Tax Planning Advisory

Overview

Tax planning is the lawful arrangement of income, investments, expenses and filing choices so you pay what the law requires and no more. It looks ahead, before the financial year closes, where filing only looks back. This service is for compliant planning: choosing between the old and new regime, using deductions you are entitled to, structuring presumptive or regular taxation, and timing decisions sensibly. Evasion, concealment and artificial arrangements are outside scope.

Who needs it

• Salaried individuals deciding between the old and the new tax regime.
• Freelancers, consultants and small businesses choosing between presumptive taxation and regular books.
• Founders and startups looking at recognised incentives.
• Investors planning the timing of capital gains and how to reinvest.
• Families planning around home loans, insurance, education loans and donations.

What Zenith does

Zenith listens first and clarifies the goal: lower tax, more cash flow, loan readiness or simply certainty. A relationship manager is assigned and an assignment-specific checklist is shared. An authorised professional then:

• Computes your tax under both regimes using your real numbers.
• Reviews which exemptions and deductions you are eligible for, and which you are not.
• Compares presumptive taxation with regular accounting where it applies, including audit consequences.
• Maps the advance tax and cash calendar for the year.
• Flags eligibility questions for startups, such as DPIIT recognition, before you rely on any incentive.
• Hands over a written plan with the assumptions and the reasoning, explained in plain language.

Eligibility and key rules

• Salaried taxpayers can choose the regime each year. People with business or professional income have limited ability to switch back once they move from the new regime to the old.
• The new regime has lower slab rates and few deductions. Public guides read for FY 2025-26 describe a rebate that makes income up to Rs 12 lakh effectively tax-free under the new regime, with other limits for special-rate income.
• Under the new regime the main deductions still available include the employer's NPS contribution (section 80CCD(2)) and interest on a let-out house property. The standard deduction on salary is also available.
• The old regime allows deductions such as section 80C (up to Rs 1.5 lakh), 80D for health insurance, 80E for education loan interest, 80G for donations and 24(b) for home loan interest up to the statutory cap.
• Presumptive schemes (44AD, 44ADA, 44AE) reduce record keeping but fix the profit rate. Claiming a lower profit than the scheme assumes can lead to a tax audit.
• Startup incentives need DPIIT recognition and conditions on age, turnover and entity type. Public guides describe a three-year profit deduction under section 80IAC for eligible companies and LLPs, and a long-term capital gains exemption under section 54EE when proceeds are reinvested in notified funds. Eligibility is checked case by case.

Documents required

• Last two years of returns and computations.
• Salary slips or Form 16, and an estimate of bonuses and perquisites.
• Details of existing investments, insurance, loans, donations and rent paid.
• Business profit and loss to date, turnover and cash versus digital split if relevant.
• Capital gains statements and holding periods.
• Form 26AS and AIS for the year.
• Entity documents for businesses and startups (certificate of incorporation, DPIIT certificate if any).

Process and timeline

1. Complete the intake form and upload records.
2. A discovery call confirms goals and constraints.
3. The professional models the options and prepares a written plan with numbers.
4. You approve what you want to implement. Investments and purchases remain your decision.
5. Follow-up reviews are scheduled before key dates such as the end of the financial year.

Timelines depend on completeness of records and the complexity of your income.

Government fees, penalties and due dates

Planning itself carries no government fee. Costs that may arise from the decisions you take are shown separately in the quotation.

• Advance tax follows the 15 June, 15 September, 15 December and 15 March schedule, with 1% per month interest on shortfalls.
• Late filing fee under section 234F is up to Rs 5,000, and up to Rs 1,000 where total income is up to Rs 5 lakh. Interest of 1% per month applies under section 234A.
• Most deductions in the old regime require the investment or payment to be made before 31 March of the financial year.
• A regime choice for the year is made at the time of filing for most taxpayers, while employers need a declaration earlier for TDS.

Amounts and dates above reflect public sources read in October 2026 and change with notifications, so Zenith confirms the current figures in your quotation.

Common mistakes

• Picking a regime out of habit without running the numbers for the year.
• Buying a product only for the deduction, without a real need.
• Starting planning in March, when options are limited.
• Switching regimes without knowing that a business owner may not be able to switch back freely.
• Claiming deductions with no supporting proof.
• Assuming a startup incentive applies automatically without recognition or conditions being met.

FAQs