ELSS Tax Saving Calculator
How much tax an ELSS investment saves under §80C, and what it grows to after the 3-year lock-in.
- Tax saved
- ₹46.80K
- Your own money
- ₹1.03L
- Est. gain
- ₹60.74K
Tax saved is the difference in old-regime income tax for FY 2026-27 (slabs, §87A rebate, surcharge and 4% cess) with and without the §80C deduction — the new regime has no §80C, so an ELSS saves no tax there. The deduction is capped at ₹1.5 lakh across every §80C item, not just ELSS. Units lock in for 3 years from each purchase; the value assumes a constant 12% return and ignores the 12.5% long-term capital-gains tax due on redemption above ₹1.25 lakh of gains a year.
Independent · No commissions · No fund-house data — how the numbers are computed
How it works
An ELSS (equity-linked savings scheme) is an equity mutual fund whose investment qualifies for the §80C deduction under the old tax regime, up to ₹1.5 lakh a year across all §80C items. This calculator runs your taxable income through the old-regime slab engine twice — with and without the ELSS deduction — and reports the difference as tax saved, so the §87A rebate, surcharge and 4% cess all fall out of the real computation rather than a flat "30% of the investment". It then grows the investment at your assumed return through the 3-year lock-in, or longer.
The saving depends entirely on the slab the deduction falls in. In the 30% slab ₹1.5 lakh saves ₹46,800 (30% plus cess), so the investment effectively costs ₹1,03,200; in the 5% slab it saves ₹7,800; below the taxable threshold it saves nothing. The new regime, the default since FY 2023-24, has no §80C at all — an ELSS bought by someone on the new regime is simply an equity fund with a 3-year lock, and the tax-saved figure here does not apply.
The lock-in is per unit from its purchase date: a SIP into an ELSS creates a new 3-year lock with every installment. Once free, redemptions are taxed like any equity fund — 12.5% long-term capital gains above ₹1.25 lakh of gains in the year. The value shown is pre-tax.
Tax saved = Tax_old(income) − Tax_old(income − min(ELSS, ₹1.5 L)); Value = ELSS × (1 + r)^nTax_old is the FY 2026-27 old-regime computation including rebate, surcharge and cess. r is the assumed annual return, n the holding period in years (at least the 3-year lock-in).
Frequently asked questions
Does an ELSS save tax under the new regime?
No. The new regime under §115BAC does not allow the §80C deduction, so an ELSS investment reduces no tax there. The new regime has been the default since FY 2023-24; a taxpayer who wants the deduction must opt for the old regime, and whether that is worth it depends on their total deductions, not the ELSS alone.
How long is the ELSS lock-in?
Three years from the date of each purchase, the shortest among §80C investments (PPF is 15 years, tax-saving FDs and NSC 5). For a SIP, each installment locks separately, so the last installment of a year's SIP is free three years after it was bought, not three years after the first.
Is ₹1.5 lakh the limit for ELSS specifically?
It is the limit for §80C as a whole. EPF contributions, PPF, life-insurance premiums, children's tuition fees, the principal part of a home-loan EMI and several other items share the same ₹1.5 lakh. An employee whose EPF and insurance already reach ₹1 lakh can deduct only ₹50,000 of ELSS, however much they invest.
How are ELSS returns taxed after the lock-in?
As an equity-oriented fund: gains on units held over a year are long-term and taxed at 12.5% above ₹1.25 lakh of such gains in a financial year. Because the lock-in is three years, every ELSS redemption is long-term by construction. The value this calculator shows is before that tax.
Go further
How the deduction works, what else shares the limit, and the lock-in in practice.
The old-vs-new regime computation this page's saving comes from.
Browse the category landing pages, including tax-saving funds.
The other §80C route, compared over 15 years.