TAX SAVING MUTUAL FUNDS (ELSS)

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 ELSS stands for Equity Linked Savings Scheme. These are tax-saving mutual funds that you can use to save income tax of up to Rs 1.5 lakh under Section 80C. ELSS funds have a lock-in period of 3 years and invest a majority of their portfolio in the stock market. 

 An ELSS is a diversified equity mutual fund which has a majority of the corpus invested in equities. Since it is an equity fund, returns from an ELSS fund reflect returns from the equity markets. This type of mutual fund has a lock in period of 3 years from the date of investment. This means if you start a Systematic Investment Plan in an ELSS, then each of your investments will be locked in for 3 years from the respective investment date. Investors can exit ELSS by selling it after 3 years. Similar to other equity funds, ELSS funds have both dividend and growth options. Investors get a lump sum on the expiry of 3 years in growth schemes. On the other hand, in a dividend scheme, investors get a regular dividend income, whenever dividend is declared by the fund, even during the lock-in period.   

 Compared to traditional tax saving instruments like Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificate (NSC) and bank fixed deposits; the lock in period of an ELSS fund is much lower. While ELSS investment is locked in for 3 years, PPF investments are locked in for 15 years, NSC investments are locked in for 6 years, and bank fixed deposits eligible for tax deduction are locked in for 5 years. As ELSS is an investment in equity markets and investing in this for a long term can give you better returns compared to other asset classes over the long term. You can also opt for SIP investments, which bring about discipline in regular investing. You can also get income from your investment amount in the lock in period if you opt for dividend schemes.