Last Updated on
Here is a set of simple steps that might help young earners minimise their taxes and take control of their financial life.
This post is based on a request from one of my students who started out on an IT job some months ago.
Tax planning – a set of actions designed to save tax – is how most young earners get interested personal finance.
Unfortunately, most of them screw up their financial life right at the start, by buying utterly unsuitable products all in the name of ‘tax saving investments’!
To plan, one must recognise that taxes saving instruments share some common traits:
Instruments that offer ‘pure’ insurance for a fee
- Term life insurance on a contract that runs for a few years with yearly renewals
- Health insurance typically on yearly contract and renewals
Instruments that offer a ‘return’
- They have a lock-in period of a few years – 3 for ELSS mutual funds, 15 in the case of PPF and few years to decades in the case of insurance plans (ULIP, money-back, endowments, pension plan, child plan etc.).
- Most of them require you to pay for a certain number of years- 15 in the case of PPF and few years to decades in the case of insurance plans.
Guidelines
(A) Choose pure insurance products first!
(B) Among instruments that offer a ‘return’, choose one with minimum lock-period with no obligation to make future payments.
Tax planning Cheat sheet
The following is independent of tax section (80C/80D) sub-limits!
Section 80 C:
1. Account for EPF contributions – the obvious and automatic choice.
2. Buy pure term life insurance – Guideline (A)
Surprised! Don’t be. Get term insurance for as high an amount as possible for about 25-30 years. Online policies are quite cheap irrespective of the insurer for young earners.
So get as high a cover as they would offer and name your parents as nominees (even if they are financially independent!). Later you can change it to your spouse or kids.
Here are some things to do after you get a term plan!
3. Lump sum investment in a ELSS mutual fund – Guideline (B)
At 3 years, they offer the lowest lock- period. There is no obligation for you to invest the next financial year, provided you don’t setup a SIP (don’t!)
Get yourself an online account from an AMC and invest –a few times a year on market dips.
You can use this step-by-step guide to select a ‘good’ ELSS fund
Section 80 D
4. Individual health insurance cover for self and parents – Guideline (A)
Does not matter if your employer offers one. Just buy one for yourself and your parents for as high a cover as you can afford. Increase the sum insured each year by as much as possible.
Section 80G
5. Identify a good charity and sponsor them. Yes, you can save tax too but that is not important.
That is it! Simple steps to ensure you don’t get your financial life in a tangle.
With that behind you, you can begin to
- list your financial goals,
- tag your ELSS investments to one of your long-term goals
- minimise your expenses
- invest as much as you can in equity instruments
Carpe Diem!
Do check out these related articles:
About the Author
M. Pattabiraman(PhD) is the author and owner of freefincal.com. He is an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras since Aug 2006. Follow @freefincal “Pattu” as he is popularly known, has co-authored two print-books, You can be rich too with goal based investing (CNBC TV18) and Gamechanger and seven other free e-books on various topics of money management. He is a patron and co-founder of “Fee-only India” an organisation to promote unbiased, commission-free investment advice.
Pattu publishes unbiased, promotion-free research, analysis and holistic money management advice. Freefincal serves more than one million readers a year (2.5 million page views) with numbers based analysis on topical issues and has more than a 100 free calculators on different aspects of insurance and investment analysis.
He conducts free money management sessions for corporates and associations(see details below). Previous engagements include World Bank, RBI, BHEL, Asian Paints, TamilNadu Investors Association etc. Contact information: freefincal {at} Gmail {dot} com (sponsored posts or paid collaborations will not be entertained)Connect with us on social media
- Twitter @freefincal
- Subscribe to our Youtube Videos
- Posts feed via: Feedburner
Content Policy
Freefincal has original unbiased, conflict-of-interest-free, topical reports, reviews, commentary and analysis on all aspects of personal finance like mutual funds, stocks, insurance etc. All guest authors and contributors to the site also do not have any conflict of interest. If you find the content useful, please consider supporting us by (1) sharing our articles and (2) disabling ad-blockers for our site if you are using one. No promotional content. We do not accept sponsored posts and link exchange requests from content writers and agencies. This is our privacy policy Our website is non-profit in nature. The revenue from the advertisement will only be used for hosting charges, domain registration charges, specific plugins necessary for traffic growth and analytics services for search engine optimisation.Do check out my books
You Can Be Rich Too with Goal-Based Investing
My first book is meant to help you ask the right questions, seek the right answers and since it comes with nine online calculators, you can also create custom solutions for your lifestyle! Get it now. It is also available in Kindle format.Gamechanger: Forget Startups, Join Corporate & Still Live the Rich Life You Want
My second book is meant for young earners to get their basics right from day one! It will also help you travel to exotic places at low cost! Get it or gift it to a young earnerThe ultimate guide to travel by Pranav Surya
This is a deep dive analysis into vacation planning, finding cheap flights, budget accommodation, what to do when travelling, how travelling slowly is better financially and psychologically with links to the web pages and hand-holding at every step. Get the pdf for ₹199 (instant download)Free Apps for your Android Phone
All calculators from our book, “You can be Rich Too” are now available on Google Play!Install Financial Freedom App! (Google Play Store)
Install Freefincal Retirement Planner App! (Google Play Store)
Find out if you have enough to say "FU" to your employer (Google Play Store)
many students take education loans. so may be 80E could also be included in this article.
many students take education loans. so may be 80E could also be included in this article.
many students take education loans. so may be 80E could also be included in this article.
Good point. You have now included it! Thanfully 80E is a straightforward section with only the interest component of the loan accounted for tax deduction.
many students take education loans. so may be 80E could also be included in this article.
Good point. You have now included it! Thanfully 80E is a straightforward section with only the interest component of the loan accounted for tax deduction.
Good point. You have now included it! Thanfully 80E is a straightforward section with only the interest component of the loan accounted for tax deduction.
Good point. You have now included it! Thanfully 80E is a straightforward section with only the interest component of the loan accounted for tax deduction.
Sir,
Why don’t you suggest starting an SIP in ELSS? It’s anyway for long term and a common man could not identify market dips. I mean, to invest when market is down needs a lot of courage which a common person lacks. Rather he (the common man) chases the market in the bull run and sells during the market dip (natural way of thinking).
So, I personally feel (also experienced) that SIP’s work best when you don’t understand the markets or don’t have the much needed courage to go against the flow (like investing in dip and redeeming on peaks).
Your thoughts please.
Hi Abhiit, Sip in ELSS is a pain in the ass. Each installment is locked in for 3Y. If your fund underperforms you will be forced to stick with it at least partially. I think a person must have the enough discipline to accumulate and invest in ELSS funds 2/3 times a year. This does not need any market knowledge.
Agreed. Thanks Sir for the info. It’s a very important point that you raised that if MF underperforms, we are forced to stick to it.
Sir,
Why don’t you suggest starting an SIP in ELSS? It’s anyway for long term and a common man could not identify market dips. I mean, to invest when market is down needs a lot of courage which a common person lacks. Rather he (the common man) chases the market in the bull run and sells during the market dip (natural way of thinking).
So, I personally feel (also experienced) that SIP’s work best when you don’t understand the markets or don’t have the much needed courage to go against the flow (like investing in dip and redeeming on peaks).
Your thoughts please.
Hi Abhiit, Sip in ELSS is a pain in the ass. Each installment is locked in for 3Y. If your fund underperforms you will be forced to stick with it at least partially. I think a person must have the enough discipline to accumulate and invest in ELSS funds 2/3 times a year. This does not need any market knowledge.
Agreed. Thanks Sir for the info. It’s a very important point that you raised that if MF underperforms, we are forced to stick to it.
Good Points Dear Pattu, However I use SIP’s in ELSS with minimum term as possible, Say 3 -Months as this my help out Rupee cost averaging.
If you are setting up 3 month SIPs each year in ELSS, then it is indeed a smart idea.
Good Points Dear Pattu, However I use SIP’s in ELSS with minimum term as possible, Say 3 -Months as this my help out Rupee cost averaging.
If you are setting up 3 month SIPs each year in ELSS, then it is indeed a smart idea.
Great work, i like your post very much..
Great work, i like your post very much..
//* “So get as high a cover as they would offer and name your parents as nominees (even if they are financially independent!). Later you can change it to your spouse or kids.” *//
Dear Sir, I’m 28 years old / married, and planning to take Term Insurance (eyeing for SBI e-Shield) ., Is there any reason we name parents as our nominees first and later to spouse (or) kids? Kindly advice as i have taken a home loan for 32 lakhs. My mothly EMI is 33K.
Thanks in advance.
If you have a wife, she should be the nominee. I was only referring to those who are unmarried. If your home loan is not covered by a separate life insurance you should include the outstanding balance amt as part of the sum insured for the term policy.
//* “So get as high a cover as they would offer and name your parents as nominees (even if they are financially independent!). Later you can change it to your spouse or kids.” *//
Dear Sir, I’m 28 years old / married, and planning to take Term Insurance (eyeing for SBI e-Shield) ., Is there any reason we name parents as our nominees first and later to spouse (or) kids? Kindly advice as i have taken a home loan for 32 lakhs. My mothly EMI is 33K.
Thanks in advance.
If you have a wife, she should be the nominee. I was only referring to those who are unmarried. If your home loan is not covered by a separate life insurance you should include the outstanding balance amt as part of the sum insured for the term policy.
Thank you, Sir..
Thank you, Sir..