Section 124 (old 80CCD(2)): Employer NPS Contribution (Both Regimes)

The only deduction available in BOTH old and new tax regime. Employer contributes to your NPS on your behalf. You pay zero, and get a ₹45,000–₹1.05L annual deduction. The most underused tax saving move for salaried professionals.

How Sec 124, Income-tax Act 2025 (old Sec 80CCD(2)) works in practice: Your basic salary is ₹50,000/month. Employer contributes 14% of ₹50K = ₹7,000/month to your NPS. That ₹7,000 is NOT counted as your income. Annual NPS contribution by employer = ₹84,000. Deduction under Sec 124 (old Sec 80CCD(2)) = ₹84,000. Your in-hand salary is unchanged. But your taxable income falls by ₹84,000. Two-step benefit: Step 1, Lower taxable income now (immediate tax saving). Step 2, NPS corpus grows tax-free. At retirement: 60% lump sum withdrawal tax-free. 40% in annuity (taxable as salary in retirement, but typically at lower rate). New regime taxpayers especially benefit: In new regime, Sec 123, 126 (old Sec 80C, 80D), home loan interest are all gone. But Sec 124 (old Sec 80CCD(2)) REMAINS. For a new regime taxpayer at 30% bracket with basic salary ₹50K/month: ₹84,000 × 30% = ₹25,200 saved annually. Zero investment required from them.