Financial planners will tell you that the primary objective of any investment should be the goal; tax benefit is secondary. This becomes even more important if you are planning for long-term needs. To build a suitably large kitty, you need stability and growth. Section 80C has products with both these attributes. You may have exhausted your limit with the Employees’ Provident Fund deductions or home loan principal, but there are products in the 80C basket that are worth investing in regardless of the tax benefit. There are three products that can help for long-term corpus building under section 80C, i.e., Public Provident Fund (PPF), equity-linked savings scheme (ELSS) and the National Pension System (NPS). Except NPS, the other two enjoy exempt-exempt-exempt tax status. So, the initial contribution, interest earned and maturity proceeds are all tax-free. NPS is taxable on withdrawal.
Read on to know more about these products.
