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Tax-Saving Checklist for Salaried Indians.

A month-by-month, 20-point checklist to ensure you don't miss a single deduction or compliance deadline for FY 2026-27. Print this. Stick it on your wall. Check items off as you go.

The 20-Point Checklist

Most salaried Indians lose money on taxes because they forget deadlines, miss deductions, or don't reconcile documents. This checklist covers every action item across the year.

Month	Action Item	Section	Deadline
Apr–May	Choose regime (Old vs New) via employer declaration	—	Before first payroll
Apr–May	Submit investment proof for 80C/80D/NPS to employer	80C, 80D, 80CCD	Employer deadline (usually Jun)
15 Jun	1st Advance Tax installment (≥15% of estimated tax)	208	15 June 2026
Jul–Aug	Verify TDS deducted matches offer letter terms	192	Monthly
15 Sep	2nd Advance Tax installment (≥45% of estimated tax)	208	15 September 2026
Oct–Nov	Review Form 26AS / AIS for TDS credit accuracy	—	Before 2nd advance tax
15 Dec	3rd Advance Tax installment (≥75% of estimated tax)	208	15 December 2026
Jan–Feb	Link PAN-Aadhaar if not already linked	—	Before 31 Mar 2027
15 Mar	4th Advance Tax installment (≥100% of estimated tax)	208	15 March 2027
31 Mar	Max out 80C investments (₹1.5L limit)	80C	31 March 2027
31 Mar	Pay remaining health insurance premium for 80D	80D	31 March 2027
Jul (FY+1)	Receive Form 16 from employer	203	By 15 June 2027
Jul (FY+1)	Reconcile Form 16 with 26AS/AIS and file ITR	139(1)	31 July 2027

Section 80C Basket

Section 80C gives you a ₹1.5 lakh annual deduction across 10 eligible instruments. This is the most accessible tax-saving tool for every salaried Indian.

Instrument	Lock-in	Returns	Best For
PPF	15 years	~7.1% tax-free	Long-term savings, sovereign guarantee
ELSS	3 years	Market-linked	Equity exposure, shortest lock-in in 80C
EPF (employee + VPF)	Until retirement	~8.25%	Forced savings, employer match
LIC Premium	Policy term	Low (2-3%)	Only if already paying; avoid new ULIPs for 80C
NSC	5 years	~7.7%	Fixed income, government-backed
5-Year FD	5 years	~7-7.5%	Bank FD with tax-saving lock-in
SSY (Sukanya Samriddhi)	21 years	~8.2%	Girl child, long-term wealth building
SCSS (Senior Citizen)	5 years	~8.2%	Age 60+, quarterly payout
Tuition Fees	None	N/A	Max 2 children, full-time education only
ULIP	5 years	Market-linked	Avoid for 80C — ELSS is better. Only if existing policy.

STRATEGY

Max out EPF first (employer matches). Then PPF (sovereign guarantee, tax-free returns). Then ELSS for equity exposure. Total: ₹1.5L limit across all instruments. Unused 80C limit is lost — it doesn't carry forward.

Section 80D Health Insurance

Section 80D allows deduction on health insurance premiums paid for yourself, family, and parents. This is separate from 80C — an additional deduction.

Category	Limit	Notes
Self + Family (< 60)	₹25,000	Includes preventive health check-up
Self + Family (≥ 60, Senior)	₹50,000	Higher limit for senior citizens
Parents (< 60)	₹25,000	Separate from self — additional deduction
Parents (≥ 60, Senior)	₹50,000	Higher limit for senior citizen parents
Preventive Health Check-up	₹5,000	Within the ₹25K/₹50K limit, not additional

Maximum possible 80D deduction: ₹25K (self < 60) + ₹50K (parents ≥ 60) = ₹75,000/year. If you're also a senior citizen: ₹50K + ₹50K = ₹1,00,000/year.

COMMON MISTAKE

Many salaried Indians skip 80D because their employer provides group health insurance. Employer-paid premiums don't count for 80D — only premiums you pay personally. Buy a separate policy to claim this deduction.

Home Loan Benefits

Home loan borrowers get tax benefits across three sections. The combined benefit can reduce your taxable income by up to ₹4 lakh per year.

home Section 24(b) — Interest on Home Loan

Deduction on interest paid on home loan for self-occupied property: up to ₹2,00,000/year. For let-out property: no upper limit (but loss set-off capped at ₹2L).

Construction must be completed within 5 years from end of FY of borrowing. If not, limit drops to ₹30,000.

savings Section 80C — Principal Repayment

Principal repayment of home loan qualifies under 80C — within the ₹1.5L aggregate limit. This includes stamp duty and registration charges paid.

Property must not be sold within 5 years of possession. If sold, the deduction is reversed.

add_home Section 80EE — Additional Interest Deduction

Additional ₹50,000 deduction on interest for first-time homebuyers. Loan sanctioned in FY 2016-17. Loan ≤ ₹35L, property value ≤ ₹50L.

add_home Section 80EEA — Affordable Housing Interest

Additional ₹1,50,000 deduction on interest for affordable housing. Loan sanctioned between 1 Apr 2019–31 Mar 2022. Stamp duty value ≤ ₹45L. First-time buyer.

80EE and 80EEA cannot be claimed together. Choose the one that gives higher benefit.

MAXIMUM HOME LOAN BENEFIT

₹2,00,000 (24b interest) + ₹1,50,000 (80C principal) + ₹50,000 (80EE) = ₹4,00,000/year. At 30% slab, that's ₹1,32,000 tax saved annually.

NPS Benefits

National Pension System offers tax benefits under two separate sections — one for your contribution, one for your employer's. Both work under Old and New regimes.

person 80CCD(1B) — Your Contribution

₹50,000

Additional deduction over and above ₹1.5L 80C limit. Available in both regimes.

This is the "extra" NPS deduction that makes it so powerful — it stacks on top of 80C.

business 80CCD(2) — Employer Contribution

14%

Of Basic Salary. Exempt in both regimes (private: 14% New, 10% Old; central govt: 14% both).

No upper limit on deduction — but subject to ₹7.5L aggregate cap with EPF + Superannuation.

NPS + 80C COMBINED STRATEGY

₹1.5L (80C) + ₹50K (80CCD(1B)) + Employer NPS (80CCD(2)) = up to ₹2L+ deduction from your contribution alone. Ask your employer to add NPS to your CTC structure.

Form 16 / AIS Reconciliation

Form 16 is your TDS certificate from your employer. AIS (Annual Information Statement) is the Income Tax Department's record of all financial transactions linked to your PAN. Mismatches between these two documents are a scrutiny trigger.

WHAT TO CHECK IN FORM 16

✓ Gross salary matches offer letter CTC
✓ TDS deducted matches monthly payslips
✓ HRA exemption claimed matches rent receipts
✓ 80C/80D deductions match investment proofs
✓ Standard deduction of ₹75,000 applied

WHAT TO CHECK IN AIS

✓ All salary credits recorded (Form 26AS)
✓ Bank interest, dividends, capital gains reported
✓ TDS credits for all sources (salary, bank, broker)
✓ High-value transactions flagged correctly
✗ Any income showing in AIS that's NOT in your ITR

SCRUTINY TRIGGER

If AIS shows income of ₹15L but your ITR declares ₹12L, the system flags the ₹3L discrepancy automatically. Always reconcile AIS before filing. If AIS has an error, raise a correction request on the Income Tax portal.

PAN-Aadhaar Link

PAN-Aadhaar linking is mandatory. If your PAN is not linked to Aadhaar by 31 March 2027, the PAN becomes inoperative — and every TDS deduction on your income jumps to 20%.

CONSEQUENCES OF UNLINKED PAN

✗ PAN becomes inoperative
✗ TDS rate jumps to 20% (vs normal 10%)
✗ Cannot file ITR
✗ Cannot claim refund
✗ Cannot use-specify transactions (property, MF, etc.)

HOW TO LINK

1. Visit income tax e-filing portal
2. Go to Profile → Aadhaar Linking
3. Enter PAN and Aadhaar number
4. Pay ₹1,000 fee if linking after deadline
5. Verify status after 48 hours

Check your linking status now at the Income Tax portal. If unlinked, pay the ₹1,000 fee and submit before March 2027. The 20% TDS penalty is avoidable with a simple 10-minute online process.

Updated Return Caution

Section 139(8A) allows you to file an Updated Return within 24 months from the end of the relevant assessment year if you missed reporting income. But this is not a tool to reduce your declared income.

DO NOT USE UPDATED RETURN TO DECLARE LOWER INCOME

Updated Return can only be filed to ADD income not previously reported. You cannot use it to reduce income, claim additional deductions, or change your regime. If you filed with higher income by mistake, you must file a revised return under 139(5) within the original filing deadline — not an updated return.

UPDATED RETURN IS FOR

✓ Income from a source you forgot to report
✓ Interest income from a new bank account
✓ Capital gains from a transaction you missed
✓ Rental income not previously declared

UPDATED RETURN IS NOT FOR

✗ Reducing income you already declared
✗ Switching from Old to New regime (or vice versa)
✗ Claiming deductions you forgot in original ITR
✗ Correcting over-reporting of income

If you filed your ITR with higher income than actual, file a revised return under Section 139(5) before the deadline (usually 31 December of the assessment year). Updated Returns have an additional tax of 20-50% on the additional income tax payable — they're a compliance tool, not a tax-planning tool.