This week: 12 new articles on home loans, VPF, SIP maths, and tax — plus the June 15 advance tax deadline
A heavy week: home loan EMI maths, rent vs buy, VPF vs PPF, the cost of starting a SIP late, step-up SIPs, FD interest tax, LTCG harvesting, and the completion of Zero to One Chapter 2 on the old vs new tax regime. Plus: advance tax first instalment is due June 15.
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What matters in personal finance this week — for salaried employees in India.
A heavy week: 12 new articles across investing, tax, salary, and insurance
This was one of our most productive weeks. Here is what went live, grouped by theme.
The cost-of-ownership and EMI maths:
- [Home loan EMI: how it is calculated, how much is interest, and whether to prepay](/investing/home-loan-emi-calculation-interest-prepayment-india) — At ₹50 lakh, 8.5%, 20 years, your EMI is ₹43,391/month and you pay ₹54 lakh in total interest. In Year 1, 84% of the EMI is interest — which is why early prepayment saves so much.
- [Should I buy a house or keep renting and invest the difference?](/investing/rent-vs-buy-house-india-price-to-rent-ratio) — Mumbai's price-to-rent ratio is 30–45. The math often favours renting and investing the difference, but only if you actually invest it.
The retirement and guaranteed-return instruments:
- [What is VPF and why it beats PPF for salaried employees](/investing/vpf-voluntary-provident-fund-vs-ppf-salaried-india) — VPF earns 8.25% vs PPF's 7.1%, with the same EEE tax treatment and no contribution cap. On ₹10,000/month over 20 years, that 1.15% gap means ₹13 lakh more.
The compounding maths:
- [How much should a 25-year-old invest monthly to reach ₹1 crore?](/investing/how-much-invest-monthly-25-year-old-1-crore-india) — ₹2,100/month at 12% CAGR reaches ₹1 crore by 60. But after inflation, that is only ₹13 lakh of today's purchasing power — so the real target is higher.
- [What is the cost of starting your SIP 5 years late?](/investing/cost-of-starting-sip-late-5-years-delay-india) — A 5-year delay on ₹10,000/month costs ₹2.10 crore in final corpus. To make it up, you'd need to invest 79% more every month.
- [Step-up SIP: how a 10% annual increase changes your corpus](/investing/step-up-sip-annual-increase-corpus-impact-india) — Flat ₹10,000/month for 20 years: ₹99.9 lakh. The same with a 10% annual step-up: ₹2.07 crore.
The tax mechanics:
- [FD interest: how it is taxed, TDS rules, and the accrual trap](/tax/fd-interest-tax-tds-rules-accrual-itr-india) — TDS at 10% is not the final tax. And cumulative FDs accrue interest each year — your AIS shows more than your TDS certificate.
- [LTCG harvesting: using the ₹1.25 lakh annual exemption before March 31](/investing/ltcg-harvesting-125-lakh-exemption-equity-mutual-funds) — Book ₹1.25 lakh of equity gains tax-free each year, buy back immediately, and reset your cost basis. Saves ₹15,625 in future tax annually.
Zero to One — Chapter 2 completed this week:
- [Is health insurance premium deductible in the new tax regime?](/personal-finance/health-insurance-premium-80d-new-tax-regime-deductible) (Lesson 3)
- [The extra ₹50,000 NPS deduction under Section 80CCD(1B)](/personal-finance/nps-80ccd-1b-extra-50000-deduction-old-tax-regime) (Lesson 4)
- [Section 87A rebate: the ₹12L cliff in the new regime](/personal-finance/section-87a-rebate-new-regime-cliff-explained) (Lesson 5)
- [Can I switch between the old and new tax regime every year?](/personal-finance/switch-old-new-tax-regime-every-year-salaried) (Lesson 6)
Chapter 2 (old vs new tax regime) is now complete — six lessons covering the single most consequential tax decision a salaried employee makes each year.
Salary and insurance:
- [How to read your salary slip: every component decoded](/salary/how-to-read-salary-slip-components-india)
- [Health insurance: how to compare room rent limits, co-payment, and no-claim bonus](/insurance/health-insurance-compare-room-rent-copayment-ncb-india)
Today is the advance tax deadline — June 15
The first advance tax instalment for FY 2026-27 is due today, Monday June 15, 2026.
If your total tax liability after TDS is expected to exceed ₹10,000 this year — which applies to most salaried employees with FD interest, rental income, capital gains, or freelance earnings — you should pay 15% of your estimated annual tax today.
Pay at incometax.gov.in → e-Pay Tax → Challan 280 → Advance Tax (100). Missing it attracts 1% interest per month under Section 234C.
[Full advance tax guide →](/tax/advance-tax-salaried-employees-fy-2025-26)
One thing to do this week
Reconcile your AIS against your Form 16 and bank interest certificates before you file your ITR.
The ITR filing window for FY 2025-26 is open, deadline July 31. The most common cause of a tax notice is a mismatch between what you report and what the AIS shows. The biggest culprit: FD interest reported on an accrual basis in the AIS, which often exceeds what your bank's TDS certificate reflects.
Download your AIS at incometax.gov.in, check the "Interest from deposit" and "Securities/mutual funds" sections, and reconcile before filing.
[AIS reconciliation guide →](/tax/what-is-ais-annual-information-statement-itr-reconciliation)
Ek Crore is a personal finance publication for salaried employees in India. All articles are for informational purposes only — not financial or tax advice.
Content on Ek Crore is for educational purposes only. Nothing here is financial advice. Always consult a SEBI-registered advisor, CA, or qualified professional before making investment or tax decisions.