Table of Contents
- Tax Saving ELSS Funds Or Equity Linked Savings Schemes
- Other Popular Tax Saving Schemes in India
Top 3 Equity - ELSS Funds
Best Tax Saving Investments For 2025
Looking for best tax saving investments? Don’t know how to save income tax? Tax saving can be easy if done in a correct manner. There are various smart ways to stay away from paying Taxes and save as much as possible. Generally, people indulge into Tax Planning when the financial year is about to end. But, does this ensure prudent investment planning? No! Investing in the early quarters of the financial year is a smarter approach instead. This ensures that you get time to plan your investment and avail the most out of it. Some of the tax saving investments include tax saving Mutual Funds ELSS, PPF, tax saving FD, NPS etc. a detailed list of tax saving investment options is mentioned below.
Some of the Best Investment Plan in India that are beneficial for tax saving include-
Tax Saving ELSS Funds Or Equity Linked Savings Schemes
Tax saving is an ideal way of financial planning. ELSS Funds are tax saving schemes that are equity diversified and invest the major part of the fund corpus either in equities or equity-related instruments. Being Market-linked, equity-linked savings scheme or ELSS funds offer good returns. ELSS funds are tax saving Mutual Funds that offers tax deductions upto INR 1,50,000 under Section 80C of Income Tax Act.
As per the Budget 2018, ELSS would attract Long Term Capital Gains (LTCG). Investors would be taxed at 10% (with no indexation) under long term Capital Gain tax. Gains up to INR 1 lakh are free of tax. Tax at 10% applies to gains above INR 1 lakh.
Top 3 Tax Saving ELSS Funds 2025
To generate long term capital appreciation from a portfolio that is predominantly in equity and equity related instruments HDFC Long Term Advantage Fund is a Equity - ELSS fund was launched on 2 Jan 01. It is a fund with Moderately High risk and has given a Below is the key information for HDFC Long Term Advantage Fund Returns up to 1 year are on The main objective of the scheme is to provide the investor long term capital growth as also tax benefit under section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Baroda Pioneer ELSS 96 is a Equity - ELSS fund was launched on 2 Mar 15. It is a fund with Moderately High risk and has given a Below is the key information for Baroda Pioneer ELSS 96 Returns up to 1 year are on The investment objective of the scheme is to provide capital growth along with tax rebate and tax relief to our investors through prudent investments in the stock markets. However, there is no assurance that the investment objective of the Scheme will be realised. LIC MF Tax Plan is a Equity - ELSS fund was launched on 3 Feb 99. It is a fund with Moderately High risk and has given a Below is the key information for LIC MF Tax Plan Returns up to 1 year are on Fund NAV Net Assets (Cr) 3 MO (%) 6 MO (%) 1 YR (%) 3 YR (%) 5 YR (%) 2023 (%) HDFC Long Term Advantage Fund Growth ₹595.168
↑ 0.28 ₹1,318 1.2 15.4 35.5 20.6 17.4 Baroda Pioneer ELSS 96 Growth ₹68.6676
↑ 0.33 ₹210 -6.1 -3.5 17.6 16.7 11.6 LIC MF Tax Plan Growth ₹146.013
↑ 1.42 ₹1,007 -3.5 -8.2 17.5 14.5 21.1 22.6 Note: Returns up to 1 year are on absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR basis. as on 14 Jan 22 1 year performance and have Net Assets between 100 - 5000 Crore.
1. HDFC Long Term Advantage Fund
CAGR/Annualized return of 21.4% since its launch. Ranked 23 in ELSS category. . HDFC Long Term Advantage Fund
Growth Launch Date 2 Jan 01 NAV (14 Jan 22) ₹595.168 ↑ 0.28 (0.05 %) Net Assets (Cr) ₹1,318 on 30 Nov 21 Category Equity - ELSS AMC HDFC Asset Management Company Limited Rating ☆☆☆ Risk Moderately High Expense Ratio 2.25 Sharpe Ratio 2.27 Information Ratio -0.15 Alpha Ratio 1.75 Min Investment 500 Min SIP Investment 500 Exit Load NIL Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 29 Feb 20 ₹10,000 28 Feb 21 ₹13,207
Purchase not allowed Returns for HDFC Long Term Advantage Fund
absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 14 Jan 22 Duration Returns 1 Month 4.4% 3 Month 1.2% 6 Month 15.4% 1 Year 35.5% 3 Year 20.6% 5 Year 17.4% 10 Year 15 Year Since launch 21.4% Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
Year Returns 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 Fund Manager information for HDFC Long Term Advantage Fund
Name Since Tenure Data below for HDFC Long Term Advantage Fund as on 30 Nov 21
Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity 2. Baroda Pioneer ELSS 96
CAGR/Annualized return of 8.4% since its launch. . Baroda Pioneer ELSS 96
Growth Launch Date 2 Mar 15 NAV (11 Mar 22) ₹68.6676 ↑ 0.33 (0.48 %) Net Assets (Cr) ₹210 on 31 Jan 22 Category Equity - ELSS AMC Baroda Pioneer Asset Management Co. Ltd. Rating Risk Moderately High Expense Ratio 2.55 Sharpe Ratio 2.51 Information Ratio -0.09 Alpha Ratio 5.69 Min Investment 500 Min SIP Investment 500 Exit Load NIL Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 29 Feb 20 ₹10,000 28 Feb 21 ₹12,918 28 Feb 22 ₹15,773 Returns for Baroda Pioneer ELSS 96
absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 14 Jan 22 Duration Returns 1 Month -3.9% 3 Month -6.1% 6 Month -3.5% 1 Year 17.6% 3 Year 16.7% 5 Year 11.6% 10 Year 15 Year Since launch 8.4% Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
Year Returns 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 Fund Manager information for Baroda Pioneer ELSS 96
Name Since Tenure Data below for Baroda Pioneer ELSS 96 as on 31 Jan 22
Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity 3. LIC MF Tax Plan
CAGR/Annualized return of 11.1% since its launch. Ranked 35 in ELSS category. Return for 2024 was 22.6% , 2023 was 26.3% and 2022 was -1.6% . LIC MF Tax Plan
Growth Launch Date 3 Feb 99 NAV (21 Mar 25) ₹146.013 ↑ 1.42 (0.99 %) Net Assets (Cr) ₹1,007 on 28 Feb 25 Category Equity - ELSS AMC LIC Mutual Fund Asset Mgmt Co Ltd Rating ☆ Risk Moderately High Expense Ratio 2.11 Sharpe Ratio 0.11 Information Ratio -0.13 Alpha Ratio 7.71 Min Investment 500 Min SIP Investment 500 Exit Load NIL Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 29 Feb 20 ₹10,000 28 Feb 21 ₹11,317 28 Feb 22 ₹13,469 28 Feb 23 ₹13,435 29 Feb 24 ₹17,571 28 Feb 25 ₹18,908 Returns for LIC MF Tax Plan
absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 14 Jan 22 Duration Returns 1 Month 4.5% 3 Month -3.5% 6 Month -8.2% 1 Year 17.5% 3 Year 14.5% 5 Year 21.1% 10 Year 15 Year Since launch 11.1% Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
Year Returns 2023 22.6% 2022 26.3% 2021 -1.6% 2020 26.2% 2019 8.9% 2018 11.9% 2017 -1.1% 2016 37.3% 2015 3.3% 2014 -3% Fund Manager information for LIC MF Tax Plan
Name Since Tenure Yogesh Patil 1 Jul 24 0.67 Yr. Dikshit Mittal 31 Jul 23 1.59 Yr. Data below for LIC MF Tax Plan as on 28 Feb 25
Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Financial Services 26.94% Consumer Cyclical 20.98% Industrials 17.39% Consumer Defensive 8.68% Technology 8.57% Basic Materials 6.78% Health Care 3.49% Energy 1.79% Communication Services 1.1% Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Cash 4.28% Equity 95.72% Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity ICICI Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 18 | ICICIBANK8% ₹85 Cr 680,968 HDFC Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 14 | HDFCBANK7% ₹78 Cr 458,211 Shakti Pumps (India) Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 24 | SHAKTIPUMP6% ₹70 Cr 743,640 Trent Ltd (Consumer Cyclical)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 20 | 5002514% ₹40 Cr 69,085 Infosys Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 14 | INFY4% ₹39 Cr 205,257 State Bank of India (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 May 23 | SBIN3% ₹36 Cr 460,575 Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Co Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 30 Jun 22 | CHOLAFIN2% ₹27 Cr 210,855 Axis Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 30 Jun 21 | 5322152% ₹25 Cr 250,779 Larsen & Toubro Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 | LT2% ₹25 Cr 68,942 Blue Star Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 22 | BLUESTARCO2% ₹24 Cr 131,363
Other Popular Tax Saving Schemes in India
PPF Or Public Provident Fund
PPF or Public Provident Fund is a tax-free investment option that is backed by the Central Government of India. PPF came into existence in 1968 by the Ministry of Finance. Public Provident Fund aims to provide financial security to people post-retirement. The government of India launched PPF in order to help people inculcate the habit of saving and also plan their retirement well in advance. PPF is one of the best tax saving investments as the interest earned on deposits are not taxable. Moreover, the investments are liable for tax deductions under section 80C of Income Tax Act.
Tax Saving FD Or Fixed Deposit
tax saving FD or Fixed Deposits are financial instruments that are provided by banks for a fixed period of time. The interest rate of FD varies from 4% to 8% (according to the investment tenure). Usually, it is seen that higher the period of investment higher is the rate of interest on FD and vice versa. Though FD is a tax saving and safe investment, the interest earned on them is fully taxable as per the Income Tax Act. Furthermore, if the rate of interest on FD is above INR 10,000, banks deduct a TDS @ 10% p.a.
Talk to our investment specialist
NPS Or National Pension Scheme
NPS or National Pension Scheme is a tax saving investment option formulated by the Central Government of India to help people save tax while saving for retirement. As per the National Pension Scheme, one can open a personal retirement account where they can save a pension corpus during their working life. Apart from Retirement planning, investments upto 50,000 under NPS are liable for deductions under section 80 CCD (1B). Under section 80C of Income Tax Act, tax deductions upto 1,50,000 are liable on investments in a National Pension Scheme. This makes NPS one of the best tax saving investments in India.
National Saving Certificate (NSC)
National Saving Certificate (NSC) is a good Tax Saving Scheme to invest in. NSC interest rates are set in the month of April every year. The current interest rate of NSC is 7.9% p.a. Investments up to INR 1,00,000 per year are eligible for IT rebate under the Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. You can invest in NSC through your local Post Office as well.
Employee Provident Fund (EPF)
Employee Provident Fund or EPF is typically deducted from the salary of an individual which includes 12% of their basic salary. The employer also contributes the similar percentage of which 3.7% goes to the EPF and the remaining 8.3% goes towards the pension fund. It is a defined benefit scheme with interest rates being set every year. The interest rate was 8.8% p.a. for the year 2015-2016. There is no tax at the time of making the investment in EPF. Also, the interest earned is also tax-free. At the time of retirement, individuals can withdraw the entire amount in the account.
ULIP Or Unit Linked Insurance Policy
Unit-linked insurance Policy is an insurance policy that works an insurance cover along with Offering market linked returns. Under a ULIP, some part of your investment is invested in Mutual Funds (Equity, Balanced or Debt fund) and the remaining is contributed towards your life cover. One can save tax by investing in ULIP under Sections 80C, 80CCC and 80D of the Income Tax Act. Moreover, the interests that are earned on your ULIP investment are tax-free. Also, under section 10 (10D), tax-free maturity benefits are available as well. When choosing an investment, people usually tend to choose it just to avail tax benefits. Ideally, the investors should look for certain factors before investing. Some of those include maximum tax saving, low-cost investment, substantial returns etc. So, understand the tax saving investments well and then invest.
All efforts have been made to ensure the information provided here is accurate. However, no guarantees are made regarding correctness of data. Please verify with scheme information document before making any investment.
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