80C and ELSS within the ₹1.5 lakh limit
What counts, and the one limit
- Your EPF share (12% of basic, from the payslip) and voluntary PF.
- PPF and Sukanya Samriddhi deposits.
- ELSS mutual funds (equity-linked savings schemes), locked in for three years from each investment.
- Life insurance premiums, tax-saving fixed deposits of five years, NSC and the Senior Citizens' Savings Scheme.
- Home-loan principal and children's tuition fees.
All of these share one limit of ₹1,50,000 a year. Anything above it deducts nothing more. NPS has a separate ₹50,000 of its own under 80CCD(1B); see NPS and 80CCD(1B).
How much is already used
| What | A year |
|---|---|
| EPF, 12% of ₹50,000 × 12 | ₹72,000 |
| PPF | ₹30,000 |
| Life insurance premium | ₹12,000 |
| Used | ₹1,14,000 |
| Room left in ₹1,50,000 | ₹36,000 |
The room left inside the limit is ₹36,000. An ELSS SIP of ₹3,000 a month for twelve months would come to ₹36,000.
What each rupee is worth
The old regime's tax on a salary of ₹15,00,000, with no 80C, with the ₹1,14,000 already used, with the full limit, and with more than the limit:
| 80C put in | 80C deducted | Old regime tax | Lower by |
|---|---|---|---|
| None | ₹0 | ₹2,57,400 | ₹0 |
| ₹1,14,000 | ₹1,14,000 | ₹2,21,832 | ₹35,568 |
| ₹1,50,000 | ₹1,50,000 | ₹2,10,600 | ₹46,800 |
| ₹2,00,000 | ₹1,50,000 | ₹2,10,600 | ₹46,800 |
Here each rupee of 80C lowers the tax by 31.2 paise (30% plus 4% cess), because the income it comes off is taxed at 30%; on a smaller salary, where it comes off income taxed at 20% or 5%, it is worth less. The last ₹36,000 of room is worth ₹11,232. Above ₹1,50,000 nothing changes. On the same salary the new regime, which allows no 80C, comes to ₹97,500; the old vs new regime guide works through where the old regime's deductions start to cost less.
One amount, two limits
How a year's amount meets 80C's ₹1,50,000 and 80CCD(1B)'s separate ₹50,000, which only NPS can use, for someone with nothing else under 80C (Pocket's engine, tax_india):
| A year | Under 80C | Under 80CCD(1B) | Under neither |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹1,00,000 | ₹1,00,000 | ₹0 | ₹0 |
| ₹2,00,000 | ₹1,50,000 | ₹50,000 | ₹0 |
| ₹3,00,000 | ₹1,50,000 | ₹50,000 | ₹1,00,000 |
Of ₹3,00,000 a year, ₹1,50,000 can count under 80C and ₹50,000 under 80CCD(1B); the remaining ₹1,00,000 counts under neither.
ELSS, in particular
- Lock-in: three years from each investment, the shortest of the 80C options. A SIP's instalments unlock one by one, three years after each date.
- Tax on the gains: an ELSS is an equity fund, so a gain on units held over twelve months (every ELSS unit is) is a long-term capital gain at 12.5% on what is above ₹1,25,000 in the year; see the ₹1.25 lakh LTCG room.
- No fixed return: it is invested in shares, so its value goes down as well as up.
How Pocket works it out
Pocket's Tax page counts your EPF share, twelve months of it from your payslip, towards 80C in the old regime's working, and shows its deduction tracker: each limit, what is used and what is left. It is a planning estimate, not a tax return: the Income Tax Department and a chartered accountant have the final word.
Questions
What is the 80C limit for FY 2026-27?
₹1,50,000 a year, in the old regime only, across everything that counts under it: your EPF share, PPF, ELSS, life insurance premiums, home-loan principal, children's tuition fees and the rest.
Does my EPF count towards 80C?
Your own share does: 12% of a basic of ₹50,000 a month is ₹72,000 a year, already inside the limit before anything else is added.
How long is ELSS locked in?
Three years from the date each investment is made, so each SIP instalment is free three years after its own date.
Does 80C lower tax in the new regime?
No. The new regime allows no 80C deduction. On a salary of ₹15,00,000 its tax is ₹97,500.
Sources
- Income Tax Department: the Acts, rules, circulars and its own tax calculator, at incometaxindia.gov.in
- Income-tax Act, 2025, which replaces the Income-tax Act, 1961 from 1 April 2026 (FY 2026-27); the 1961 Act's section numbers are given too, as most forms and payslips still use them
- Finance Act, 2025: the new regime's slabs and the ₹12 lakh rebate, from FY 2025-26; and Finance Act, 2026 (Budget 2026), which left the slabs, the rebate and the surcharge as they were for FY 2026-27
- Income-tax Act, 1961, section 80C, and the Income-tax Act, 2025's section in its place: the ₹1,50,000 limit and what counts under it
- Income-tax Act, 1961, section 80CCD(1B): NPS's separate ₹50,000
- Equity Linked Saving Scheme, 2005 (Ministry of Finance): ELSS and its three-year lock-in
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