Under Section 80C and 80CC of the IT Act, individuals and members of Hindu Undivided Family can avail benefits under deductions. Under this section, premiums paid during the policy tenure are qualified for tax savings, provided that the policy is availed in the individual’s name or in the name of his/her spouse or children. This type of deduction is eligible only for premium amounts the values of which is not more than 10% of the sum total of the amount insured in the policy issued on or after April 1, 2012. For the policy issued before March 31, 2012, deduction will be eligible for premium payment of up to 20% of the sum insured amount.

As per Section 80C of the IT Act, these benefits are available on investments up to 1,50,000 on life insurance products.

• Under section 80CCC
  Deductions are eligible only for pension plans. Deductions are allowed for premiums paid towards the scheme for up to one lakh fifty thousand.
  
• Under Section 80D
  Deductions are eligible for individuals or a member of a Hindu Undivided Family alongside the policies availed in the name of individual, his/her spouse and dependent children. The maximum limit of deduction benefit is 25000 rupees. However, an additional deduction benefit of 25000 rupees can be availed if the policy is in the name of parents.

• Under Section 80DD
  Premium paid for policy availed in the name of disabled dependent is allowed for yearly deduction of INR 75,000 (Disability is more than 40% but less than 80%). The deduction amount allowed is INR 1,25,000 for severely disabled people (Disability is more than 80%). This deduction is fixed amount of deduction irrespective to actual expenditure.
• Under Section 10(10D)
  Benefits received under a life insurance policy are exempted from taxation. Such benefits also encompass any amount received out of the policy in bonus form or Section 80DD (3) or under Key Man Insurance Policy.
• Under Section 80C
  Section 80C states provisions for taxpayers to save taxes up to INR 1,50,000 in a year through tax-saving investment schemes, among which the best is equity-linked savings scheme (ELSS) which offers two-in-one benefit of tax-saving as well as financial growth. Besides ELSS, other government savings schemes like Public Provident Fund (PPF), tax-saving FDs, National Savings Certificate (NSC), are also very beneficial and allow deductions of up to INR 1.5 lakh when cumulative investments are made in these options. Deductions can also be claimed for the payments made towards school/tuition fee of children and repayment of home loan principal amount Under Section 80C.
• HRA Exemption
  HRA exemption is allowed to taxpayers having rented accommodation i.e. they are eligible to claim exemption on the rent paid by them, provided they furnish the rent receipts given by their landlord. The amount of exemption eligible to claim is the lowest of the following:
  o Total HRA availed.
  o Total rent paid minus 10% of the basic salary.
  o 40% of the basic salary for taxpayers living in non-metro cities and 50% in metro cities, respectively.
• Under Section 80E
  Section 80E of the Income Tax Act, 1961 allows deduction of the interest paid (component of EMI) on the education loan when the education loan has been availed. Deduction Under Section 80E can be availed for a maximum of 8 years or till the repayment of interest, whichever is earlier. There is no limit on the amount of deduction.
• Other Exemptions and Deductions
  In addition to these deductions and exemptions, there are some other methods also to save taxes like donations made to eligible organizations & charitable homes allow tax exemption of 50%-100%. Donations made to charities prescribed Under Section 80G allows 100% deduction. Donations to funds like Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund, National Defense Fund and National Foundation for Communal Harmony also allow 100% deduction Every taxpayer must smartly optimize their tax liability through tax-saving investments that offer financial growth besides saving tax outgo. All this can be done with proper tax-planning.