National Pension Scheme (NPS) launched by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of India (PFRDA) was made available to all the citizens of India by the Government of India (GOI) since 2009.
Put in simple terms, the idea is to provide for secured old age income to all citizens. NPS is one of its kind products available in the Market which provides investors with Long term investment opportunity with a combination of asset classes. The cost of investment is the lowest among all other Pension products available in the market. Given the tax advantages available, NPS today has become a indispensable investment.
In the Finance Bill 2015, the Government has made the following major provisions on investments under NPS. With these tax benefits, NPS has become even more attractive for efficient retirement plan
(i) Section 80CCD(1) : Deduction on account of contribution by employee upto 10% of salary (basic + DA). The limit which was capped at Rs. 1.00 lakh last year, has been removed and now the tax deduction can be claimed subject to overall ceiling of Rs. 1.50 lakhs u/s. 80CC(E)
(ii) 80CCD(1B) : An additional tax deduction on investment up to Rs. 50,000 in NPS has been introduced under this section. This is over and above the limit of deduction available as mentioned in point no (i). This is an exclusive tax deduction available only for investment in NPS for all citizens of India and not available for any other investment.
In addition to the above, under the corporate sector model, tax benefits are available under section 80CCD(2) wherein the employer’s NPS contribution upto 10 % of salary (Basic + DA), without any monetary limit is also deductible from taxable income.