The month of March is about to end, so you have very little time left for income tax planning. You will not get this opportunity after 31st March because the new financial year is going to start from 1st April. In such a situation, know about 5 such schemes of Post Office which can prove to help save income tax along with giving you great returns.

Public Provident Fund is one of the favorite schemes of the people. In this scheme, you are being given interest at the rate of 7.1%. This scheme matures after 15 years. In this, a minimum of 500 and a maximum of 1.5 lakh rupees can be deposited annually in a financial year. This scheme can help you in making big money in the long term. This scheme is placed in the EEE category, due to which tax benefits are available on investment, return and maturity.

If your daughter is below 10 years of age, then you can invest in Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) in her name. Under this scheme, 8.2 percent interest is being given. In this, you can deposit from Rs 250 to Rs 1.5 lakh annually. Money is deposited for 15 years and when the daughter turns 21, the entire amount including interest is returned to the investor. Like PPF, this scheme also comes under the EEE category, in which tax exemption is available on investment, interest and maturity amount.

Post Office Time Deposit (Post Office TD) which is also called Post Office FD, you can also save tax by investing in it, but for this you will have to invest in 5-year FD. Tax benefits are available on FDs of 5 years, but there is no tax benefit on FDs with shorter tenure than this. 7.5% interest is being given on 5-year FDs in the post office. In this, one is allowed to claim tax deduction of up to Rs 1.5 lakh under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Like post office FD, you can also get tax benefits along with profit by investing in NSC. You can start investing in NSC from Rs 1,000. There is no maximum limit. Currently, 7.7 percent interest is being given on it. In this too, investment can be made for 5 years. In this too, you can claim tax deduction of up to Rs 1.5 lakh under 80C.

It is clear from the name of Senior Citizens Savings Scheme that it is for senior citizens. In this scheme, senior citizens can invest for 5 years and save tax. In this, investment can start from Rs 1,000 and a maximum up to Rs 30 lakh can be invested. This scheme is getting 8.2% interest. In this also, tax exemption can be claimed under 80C on investments up to Rs 1.5 lakh annually. But the interest received in this is taxable.