Section 80C: The Complete List of Deductions for FY 2026-27

PPF and ELSS get all the attention, but Section 80C covers a longer list than most people use. Here's every eligible option in one place, compared by lock-in and risk.

CA Helper Editorial Team

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Published 23 August 2026 · 6 min read

Investment certificates for PPF, ELSS, and tax-saving fixed deposits arranged next to a calculator showing tax computations

Key takeaways

Section 80C's ₹1.5 lakh limit is combined across every eligible item, PPF, ELSS, EPF, life insurance, tuition fees, and the rest all draw from the same shared ceiling, not separate ones each.
Your own EPF contribution, deducted automatically from salary, already counts against this ceiling before any additional investment.
ELSS carries the shortest lock-in (3 years) among 80C options, but with equity market risk; PPF and tax-saving FDs offer no market risk but a longer commitment.
Tuition fees are capped at two children per taxpayer, and home loan principal must be claimed using the principal figure from your loan statement, separate from the interest deduction.
None of this is available under the new tax regime, it applies only if you elect the old regime for the year.

Section 80C lets a taxpayer reduce taxable income by up to ₹1.5 lakh a year, and that ceiling applies to the combined total across every eligible item, not separately to each one. Most people know PPF and ELSS; fewer use the full list, and using only two or three options while leaving the ceiling unfilled is common simply because the rest aren't as well known. This is old-regime-only: none of these deductions are available if you've moved to the new tax regime.

Every Eligible Option, Compared

Investment or Payment	Lock-in	Return Type	Who It Suits
Public Provident Fund (PPF)	15 years (extendable in 5-year blocks)	Fixed, government-declared rate; interest and maturity both tax-exempt	Long-horizon, risk-free savings, especially for retirement
Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS)	3 years, shortest among 80C options	Market-linked equity returns, not guaranteed	Investors comfortable with equity risk who want the shortest lock-in
Tax-saving fixed deposit	5 years	Fixed rate set at booking	Conservative investors wanting a bank-guaranteed, predictable return
Employee Provident Fund (EPF), own contribution	Until retirement or eligible withdrawal	Fixed, government-declared rate	Salaried employees, this is usually already deducted from your salary automatically
National Savings Certificate (NSC)	5 years	Fixed rate, interest reinvested and itself eligible for 80C (except the final year)	Conservative investors wanting a post-office-backed fixed return
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY)	Until the girl child turns 21 (partial withdrawal permitted earlier for specified purposes)	Fixed, government-declared rate, typically higher than PPF	Parents or legal guardians saving for a girl child's education or marriage
Senior Citizens' Savings Scheme (SCSS)	5 years, extendable by 3 years	Fixed rate, paid out quarterly	Individuals aged 60 and above wanting regular income plus a deduction
Life insurance premium	Policy term	Sum assured on death or maturity, subject to conditions	Anyone needing life cover, deduction is capped as a percentage of the sum assured
ULIP (Unit Linked Insurance Plan)	5 years	Market-linked, combines insurance and investment	Investors wanting insurance and market-linked investment in one product
Home loan principal repayment	Loan term	N/A, this is repayment of borrowed capital, not a return-generating investment	Anyone repaying a home loan; this is a byproduct of the EMI, not a separate investment decision
Children's tuition fees	N/A	N/A	Parents paying tuition fees for up to two children, full-time education in India only
Stamp duty and registration charges	N/A, one-time	N/A	Claimable only in the year a home is purchased, and only for a self-occupied or otherwise eligible property

The Cap Is Combined, Not Per Item

This is the single most common misunderstanding about Section 80C: the ₹1.5 lakh limit is a shared ceiling across everything on this list, not a separate ₹1.5 lakh for each. A taxpayer who puts ₹1 lakh into PPF and ₹1 lakh into ELSS in the same year doesn't get ₹2 lakh in deductions, they still get only ₹1.5 lakh, the combined cap. Salaried employees also need to remember that their own EPF contribution, deducted automatically from every month's salary, already counts against this ceiling before they've made a single additional investment, so it's worth checking your EPF contribution for the year before deciding how much headroom is actually left.

A Practical Way to Pick, Rather Than Maxing Randomly

If you need the money back sooner rather than later, ELSS's 3-year lock-in is shorter than everything else on this list by a wide margin, though it carries market risk.
If you want zero market risk and don't mind a long horizon, PPF and tax-saving FDs are the standard choices, PPF for the better tax treatment (interest is exempt, FD interest is fully taxable), FDs for slightly easier access to the principal at maturity in five years rather than fifteen.
If you're already repaying a home loan and paying tuition fees, check how much of your ₹1.5 lakh ceiling those two already use up before adding a fresh investment on top, since it's common to have more headroom used than expected.
Life insurance bought purely to fill the 80C quota, rather than for genuine life cover, is usually a poor decision either way, a term plan for protection and a separate 80C investment for tax-saving generally serve you better than a low-cover insurance-cum-investment product.
Remember this entire list is unavailable if you're on the new tax regime, so before allocating money toward any of these specifically for the deduction, confirm the old regime is actually the better choice for your income and deduction profile.

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Frequently asked questions

Is the ₹1.5 lakh Section 80C limit per person or per family?

Per individual taxpayer. Each person with taxable income gets their own ₹1.5 lakh ceiling, so a working couple filing separate returns each has their own limit, not a combined ₹1.5 lakh for the household.

Does my EPF contribution count toward the 80C limit automatically?

Yes. Your own contribution to EPF, deducted from your salary every month, counts against the same ₹1.5 lakh ceiling as PPF, ELSS, and everything else on this list. It's worth checking your annual EPF contribution before assuming you have the full ₹1.5 lakh of headroom left for additional investments.

Can I claim tuition fees for more than two children under 80C?

No, the deduction for tuition fees is capped at two children per individual taxpayer. In a two-parent household, this effectively means fees for up to four children can be claimed if both parents are taxpayers and split the claims, two each.

Is home loan principal repayment automatically eligible, or do I need to claim it separately?

It needs to be claimed, it isn't automatic just because you're repaying a loan. The principal component of your EMI (not the interest, which is a separate deduction under Section 24) is eligible under 80C, and your bank's annual loan statement will typically break out the principal and interest portions separately for this purpose.

Are Section 80C deductions available under the new tax regime?

No. Section 80C, along with most Chapter VI-A deductions, is unavailable under the new tax regime entirely. It's accessible only if you elect the old regime while filing your return.

Sources and official references

Rules and rates change. These are the primary sources for the topics covered above, and the place to confirm anything before you act on it.

Income Tax Department e-Filing portal

Disclaimer

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional tax, legal, or financial advice. Rules and rates change, so consult a qualified Chartered Accountant for advice specific to your situation.