"You must pay taxes. But there's no law that says you gotta leave a tip." Paying tax is our duty, definitely not one of the people's favourite. We cannot completely run away from taxes but can surely reduce them to a great extent.

Tax planning helps you to smartly minimize the amount of income tax payable and hence have more savings. These savings can be invested further for future financial security. When each financial year comes to a close, there is a rush to find ways to minimize tax incidence for the year through approved investment options. And as action is being taken at the last minute, you might miss out on some opportunities and end up paying a higher tax than you should.

Income Tax planning is one of the most important aspects of personal finance. It forms an integral part of our savings plans. However, 90% of financial mistakes by individuals in India are made during the tax planning season.

Most of the individuals fail to assess their tax liability and postpone the tax savings to last minute. Hence in India, tax planning is given more importance only during the last two quarters of the financial year. Due to these reasons, they end up paying unnecessary taxes or opt for unnecessary tax savings. Strategies for Income Tax Planning in India often concentrate more on deduction under section 80C of the Income Tax Code. Tax planning should be considered as an integral part of an overall financial plan. This would help individuals in optimizing their tax planning strategies.