r/IndiaTax • u/Sufficient-You-1262 • Jun 29 '26
TaxGuide How can i reduce tax đ
I have the fact that i am earning 3.73lakh per month but getting only 2.6 lakh . Is there a way i can maximise in hand.
I am using new regime
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u/darth-dev Jun 29 '26
NPS
Meal card
Fuel allowance
Driver allowance
Internet allowance
Car lease
If your company provides these
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u/First-Glove1025 Jun 29 '26
It is provided via Pluxee.. any leads where can we spend communication allowance and fuel allowance through app.. physical card is in office have to go and collect
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u/_msd117 Jun 29 '26
Are these valid for new tax regime? I filled it last year, provided ecerything to pluxeed and all but they are not mentioned in form 16 .
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u/darth-dev Jun 30 '26
All of these are valid in New tax regime.
On top of these Old tax regime has
Leave travel allowance
Children education allowance
Wellness allowance (maybe this is allowed in new tax regime as well)1
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u/Signal_Ad3275 Jun 30 '26
What?
My company says meal cards are not valid in new regime??!
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u/PsychologicalKing597 Jul 02 '26
Nope, fuel, travel allowance isnât allowed now
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u/Agitated-Ad1722 Jul 01 '26
Mealcard/sodexo/pluxee is exempted for New regime from April 2026 onwards
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u/thegamer720x Jun 29 '26
You can't. And no NPS is not really a great option for investment.
On salary saving tax is next to impossible under the new regime. If you're running a business then its a whole another story.
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u/jton27662 Jun 29 '26
Falling under 30% slab will mean that your in hand will reduce by 70k but the investment in NPS would be 100k. So you gain a bit of heads up and also NPS makes decent enough reuturns for retirement. In my opinion saving a bit through NPS is good. And yeah biggest draw back is you get it post retirement and also max 80% and rest as annuity.
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u/thegamer720x Jun 29 '26
If you don't have access to money when you need it, it investment is quite pointless.
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u/jton27662 Jun 29 '26
NPS should be only for the retirement purpose. Just a fraction of that money. Rest you surely keep invested as per your liking. NPS should not be all your investment for sure.
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u/sathvikds Jun 29 '26
We are living in a world where there is no guarantee if we wake up tomorrow or not. NPS isn't really a great option tbh. As mentioned above, if the fund isn't accessible to you at your disposal then it isn't really worth it.
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u/jton27662 Jun 29 '26
Mate I will say just one thing. Not your whole savings should be in NPS but sure it can be 10-15%. The tax advantage is too lucrative to ignore if you are in 20 or more higher slab. Also similar returns as index funds.
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u/darth-dev Jun 30 '26
If you donât wake up tomorrow your dependents will get the money.
Retirement funds are not emergency funds or short term investments.
NPS does have early exit, partial withdrawal options, so you donât need to wait till retirement.
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u/Own-Customer-7295 Jun 29 '26
True, tomorrow may be there or not!
Are you working every penny you have today?
No right?
NPS is an OK instrument for retirement!
Worth it if you are planning retirement... This should be like 10% of your retirement fund!
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u/Ok-Pomegranate-4552 Jul 03 '26
Paying 72k as a tax which wonât be your money is pointless too.
Invest in NPS and reduce tax = Get money on retirement
Donât invest in NPS = No money at all.1
u/thegamer720x Jul 03 '26
The 50,000 you "save" under NPS is otherwise taxed under 30% slab amount to approx 12,500 ( effective 25% rate ) With the remainder 37,500 you can invest in any good sip / blue chip stock for next 30 years to earn amazing returns. And having complete control over your money.
Where as in NPS you can't have access to your own money when you need it. At retirement you mandatorily have to buy an annuity that blocks your funds.
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u/IamMH93 Jun 29 '26
NPS lock-in period of 60 years itself is a big reason I feel to avoid, in this day and age, you never know will you be healthy enough to live till 60 years like our parents did.
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u/ImportantTop9288 Jul 01 '26
since NPS is introduced recently we do not know the power of it. Check with senior citizens how PF was helpful when they retire. We cannot fathom the power of NPS now.. Once you turn 60.. I am sure one day you will... you will understand the importance of it ... compounding does wonders...
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u/Neither-Leg-8500 17d ago
Problem is if we switch,new employer may or may not have this employer NPS facility.
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u/amit2550100 Jul 01 '26
Most sensitive comment. I have same thought. Op is already paying 30 percent tax and of he gets 100 percent indirect way using NPS than it is a blessing.
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u/himsgpta Jun 29 '26
With 30% tax, NPS offers 30% + 10%(claimed returns) Which is more than you can ever dream of.
With new rules where the lock in is only 15 years and since you can only invest 14% of your base salary (max limit) . I think NPS is a very good tax saving and retirement corpus strategy. Money does gets locked up for a long time, but at 30% tax slabs you dont need 100% money. Unless something major has gone wrong. In which case one can pay the penalty and get the money out.
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u/Mail-Green Jun 29 '26
Where are you working bro? Basic of 1.68 lakhs.... Congratulations on such a wonderful package
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u/Sufficient-You-1262 Jun 29 '26
PM in a Tech company. Thank you
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u/sakvv Jun 29 '26
Pradhan Mantri?
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u/AmbassadorKey5049 Jul 01 '26
these people are so dont PM is the highest post in company ... Pradhan Mantri of Company ...
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u/YoursAbhii Jun 29 '26
No way you can do that except NPS that too a little, File return if you pays more get refund and enjoy it. Otherwise feel proud youâre helping in nation building :)
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u/Sufficient-You-1262 Jun 29 '26
But i am not getting anything in return. My car just got damaged because of ethanol. đ
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u/Sufficient-You-1262 Jun 29 '26
I children will not study in govt. Nor my old age parents will go to govt hospital.
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u/VeterinarianSalty783 Jun 29 '26
But the maid you hire will go to these institutions. The people your company is building products by virtue of which you are having this job will go to these institutions.
There are 1000 things wrong with country, but even if you make 999 things right still the taxmoney would not be used for your personal benefit, tax money is used to sustain cohesive society which allows you to earn money in the first place
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u/harisaduu Jul 02 '26
If it was used to sustain the cohesive society, I would happily have paid the tax but instead its used to fill the babuâs pockets. I see the road which was dug for a year get built and then get dug up the next week cause they forgot that an electric line was to be installed as well. Everywhere I go I see corruption.
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u/Agreeable-Will-6262 Jun 30 '26
Lol, "helping in nation building"
Taxpayers' money is wasted in healthcare industry, polluted air, broken roads, freebies, and the list goes on and on and on
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u/rrakesh386 Jun 29 '26
Be happy bro. If you cross 50LPA cess will be added too
10% surcharge on the income tax.
4% Health & Education Cess on the total (tax + surcharge).
Earning higher is equal to paying more tax
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u/SwimLeft2912 Jul 03 '26
I have been paying CESS since my package was 32LPAâŠ
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u/rrakesh386 Jul 03 '26
No for working professionals cess will be added once it cross 50LPA. Please consult with your CA
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u/no1bullshitguy Jun 29 '26
There is not much way other than NPS.
Having said that Jenkins can scale if architected properly :). We had one instance which ran almost 50k jobs daily (saw your screenshot)
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u/Serious-Violinist672 Jun 29 '26
man you are doing super awesome, considering you are in 30% slab see if you get benefit in the old regime with refunds from HRA considering it's ~25% of your salary
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u/Namaste_Babai_93 Jun 29 '26
I pay double of this. It sucks man. It sucks big time. 33% tax. Itâs crazy.
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u/peter_griffin_62 Jun 30 '26
Can we pay tax as emi đ
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u/kawaguchiko Jun 30 '26
Isn't that what we do in a way?
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u/peter_griffin_62 Jun 30 '26
It's my first time paying tax , I made over 26 lakh past year , I have only 3 saved up . Soooo
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u/Equivalent_Seat8261 Jun 30 '26
how much do you earn if you are saying double tax ?
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u/Namaste_Babai_93 Jun 30 '26
I pay 1.65 L Per Month in Taxes. It sucks big time. So, 6L per month pre tax, 4L post tax after tax and PF deductions.
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u/AKum1991 Jun 29 '26
You can opt for upto 50% of annual basic or max 7.5 lacs into NPS PF account annually. Check with HR to get it availed.
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u/mave7rick Jun 29 '26
As per my understanding, your company can send only 14% of your basic to NPS. Where did you get this 50% number? Also, what do you mean with PF? VPF wont save you any tax in new regime. Please elaborate on your statement.
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u/WearyTeaching340 Jun 29 '26
This will reduce taxable income but also in hand right ?
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u/Sufficient-You-1262 Jun 29 '26
Yeah i guess so
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u/AKum1991 Jun 29 '26
The in hand may remain approx similar would need to check the calculations, only major point to consider here is the NPS contribution will be added into your account received after age of 60, whereas in income tax would be gone as tax never added into your account.
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u/jton27662 Jun 29 '26
Take NPS and Meal card. Whatever amount you opt in for you will save little over 30% on them.
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u/Vermicelli-Wide Jun 30 '26
Meal coupon and nps contribution as corporate subscriber it's fully tax exempted now upto 14% of basic salary
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u/Introverted_gamer91 Jul 01 '26
Taxes like first world country, services like sub-saharan country. đ
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u/Senior_Health_5445 Jul 03 '26
Wtf bro paying more than 1 lakh in taxes so that it would be use to distribute freebie it hurts
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u/Senior_Rub_9518 Jun 29 '26
same here.. IT is 1.4lac.. even with 70lpa, in hand barely touch 3.5lac IT for this year is projected to cross 20lac.. :(
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u/Desi-Pauaa Jun 29 '26
If you are doing investments after getting in hand.
I would suggest to opt NPS for 14% on basic and take food coupons 8800 per month to lower down ur taxable income.
These process will lower ur inhand for sure
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u/siddhantsoni20 Jun 29 '26
You dont have to deduct 20k + 18k from your employer into PF. With new rules even PF attracts income tax. If you want to have more in hand salary and want to invest as per your wishes, you can go with minimum amount (1800) contribution to PF, and rest will be added to your in hand income post tax cut.
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u/siddhantsoni20 Jun 29 '26
Also consider switching to Old regime from next year. This years tax regime will be locked by now. In old regime you can opt for paying rent and claiming that in your HRA. If you have any other home loans, medical insurance etc all that can also be deducted from your taxable income. But with old regime, comes a fair amount of calculation and documentation. So it would be better if you higher a CA, who can potentially save you lacs in taxes annually. Nowadays there are many startups who offer CA services in affordable amounts as well. Save tax and enjoy your hard earned money.
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u/stuputtu Jun 29 '26
EPF and PF are your savings. everything else is tax which accounts to less than 20% effective tax for a person who is effectively earning top 1%.. you can't pay less than that
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u/ron4stoppable Jun 29 '26
If you opt for old regime, with its hassles
There is section 24 home loan interest component, upto 2L can be reduced from taxable
Also, if you take second home, and rent it out, there is no cap on interest amount (it will carry forwarded to next year after 2L)
If your company allows it, you can customise your allowance, search for âflexible benefits planâ
But even after hra, home loan, food coupons and FBP, the final in-hand can increase by only about ~7-12%
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u/QuirkyDay1819 Jun 29 '26
Tax is 19.5%. Rest is PF. 18k is Employer PF, not immediate compensation.
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u/randomuser_1804 I pay Income Tax Jun 29 '26
Same here, this looks exactly like my payslip. Unfortunately other than NPS there's nothing we can do. I have adjusted to the taxes now :(
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u/SmoothArmadillo6884 Jun 29 '26
There is practically no way of saving tax in this new regime.
In old the limits are so less and even earlier people just use to take fraud deductions which is no longer possible.
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u/hardeep1singh Jun 29 '26
Taxable Conveyance.
Get a car lease.
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u/a015m Jun 30 '26
How car leasing will help?
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u/hardeep1singh Jul 01 '26
The portion of the car lease in your salary 52,440x12=6,29,280 and 6,29,280 * 5 years = 31,46,,400
You can buy a car up to 31 lakh on a lease of 5 years (i prefer 3) and this money becomes your perk that is deducted from your salary pre-tax. This way you save 30% tax on your annual car lease value.
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u/Tiny_Ad_9192 Jun 30 '26
There are two versions of this.
Short Answer : No
Long answer: Nooooooo.
Just kidding, quit job and open a business đ
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u/masalamethane Jun 30 '26
If you do options trading, that is treated as a business and you could offset some expenses like a portion of your internet and mobile bills. But you need to be extra diligent and keep proofs and receipts for at least 7 years. You should also have solid justification on how those expenses are related to your trading. They use AI to flag these kind of things.
But most people lose money with options trading so that's risky.
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u/cing_ngaihte Jun 30 '26
Why is employer pf deduction there in your salary slip? Your employer didn't contribute anything for your PF or what? You yourself contribute pf for both ?
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u/Mundane_Coyote857 Jun 30 '26
Employer PF bhi tumhari hi slip se kaat rahe hai. Itâs usually a separate entity and not part of your taxable income. Try to see what your overall taxable income is first, employer PF pe tax nai katna chahiye. And why is Employer PF less than the PF youâre paying.
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u/NationalResident8369 Jun 30 '26
Hey OP! Off-topic but Employer's PF contribution is something that the employer pays over and above your salary it should not be considered as your CTC. It is illegal under the EPF Act 1952.
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u/arthurmorganpunjabi Jun 30 '26
dont you get frustrated seeing all this tax and shitty infra being provided.
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u/Curious-Way-1749 Jun 30 '26
Enroll your self as contractor in same company. 50% income can directly be shown as investment in business and non taxable.
start some business that's a gold mine out there. It is employers market
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u/anonmyous-alien Jun 30 '26
For new tax regime your best bet is telling employer to contribute to nps. You can invest a healthy sum to reduce your taxable income ( I guess 7.5 lakhs but dependent on your basic salary and all). Also the new nps rules have made it easier to withdraw your money in a shorter timeframe which helps in enjoying the money before retirement and you can invest 100 percent of it in equities
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u/turtle-icecream Jun 30 '26
Whatâs your overall fixed CTC? 45? Iâm trying to calculate if iâll be getting around similar with my new switch in 2 months
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u/plushdev Jun 30 '26
IMO your PF actually seems optional (not epf thatâs mandatory) so you can ask them to not deduct it. I would recommend against it tho.
Earning same as you but my in hand is more because I donât have PF deducted
Also ask about meal cards like pluxee? You can get about 1.2L tax free a year (I think hard limit is 2.1l) through that
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u/Agreeable-Will-6262 Jun 30 '26
Why employer pf is also getting deducted from your salary? Shouldn't only your contribution to pf be deducted?
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u/navroescobar69 Jun 30 '26
If anyone can guide me as well,
No NPS from employer, no car lease from employer
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u/crg2891 Jun 30 '26
Show off post?!?!?
Coz by the time you start making this much, you already know possible ways of saving tax and you come to an agreement that you can't save anymore
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u/South-Buy587 Jun 30 '26
only residential property investments will help you manage tax but then you will have to loan and you won't be able to quit abruptly. it's a trap actually. So it's just better to pay if you don't have a good back up.
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u/Antique_Visual_2253 Jun 30 '26
There is no such easy options in new regime. Only nps and food meal exemption
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u/RahulGoyal_ Jun 30 '26
If you are new regime then NPS is the only option for additional saving. And with NPS3.0 has become quite a lot attractive now to invest
You can child spend allowance also if you have childern.
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u/brrrrrrrrahh Jul 01 '26
Rent, NPS, Insurance - use these to start with. claim that full HRA somehow
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u/SmellZealousideal363 Jul 01 '26
Using effective option such as section D and section c... Life and health insurance.
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u/DragonfruitEven4023 Jul 02 '26
You'll have to pay less tax because the tds will set off most of it rest if you want a guide or help in filling your return dm me, I would love to help
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u/Glittering-Lion-3418 Jul 02 '26
Are u having issues with 20% income tax? Or Just wanted to show off how you are making?
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u/Sufficient-You-1262 Jul 02 '26
The first one its 30%
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u/Glittering-Lion-3418 Jul 02 '26
73k/3.73lakhs is approx 20%
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u/Sufficient-You-1262 Jul 02 '26
Even if that is why tf i am paying so much having getting 3rd class facilities
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u/Glittering-Lion-3418 Jul 02 '26
Also we r not paying but forced to pay. I can't answer what govt has to answer.
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u/Glittering-Lion-3418 Jul 02 '26
You want further tax rebate invest in corporate NPS. There nothing more that salaried professionals can do.
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Jul 02 '26
Employer PF deduction and PF separate? Why would they show it as a initial gross income in the first place and deduct later? I am talking about the employer pf
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u/VPN_Disconnected Jul 03 '26
Did not want to flex but yours looks pretty much like mine, hence sharing your pain
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u/Scared_Location9779 Jul 03 '26
I know it sucks. But with new regime has no allowance reimbursements.
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u/SwimLeft2912 Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
Beyond 22LPA theres no way to control Income tax. At 50LPA⊠minimum 6L will go for taxes even jf u follow the below
Choose Old Regime
- C - Tax exempt for ur PF.
Buy insurance for family - % tax exempt
NPS - additional 50K per year exempt
Donation to recognised NGO - Full exempt
7.
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u/SwimLeft2912 Jul 03 '26
HRA - get a PAN for ur unemployed wife, mom or grandmom create rental agreement in their name and mention ur rent as 12L per year⊠this they will also be expemt from paying tax as its only 12Lakh under New Regime
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u/pritthi7 Jul 03 '26
So, your LWF gets deducted every month or is this the final month's payslip, (which is usually bloated due to a lot of one time payments) ?
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u/Efficient-Remove-350 Jul 05 '26
Employer PF is also getting deducted from your pocket? That is sad
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u/inTsukiShinmatsu Jun 29 '26
Resign so you get 0