Tax Saving Investment Comparison
Below mentioned table will help you compare the various tax saving investment options at a glance.
| Investment options |
Investment horizon |
Returns |
Min/ Maxm investment |
Income on investment |
Liquidity |
| Bank 5 yr Tax saving FD |
Medium |
Fixed |
Varies |
Taxable |
No |
| Life Insurance |
Long |
Market linked |
Varies |
Tax Exempt |
Moderate |
| Public provident fund |
Long |
Fixed |
500-70000 |
Tax Exempt |
Low |
| Equity linked saving scheme |
Short- Medium |
Market Linked |
Varies with product |
Tax Exempt |
moderate |
| National Saving certificate |
medium |
Fixed |
100- No limit |
Taxable |
No |
| Post office time Deposits |
Medium |
Fixed |
200- no upper limit |
Taxable |
No |
While all the mentioned factors are important, the taxation treatment at the time of the maturity is particularly important because if you end up with an investment in which the maturity amount is taxable, the amount of tax paid at that time could very well wipe out the tax saved at the time of investment.