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Samkit

Samkit Maniar  | Answer  |Ask -

Tax Expert - Answered on Jun 19, 2024

CA Samkit Maniar has eight years of experience in income tax, mergers and acquisitions and estate planning.
He has graduated from Mumbai’s N M College of Commerce and Economics and has completed his CA from The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India."... more
Amar Question by Amar on Jun 11, 2024Hindi
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I have a Total Gross Income of 7,69,882? After claiming standard deduction (50k) & professional tax (2.4k) .... Along with 80C (1.5 Lakhs), 80CCD(2B) 50k .... Taxable Income comes to 5,16,882. I am filing ITR for FY 23-24 so no option to invest or something. So what are my options to make it below 5 lakh. After some research I found somethings that are applicable to me but not sure whether i can claim them. Any suggestions would be helpful: 1.> 80D we can claim preventive health checkup upto 5000 that is done in cash. Also I have a health insurance of 1999 so that makes it 6999. But for 5000 can i claim without any receipt? For 1999 I got receipt. Or if not 7000 can i claim a total of 5000(1999 + 3000) though for 300p also i don't have receipt. 2.> Food coupon/ allowance can be claimed under 10(14) (i) upto 26,400. But my employer deducts the food contribution from salary shown in payslip. So can I claim this ? Total amount is 10000 3.>. Also we can claim Internet Allowance under 10(14) (ii) but my employer gives internet allowance named as Other Allowance in payslip. So can I claim that . Its total 6000. Also I donot have bills of broadband. Please suggest if I can claim any of the 3 mentioned or anything other than theses that i can claim

Ans: Do you have any education or housing loan? Saving bank interest can be deducted under section 80 TTA.
Asked on - Jul 11, 2024 | Answered on Jul 12, 2024
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No loan. Yeah but that gives only 1600 rupees. But thanks anyway as seems I have to pay tax.
Ans: Also see whether opting for new regime makes sense. Please consult your CA before deciding.
DISCLAIMER: The content of this post by the expert is the personal view of the rediffGURU. Users are advised to pursue the information provided by the rediffGURU only as a source of information to be as a point of reference and to rely on their own judgement when making a decision.
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Hi sir I have huge tax paid to it dept around 50k every month. Basic 1,05,831.00 Hra 42,332.00. Special allowance 1,16,414.00. Tax deducted cols Pf 12,700.00. Profession tax 200. Income tax 48,607.00. I have total 1.5 lakhs for 80c Hra full declared I don't have anything apart from these I have home loan which is under construction 80 percent completed but possession is dec ending I don't know how to save my tax Need some inputs Which places I can invest or donation or insurance so that I can reduce my tax Any advice please suggest me based on my above salary pay slip Every month 48k is getting deducted.. Lots of commitments i have like personal loan , gold loan , home loan, mutual funds My whole salary is going to all these sectors Please advise so that I can pay min tax with good investment if possible.. Income tax
Ans: Hi,

With your salary, you can claim the following:
1. HRA - already done by you
2. 80C - 1.5 lakhs done by you
3. Home Loan Deduction - can be done
4. Sec 80D - Health Insurance and medical checkup for self, family and parents

Doing donation or any other investment just to save tax is not a wise idea. Best is to invest smartly so that you can generate good returns with time.
You and no1 can escape from this vicious cycle of paying income tax.

If you need help with investments, can consult a professional Certified Financial Planner - a CFP who can guide you with exact funds to invest in keeping in mind your age and risk profile.

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Dear sir, I hope you are doing great. I am a pensioner (66 yr old). I want to plan income tax deductions for this current financial year. My total income (approximately) for the year would be: Pension (about 1.1 lakh per month): 14 Lakhs NPS Annuity (Rs 8040 per month): 1 lakhs Bank Interest on FD: about 50,000 Net gain on redeemed mutual funds: 2.5 lakhs (depending on the need, it may be more) This is the approximate income that I will have this year. Kindly advise me (i) How much income tax I should be paying? Approximately. (ii) Is there a way to pay income tax from net banking? (iii) Will it be helpful to my income tax if I donate some (about Rs 10000) to a charitable society under section 80 G where there is a 50% IT exemption? Please enlighten me on this. Kindly help me in advance in planning the budget for this small income to make the best use of the deductions. Gratefully yours for your advice, Yogendra
Ans: Hi Sir,

You can choose the new tax regime from next year and pay comparatively less taxes. Doing investments to save tax is not a good idea.
As per your income discussed, tax will have to be paid and there is no way to save that.
You can pay income tax using net banking or upi or card while filing your ITR.
Donating u/s 80G under new tax regime is not applicable.

For you, choosing new regime is better as it will have less tax for you to pay. You will have to pay 1.4 lakhs less tax in new tax regime for FY 2025-26. Total tax paybale - 97500

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Hello, I am currently in Class 12 and preparing for JEE. I have not yet completed even 50% of the syllabus properly, but I aim to score around '110' marks. Could you suggest an effective strategy to achieve this? I know the target is relatively low, but I have category reservation, so it should be sufficient.
Ans: With category reservation (SC/ST/OBC), a score of 110 marks is absolutely achievable and realistic. Based on 2025 data, SC candidates qualified with approximately 60-65 percentile, and ST candidates with 45-55 percentile. Your target requires scoring just 37-40% marks, which is significantly lower than general category standards. This gives you a genuine advantage. Immediate Action Plan (December 2025 - January 2026): 4-5 Weeks. Week 1-2: High-Weightage Chapter Focus. Stop trying to complete the entire syllabus. Instead, focus exclusively on high-scoring chapters that carry maximum weightage: Physics (Modern Physics, Current Electricity, Work-Power-Energy, Rotation, Magnetism), Chemistry (Chemical Bonding, Thermodynamics, Coordination Compounds, Electrochemistry), and Maths (Integration, Differentiation, Vectors, 3D Geometry, Probability). These chapters alone can yield 80-100+ marks if practiced properly. Ignore topics you haven't studied yet. Week 2-3: Previous Year Questions (PYQs). Solve JEE Main PYQs from the last 10 years (2015-2025) for chapters you're studying. PYQs reveal question patterns and difficulty levels. Focus on understanding why answers are correct, not memorizing solutions. Week 3-4: Mock Tests & Error Analysis. Take 2-3 full-length mock tests weekly under timed conditions. This is crucial because mock tests build exam confidence, reveal time management weaknesses, and error analysis prevents repeated mistakes. Maintain an error notebook documenting every mistake—this becomes your revision guide. Week 4-5: Revision & Formula Consolidation. Create concise formula sheets for each subject. Spend 30 minutes daily reviewing formulas and key concepts. Avoid learning new topics entirely at this stage. Study Schedule (Daily): 7-8 Hours. Morning (5:00-7:30 AM): Physics concepts + 30 PYQs. Break (7:30-8:30 AM): Breakfast & rest. Mid-morning (8:30-11:00): Chemistry concepts + 20 PYQs. Lunch (11:00-1:00 PM): Full break. Afternoon (1:00-3:30 PM): Maths concepts + 30 PYQs. Evening (3:30-5:00 PM): Mock test or error review. Night (7:00-9:00 PM): Formula revision & weak area focus. Strategic Approach for 110 Marks: Attempt only confident questions and avoid negative marking by skipping difficult questions. Do easy questions first—in the exam, attempt all basic-level questions before attempting medium or hard ones. Focus on quality over quantity as 30 well-practiced questions beat 100 random questions. Master NCERT concepts as most JEE questions test NCERT concepts applied smartly. April 2026 Session Advantage. If January doesn't deliver desired results, April gives you a second chance with 3+ months to prepare. Use January as a practice attempt to identify weak areas, then focus intensively on those in February-March. Realistic Timeline: January 2026 target is 95-110 marks (achievable with focused 50% syllabus), while April 2026 target is 120-130 marks (with complete syllabus + experience). Your reservation benefit means you need only approximately 90-105 marks to qualify and secure admission to quality engineering colleges. Stop comparing yourself to general category cutoffs. Most Importantly: Consistency beats perfection. Study 6 focused hours daily rather than 12 distracted hours. Your 110-mark target is realistic—execute this plan with discipline. All the BEST for Your JEE 2026!

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Dr Dipankar

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Tech Careers and Skill Development Expert - Answered on Dec 13, 2025

Asked by Anonymous - Dec 12, 2025
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Dear Sir/Madam, I am currently a 1st year UG student studying engineering in Sairam Engineering College, But there the lack of exposure and strict academics feels so rigid and I don't like it that. It's like they don't gaf about skills but just wants us to memorize things and score a good CGPA, the only skill they want is you to memorize things and pass, there's even special class for students who don't perform well in academics and it is compulsory for them to attend or else the student and his/her parents needs to face authorities who lashes out. My question is when did engineering became something that requires good academics instead of actual learning and skill set. In sairam they provides us a coding platform in which we need to gain the required points for each semester which is ridiculous cuz most of the students here just look at the solution to code instead of actual debugging. I am passionate about engineering so I want to learn and experiment things instead of just memorizing, so I actually consider dropping out and I want to give jee a try and maybe viteee , srmjeee But i heard some people say SRM may provide exposure but not that good in placements. I may not be excellent at studies but my marks are decent. So gimme some insights about SRM and recommend me other colleges/universities which are good at exposure
Ans: First — your frustration is valid

What you are experiencing at Sairam is not engineering, it is rote-based credential production.

“When did engineering become memorizing instead of learning?”

Sadly, this shift happened decades ago in most Tier-3 private colleges in India.

About “coding platforms & points” – your observation is sharp

You are absolutely right:

Mandatory coding points → students copy solutions

Copying ≠ learning

Debugging & thinking are missing

This is pseudo-skill education — it looks modern but produces shallow engineers.

The fact that you noticed this in 1st year already puts you ahead of 80% students.

Should you DROP OUT and prepare for JEE / VITEEE / SRMJEEE?

Although VIT/SRM is better than Sairam Engineering College, but you may face the same problem. You will not face this type of problem only in some top IITs, but getting seat in those IITs will be difficult.
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Reduce emotional investment in college rules

Use:

GitHub

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College = formality

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