India Tax Deductions Reference: 80C / 80CCD / 80D + All Sections

There are a dozen-plus Chapter VI-A deductions in the Income Tax Act, each with its own cap, eligibility, and old-vs-new regime applicability. This reference covers the ones actually worth claiming, in order of typical rupee-value, with FY 2026-27 caps and the old-regime vs new-regime status of each.

At a glance: what works under each regime

Section 80C — the ₹1.5 lakh bucket

The single most-claimed deduction. Old regime only. Cap ₹1,50,000 across all qualifying instruments combined.

Qualifying instruments (partial list):

• EPF employee contribution — auto-deducted 12% of basic. Often uses up 50-70% of the 80C cap just from salary.
• PPF deposit — up to ₹1.5L per year per PAN. Most popular voluntary 80C instrument.
• ELSS (Equity-Linked Savings Scheme) — equity MF with 3-year lock-in. See our 80C comparison for the numbers.
• Life insurance premium — on policies where premium is < 10% of sum assured (post-2012 rule).
• Home loan principal repayment — the principal portion of each EMI; typically 10-30% of EMI depending on tenure year.
• Tax-saver FD (5-year lock-in).
• Sukanya Samriddhi — for daughters under 10; 8.2% currently, 21-year maturity.
• Children’s tuition fees — up to 2 children, full-time education only.
• NSC (National Savings Certificate), ULIPs meeting conditions, Senior Citizen Savings Scheme.

Key point: it’s a combined ₹1.5L cap, not per-instrument. ₹1L in EPF + ₹1L in PPF = ₹2L claimed → capped at ₹1.5L.

Section 80CCD(1B) — the extra ₹50,000

Only for NPS Tier I self-contribution. Stacks on top of the ₹1.5L 80C cap, so effectively extends total NPS-related deduction to ₹2L. Old regime only. Underrated — only ~20% of eligible salaried employees claim it.

See our NPS Tier I vs Tier II post for the full NPS picture.

Section 80D — health insurance

Deductions for health-insurance premiums paid:

• Self + spouse + dependent children (below 60): ₹25,000
• Self + spouse + children (if any is 60+, e.g., you): ₹50,000
• Parents (below 60): additional ₹25,000
• Parents (60+): additional ₹50,000
• Preventive health check-up (any age): ₹5,000 within the above limits

Maximum combined deduction: ₹1,00,000 when both you + parents are 60+ senior citizens. Old regime only.

Practical tip: pay the family health premium for your parents even if they could pay — you get the deduction, they save the cash. Only works if you’re the one paying.

Section 80E — education loan interest

The full interest paid on a qualifying higher-education loan is deductible. No cap. Window: 8 consecutive years starting the year interest first becomes payable, OR until the loan is paid off — whichever comes first.

• Loan must be from a scheduled bank / notified financial institution.
• Must be for higher education (post-12th standard) in India or abroad.
• Borrower must be the taxpayer OR the taxpayer’s spouse / children (parents claiming for their kid’s loan also qualifies).
• Only interest is deductible, not principal. Principal repayment doesn’t qualify under 80E or 80C.

Bonus: education loans that qualify under 80E also get the 0.5% LRS TCS rate (vs 5% for self-funded education remittance). See our LRS TCS post.

Section 80G — charitable donations

Two tiers depending on the charity:

• 100% deduction without qualifying-limit: PM National Relief Fund, PM CARES, National Defence Fund, Swachh Bharat Kosh, a few notified charities.
• 50% or 100% deduction with qualifying-limit: most NGOs holding 80G registration, subject to 10% of adjusted gross income cap.

From FY 2023-24, donations via cash exceeding ₹2,000 are not deductible. Use bank transfer or card for any donation above that. Keep the 80G receipt from the charity.

Section 80TTA vs 80TTB — account interest

• 80TTA — ₹10,000 deduction on savings-account interest. Excludes FD interest. Applies to individuals < 60 and HUFs.
• 80TTB — ₹50,000 deduction for senior citizens (60+) on deposit interest (savings + FD + RD combined). Mutually exclusive with 80TTA — seniors claim 80TTB only.

Section 24(b) — home loan interest

• Self-occupied property: ₹2,00,000 cap per year. Old regime only.
• Let-out property: no cap (the entire interest is deductible from rental income); excess losses can be set off against other heads up to ₹2,00,000. Old regime only.
• Pre-construction interest: interest paid during construction is deductible in 5 equal instalments starting the year construction completes.

Prepayment reduces future interest, which reduces Section 24(b) claimable amount. See our prepayment post for the tax-adjusted break-even.

HRA exemption under Section 10(13A)

Not strictly a Chapter VI-A deduction, but commonly grouped with salary deductions. For salaried taxpayers paying rent, exempt amount is the minimum of:

1. Actual HRA received from employer
2. Rent paid minus 10% of basic salary
3. 50% of basic (metro) or 40% (non-metro)

Old regime only. See our salary-structure post for a worked example.

Typical salaried old-regime stack (FY 2026-27)

A realistic deduction stack for a ₹25L-salary mid-career professional, old regime:

• Standard deduction: ₹50,000
• 80C full (EPF + PPF/ELSS + insurance): ₹1,50,000
• 80CCD(1B) via NPS Tier I: ₹50,000
• 80D self + parents: ₹75,000
• Section 24(b) home loan interest: ₹2,00,000
• HRA exemption (formula-based): ₹3,00,000
• Professional tax: ₹2,500
• Total: ~₹8,27,500 off taxable income

At 30% slab + 4% cess that’s ₹2.58L of tax saved per year.

Things that are NOT deductible (common mistakes)

• Rent paid without HRA in the salary (unless you claim under Section 80GG; small cap, conditions).
• Mobile phone, laptop purchases (unless employer- reimbursed as a taxable perquisite under a structured policy).
• Credit card annual fees, gym memberships, club fees.
• Donations to non-80G organizations — including most informal / online fundraisers.
• Alimony, maintenance payments.
• Interest on personal loans, car loans, credit cards for private use (home-loan interest is a specific exception).

How much effort vs how much saved?

Rough rupee value of each deduction at 30% slab + cess (= 31.2%):

• Section 24(b) ₹2L → ~₹62,400/year saved
• 80C ₹1.5L → ~₹46,800/year saved
• HRA ₹3L → ~₹93,600/year saved
• 80D ₹75K → ~₹23,400/year saved
• 80CCD(1B) ₹50K → ~₹15,600/year saved
• 80G ₹50K → ~₹15,600/year saved (if 100% deduction bracket)

Priority order: max 80C (auto-happens via EPF), rent receipts for HRA, pay 80D premium, claim 24(b) on home loan, add 80CCD(1B) NPS ₹50K. Everything else is optimisation on the margins.

Run your own scenarios

Plug every deduction into our Income Tax Calculator — it computes the exact rupee impact under both regimes side-by-side. For HRA and salary components, the Salary Calculator derives the exempt amount from rent + basic. For 80C instrument choice, our PPF vs ELSS vs FD post does the compounding math.

Sources

• Income Tax Act 1961 — Chapter VI-A (Sections 80C through 80U) + Section 10 exemptions.
• Finance Act 2024 — latest rebate + standard-deduction + slab amendments.
• CBDT Circular 4/2022 — employer TDS guidance on deduction declarations.
• Income Tax Department (incometaxindia.gov.in) — form 10BB for 80G donation claims, section-wise cap updates.