sell the house within five years of getting possession, the earlier deductions are added back to your income in the year of sale.
Tuition fees: only the tuition component, only for full-time education in India, and only for up to two children. Donations, transport and development fees don't count.
Who can claim: individuals and HUFs. Companies and firms cannot. Freelancers and professionals on presumptive taxation (Sections 44AD/44ADA) can claim.
How Much Tax Can You Save With Section 80C?
At the full ₹1.5 lakh, you save ₹46,800 in the 30% slab, ₹31,200 in the 20% slab and ₹7,800 in the 5% slab, all including 4% cess. The old regime has these slab rates for resident individuals below 60: nil up to ₹2.5 lakh, 5% to ₹5 lakh, 20% to ₹10 lakh, 30% above that (Income Tax Department tax rates page; Budget 2026 left them unchanged).
| Your top slab | Taxable income band (below 60) | Tax saved on ₹1,50,000 | With 4% cess |
|---|
| 30% | Above ₹10 lakh | ₹45,000 | ₹46,800 |
| 20% | ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh | ₹30,000 | ₹31,200 |
| 5% | ₹2.5 lakh to ₹5 lakh | ₹7,500 | ₹7,800 |
Your saving is lower if part of the ₹1.5 lakh pulls you down into a cheaper slab, and higher if you pay surcharge (income above ₹50 lakh). The calculator uses the single slab you pick, so for incomes that straddle two slabs treat the result as a close estimate and see the worked example next.
Section 80C Calculator Example
Here are three real-number cases, worked by hand using old-regime slabs. All figures are taxable income before the 80C claim.
Case 1: 30% slab, taxable income ₹14,00,000
Tax without 80C is ₹2,32,500 plus ₹9,300 cess = ₹2,41,800. Claim ₹1,50,000 and taxable income falls to ₹12,50,000. Tax is now ₹1,87,500 plus ₹7,500 cess = ₹1,95,000. Saving: ₹46,800 (₹45,000 before cess).
Case 2: 20% slab, taxable income ₹8,00,000
Tax without 80C is ₹72,500. After the claim, taxable income is ₹6,50,000 and tax is ₹42,500. Saving: ₹30,000, or ₹31,200 with cess.
Case 3: the rebate effect, taxable income ₹5,50,000
Tax without 80C is ₹22,500 plus ₹900 cess = ₹23,400. The claim brings income down to ₹4,00,000, where tax is ₹7,500, and the old-regime Section 87A rebate (up to ₹12,500 when income is ₹5 lakh or less) cancels it completely. Saving: ₹23,400. That is far more than 5% of ₹1.5 lakh, because crossing under ₹5 lakh switches the rebate on. Most calculators miss this.
Section 80C in Old Tax Regime vs New Tax Regime
Section 80C works only in the old tax regime. If you stay in the new regime, which is the default, you cannot claim it (Income Tax Department deductions page; ARTH, 2026). The one retirement-linked exception is the employer's NPS contribution under 80CCD(2).
| Feature | Old regime | New regime (default) |
|---|
| Section 80C / 123 | Up to ₹1,50,000 | Not available |
| Standard deduction (salaried) | ₹50,000 | ₹75,000 |
| Rebate | ₹12,500 if income ≤ ₹5 lakh | Tax nil up to ₹12 lakh income |
| HRA, 80D, home loan interest | Allowed | Not allowed |
| Employer NPS 80CCD(2) | Allowed | Allowed |
Break-even example: ₹15 lakh gross salary
Do the arithmetic before you commit to ELSS or a tax-saver FD. Take a salaried person with ₹15 lakh gross and no other income:
| Scenario | Working |
|---|
| New regime | Taxable income ₹14.25 lakh after the ₹75,000 standard deduction. Tax works out to ₹93,750 plus ₹3,750 cess = ₹97,500. |
| Old regime with only 80C | Taxable income ₹13 lakh (₹15 lakh − ₹50,000 − ₹1.5 lakh). Tax is ₹2,10,600 with cess. |
| Break-even | The old regime matches ₹97,500 only if taxable income drops to about ₹9.06 lakh. That means roughly ₹5.4 lakh of deductions on top of the standard deduction: 80C, plus HRA, home loan interest, 80D and NPS together. |
If your total deductions are smaller than that, 80C probably isn't worth chasing. (This is our own calculation from the published slabs, not an official figure.) Run both regimes through the income tax calculator or ask for tax planning help before you lock money away for years.
Documents Required for 80C Deduction
You do not upload most proofs with your ITR, but you must hold them in case of a notice. Keep these ready:
| Item | Document to keep |
|---|
| EPF/VPF | Form 16 or payslips, and the EPFO passbook |
| PPF and SSY | Passbook or account statement showing deposits in the year |
| ELSS | The fund house or registrar's capital-gains/transaction statement |
| Life insurance/ULIP | Premium receipt and policy schedule (for the sum assured) |
| Tax-saver FD, NSC, SCSS | Deposit receipt or certificate |
| Home loan principal | The lender's annual certificate splitting principal and interest |
| Stamp duty | Registration receipt and sale deed copy |
| Tuition fees | School or college receipt naming the child |
| Employer declaration | Form 12BB, if you want TDS adjusted during the year |
Forgot to declare to your employer? You can still claim the deduction when you file your return. If your return is already filed, see our guides on
revised ITR and
individual ITR filing.
Common 80C Mistakes That Waste Your Limit
Most wasted 80C limit comes from a few repeat errors.
Counting EPF twice. Your payslip EPF is already part of the ₹1.5 lakh. Add new investments only for the gap.
Buying insurance just for the deduction. Premium without the cover you need, locked for years, is a poor trade.
Believing 80C is the end. NPS under 80CCD(1B) gives another ₹50,000, and our 80D calculator covers health-insurance deductions.
Investing in the last week of March. Rushed purchases often end up in the wrong product. A monthly ELSS SIP through the year spreads the cost; try the SIP calculator.
Ignoring the regime choice. Fill 80C and still lose to the new regime, as the break-even above shows.
Want a CA to check your regime choice and file for you? Book a free consultation with the LegalDev India team.
FAQs
No. Section 80C (Section 123 under the 2025 Act) is available only if you opt for the old regime. The new regime allows the standard deduction and the employer's NPS contribution, but not the 80C basket.
Your own NPS contribution under 80CCD(1) counts inside it. An additional ₹50,000 under 80CCD(1B) sits outside it, which is how NPS can take your total to ₹2 lakh.
For income of Tax Year 2026-27 onward, yes. The limit, the eligible payments and the old-regime-only rule are unchanged. FY 2025-26 returns still use the 1961 Act's Section 80C.
ELSS, at three years. PPF locks in for 15 years, and tax-saver FDs, NSC and SCSS for five.
Yes. Claim it in your ITR while filing, and keep the proofs. The only cost is that your employer deducted extra TDS during the year, which comes back as a refund.
Yes. Individuals and HUFs can claim it even when income is under the presumptive schemes (44AD/44ADA), as long as they pick the old regime.
Yes, in the year you pay them for a new home, within the same ₹1.5 lakh cap, so long as you do not sell the property within five years.