ELSS Calculator

ELSS (Equity Linked Savings Scheme) is a tax-saving equity mutual fund: your contributions qualify for a deduction of up to ₹1,50,000 a year under Section 80C, and the units carry a three-year lock-in — the shortest of any 80C option. This ELSS calculator shows what your SIP grows to and how much income tax the same contributions save you.

Enter your monthly investment, the return you expect and your tax slab. The calculator applies the ₹1,50,000 annual 80C ceiling automatically, so investing more than ₹12,500 a month still shows the correct capped deduction while the extra money keeps compounding.

How ELSS returns and tax saving are calculated

The growth side is a standard SIP future value with contributions at the start of each month: FV = P × [((1+i)^n − 1) ÷ i] × (1+i), where P is the monthly amount, i the monthly return (annual ÷ 12) and n the number of instalments. The tax side is simpler: eligible 80C = min(monthly × 12, ₹1,50,000), and tax saved each year = eligible 80C × your slab rate.

Worked example: ₹12,500 a month — exactly the ₹1,50,000 cap — at 12% for three years. You invest ₹4,50,000 in total and it grows to ₹5,43,846, a wealth gain of ₹93,846. At the 30% slab you save ₹45,000 of tax every year, ₹1,35,000 over the three years, so the investment effectively costs you ₹3,15,000. That is what makes ELSS different from any other equity fund: the taxman funds part of your unit purchase.

How to use this calculator

• Set your monthly investment — ₹12,500 exhausts the ₹1,50,000 80C limit on its own.
• Set the expected annual return; 10–14% is a reasonable long-run range for a diversified equity fund.
• Choose the investment period. The minimum is 3 years because that is the ELSS lock-in.
• Pick your tax slab (5%, 20% or 30%) to see the deduction converted into rupees saved.
• Read the maturity value, tax saved and wealth gained, then open the table for the year-by-year picture.
• Remember other 80C items — EPF, life insurance premium, PPF, home loan principal, children's tuition — share the same ₹1,50,000 ceiling.

ELSS, 80C and the two tax regimes

Section 80C exists only in the old tax regime. The new regime, which is now the default, offers lower slab rates but no 80C deduction — so if you have opted for the new regime the tax-saving column of this calculator does not apply to you, and ELSS is simply an equity fund with a three-year lock-in. Salaried taxpayers who still claim HRA, 80C and home loan interest generally stay better off in the old regime; run your numbers on the income tax calculator before committing for the financial year.

Two practical points for ELSS investors. First, the lock-in runs three years from each instalment, not from the day you started, so a SIP started in April 2026 has units freeing up month by month until April 2029 — plan redemptions accordingly. Second, ELSS gains are taxed like any other equity fund on exit: long-term capital gains above ₹1.25 lakh a year are taxed at 12.5%, and because of the lock-in every ELSS redemption is automatically long-term. Compared with the other 80C options, ELSS has the shortest lock-in (PPF is 15 years, tax-saver FD 5 years, NPS until 60) and the highest return potential, at the cost of full equity risk — which is precisely why the three-year minimum should be treated as a floor, not a target.

Frequently asked questions