Saving Income tax in India

Hi,
Can any body tell me any head of income except (HRA, Medical Reimbursement, Transport Allowance) which is not taxable?
Also some other means of saving tax.
ALso, i have read in times of India that new govt is going to increase tax rates. Will these new rates will be applicable for the Assesment Year 2003-04 or for 2004-05

thanks

Originally posted by Prakash Dwivedi:
Hi,
Can any body tell me any head of income except (HRA, Medical Reimbursement, Transport Allowance) which is not taxable?

Are you asking which are the salary components which are exempted from tax? Apart from the things specified above, LTA (Leave Travel Allowance) is exempted from tax, if you provide the expense reports.
Also, some companies offer components like Fuel allowance, car lease allowance etc, which are also exempted from tax.

Originally posted by Prakash Dwivedi:
Also some other means of saving tax.

The best way to save tax is not to earn anything

If the above option is not feasible, then you can spend the money in many ways like,
-Pension schemes
-Medical insurance
-Loan for higher education
-Life insurance
-Public provident fund
-National Savings certificate
-Children's educational fee
-Housing loan

Originally posted by Prakash Dwivedi:
ALso, i have read in times of India that new govt is going to increase tax rates. Will these new rates will be applicable for the Assesment Year 2003-04 or for 2004-05

No idea. We have to wait till the budget.
By the way, you read Times of India!? :roll:
[ June 03, 2004: Message edited by: Mani Ram ]

Originally posted by Mani Ram:

No idea. We have to wait till the budget.
By the way, you read Times of India!? :roll:

[ June 03, 2004: Message edited by: Mani Ram ]

TOI is just like M$ Windows nobody wants that but cant live without it.

But I thought people buy TOI just to look at it (you know what), not to read it! :roll:

New government is most likely to increase tax on luxary items like cars,cosmetics,washing machines etc.Communists have already started protesting against privatization of airports!!
[
{
TOI is just like M$ Windows nobody wants that but cant live without it
}
Its popular in Mumbai,Delhi and now I see many old retired men in Bangalore also reading that crap Banaglore Times suppliment in morning!!TOI is basically a mouthpiece of rich and famous.It also represents few corporate houses.
]
[ June 04, 2004: Message edited by: Ram Abdullah D'Souza ]

The government is planning to phase out the saving scheme for tax savings and reduce tax. This means there will be no tax rebate for investing in NSC, bonds etc. Ever since the new government has come, there is lot of confusion.

FOR TOI

Also they say they are going to remove rebates for Medical insurance etc.......