For AY 2026-27, the old tax regime allows a combined deduction of up to Rs 1.5 lakh under Sections 80C, 80CCC and 80CCD(1). That is one shared ceiling, not Rs 1.5 lakh for each section. Eligible health insurance payments under Section 80D and an additional qualifying pension contribution under Section 80CCD(1B) have separate limits.
The Income Tax Department's AY 2026-27 guide, checked on 29 October 2026, lists these deductions under the old regime using the Income-tax Act, 1961 section numbers. This article is scoped to that assessment year and those provisions. It does not recommend a tax regime or a financial product.
| Provision | What the limit means |
|---|---|
| 80C, 80CCC and 80CCD(1) | Combined ceiling of Rs 1,50,000, subject to eligibility |
| 80CCD(1B) | Up to Rs 50,000 for qualifying pension contributions not already claimed under 80CCD(1) |
| 80D, self and family | Rs 25,000, rising to Rs 50,000 where the senior citizen condition applies |
| 80D, parents | A separate Rs 25,000, rising to Rs 50,000 where the senior citizen condition applies |
What is the Section 80C deduction limit?
Examples on the department's list include qualifying life insurance premiums, provident fund payments, tuition fees, National Savings Certificates and housing loan principal. The separate official deductions explainer gives conditions for individual payment categories. Being on the list does not remove those conditions: it is the eligible amount, not every payment with a similar label, that enters the calculation.
Take a hypothetical taxpayer with Rs 90,000 of eligible provident fund contributions, Rs 40,000 of qualifying tuition fees and Rs 35,000 of eligible housing loan principal. The total is Rs 1,65,000. With no other amount in the shared bucket, the deduction is min(Rs 1,65,000, Rs 1,50,000) = Rs 1,50,000. These figures are an arithmetic example, not a suggested spending plan.
Qualifying payments under 80CCC and 80CCD(1) also use that same ceiling. A person who has filled it through eligible 80C payments cannot treat another 80CCD(1) contribution as a fresh Rs 1.5 lakh allowance.
Is the NPS additional deduction separate from 80C?
The department lists up to Rs 50,000 under Section 80CCD(1B), excluding contributions already claimed under 80CCD(1). For example, assume the shared Rs 1.5 lakh bucket is fully used and an additional Rs 40,000 pension contribution qualifies under 80CCD(1B), with no double claim. The two deductions total Rs 1,90,000. The Rs 40,000 cannot simultaneously be counted again in the first bucket.
Employer pension contributions are listed separately under Section 80CCD(2). They should not be confused with the individual's additional Rs 50,000 provision. The employer contribution rules depend on their own conditions, so the figures above are not a universal ceiling covering every pension related deduction.
How does Section 80D work for parents and family?
The self, spouse and dependent children bucket is separate from the parents bucket. Suppose a person below 60 has an eligible premium of Rs 22,000 for self and family, and an eligible premium of Rs 46,000 for senior citizen parents. With all conditions satisfied, the illustrative deduction is min(Rs 22,000, Rs 25,000) + min(Rs 46,000, Rs 50,000) = Rs 68,000.
Preventive health check-ups have an aggregate Rs 5,000 sublimit within the applicable Section 80D ceilings, rather than an extra allowance above them. The department's explainer distinguishes the payment rules too: qualifying health insurance premiums must be paid other than in cash, while preventive check-ups can be paid in cash.
A deduction reduces taxable income; it is not an equal amount of tax refunded. Eligibility, the selected regime and the return's supporting details still matter. The department asks for policy or document identification and eligible amounts for relevant claims. For background on the documents and calculations around household finances, read our home loan EMI example, SIP formula guide and bank deposit insurance explainer.
