Where are the benefits available?

Rs 1 lakh

Options available: Provident fund contribution,Public Provident Fund (upto Rs 70,000 per year),life insurance policy premium,infrastructure bonds,National Savings Certificate,Senior Citizen Saving Scheme,Post Office five-year term deposit account,tax saving fixed deposits with banks (five year),Equity Linked Saving Schemes of mutual funds,or expenses like payment of principal amount on home loan,or tuition fees. Reduce the gross total income by the investments made under this section,subject to a cap of Rs 1 lakh.

Section 80CCC

Maximum investment permitted:

Rs 1 lakh (this is within the overall limit of Section 80C)

Options available: Pension plans

Section 80D

Maximum investment permitted:

Rs 15,000 for young people,Rs 20,000 for senior citizens

Options available: Health insurance premium paid for self,spouse and dependent children qualify for exemption. Additionally,you can also claim Rs 15,000 payment paid for health insurance of parents. This amount can be raised to Rs 20,000 in case of senior citizens.

Section 80DD

Maximum investment permitted:

Rs 50,000,or Rs 75,000,if dependant has severe disability

Options available: Expenses incurred during the medical treatment of a handicapped dependant. In case there is severe disability,the claim amount can go up to Rs 75,000. Or you can invest Rs 75,000 for the benefit of the dependant.

Section 80DDB

Maximum investment permitted:

Rs 40,000,or Rs 60,000 in case of senior citizens

Options available: Expenses incurred during the medical treatment of specified diseases certified by approved hospitals.

Section 80E

Maximum investment permitted:

No ceiling

Options available: Repayment of interest on education loan taken for self,spouse or childrens education qualifies for tax benefits. There is no ceiling on the interest portion for the loan but unlike home loans,principal repayment gets no tax advantage. This is applicable only to regular courses.

Section 80G

Maximum investment permitted:

10% of gross total income

Options available:

Donations made to specific

trusts/ charities/ funds

Section 80GG

Maximum investment permitted:

Excess of actual rent paid over 10 per cent of gross total income

Options available: Rent paid for residential purposes. However,the person should not be getting house rent allowance and the actual rent paid should be in excess of 10 per cent of the total income.

Section 80U

Maximum investment permitted:

Rs 50,000,or Rs 75,000 in case of severe disability

Options available: Expenses incurred on self in case of disability

Section 24 (b)

Maximum investment permitted:

Rs 1,50,000,if the property is self occupied

Options available: Repayment of interest on home loan up to Rs 1.5 lakh is deductible if the property is self occupied. If the property is rented out,there is no cap on the interest portion that you can claim for deduction.