Tuesday 17 October 2017

Do you want to save tax while investing?

All of us aspire to get something extra within the same price that we pay for a single good. This is a common human tendency which makes us choosy and we search for avenues which can provide maximum satisfaction to our needs according to the money spend for them. But, when it comes to tax planning, we follow the advice of a tax-planner blindly or go by mouth publicity, which is a wrong practice. Investing along with tax saving is a difficult task for all the clients and needs to be taken care of very efficiently. Thus, to resolve the turmoil mutual fund experts have launched a scheme which allows the clients to save their taxes and at the same time enjoy capital appreciation within a single scheme. The scheme is known as ELSS (Equity Linked Saving Scheme). It allows the clients to access a scheme which abides by all the rules defined under the Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.

Understanding ELSS in a better way

Tax saving is an intricate task for the clients who fall into a higher tax bracket. They are confused about the investment mechanisms which will allow them to save tax and provide higher returns on their savings. The general tax saving mechanisms known to people are PPF and NSC. Both these schemes are government sponsored and gives a rate of interest to the clients. These are similar to having a bank account but differ a little bit. But, with two restrictions, namely, restriction on withdrawal and a minimum amount to be deposited every year. On the contrary, mutual funds have launched ELSS with a view to embracing twin benefits to the clients. ELSS allows the clients to invest in mutual funds and avail the benefits of tax saving. ELSS fund enables the client to invest a sum of Rs. 1.5 Lac, which is the permissible tax rebate limit. This means that the clients can invest Rs. 1.5 Lac from the total taxable income of the clients.


How tax rebate is applicable?

ELSS is a scheme defined under the Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. As per this Section, the clients have the right to save tax up to Rs. 1.5 Lac if their annual income exceeds Rs. 2.5 Lac. The clients are free to invest either the entire amount in ELSS scheme or they can diversify their investments between different tax saving options. For example, a client’s annual income is Rs. 5 Lac. The limit on which a client need not pay taxes according to the tax slab is Rs. 2.5 Lac. Tax is chargeable on the remaining Rs. 2.5 Lac. From this sum the client can save extra Rs. 1.5 Lac, so he will have to pay tax on the remaining 1 Lac which will be less as compared to the tax that has to be paid on Rs. 2.5 Lac. The client will benefit the most if he invests the entire amount in the ELSS fund, as it will provide him with better benefits as compared to any other scheme. All government sponsored schemes provide a rate of interest as low as 8% while ELSS scheme provides a return rate of 15%. Along with having a lock-in period of three years ELSS scheme has been rated as one of the tax savers which has a less lock-in period as compared to any other plan.

Thus, investing in mutual funds will not only save your tax but will also enable you to create a corpus for your future needs on the whole. So, if your income falls under the taxable slab then you can surely opt for ELSS scheme. You can also take up the online ELSS investment through My SIP online which will allow you to monitor your funds and investment in a simple manner.

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