Guides — Tax, Loans, Investing & GST in India

A calculator hands you a figure. It cannot tell you whether the figure is good, what it leaves out, or what you should do next. These guides fill that gap. Each one takes a decision that Indian households actually face — picking a tax regime in April, working out whether a home loan prepayment is worth it, choosing between a recurring deposit and a mutual fund SIP, reading a GST invoice, or getting an income tax return filed without triggering a notice — and works through it with real rupee amounts and current rules.

They are written for a general reader, not for tax professionals. We assume no background beyond a payslip and a bank account, define jargon the first time it appears, and show the arithmetic instead of asserting a conclusion. Where a rule is time-sensitive, such as a filing deadline or a GST rate, we date it and link the official source so you can verify it yourself. Where we hold an opinion, we say it is an opinion and show what it rests on. Nothing here is personalised advice, and none of it is sponsored.

All guides

Old vs New Tax Regime in 2026: Which One Should You Choose? Worked comparisons at ₹8,00,000, ₹15,00,000 and ₹25,00,000 of income, and the deduction total at which the old regime finally overtakes the new one. GST 2.0 Explained: New 5% / 18% / 40% Slabs and What Got Cheaper The 12% and 28% slabs are gone. What moved where, what the 40% de-merit rate covers, and how to read an invoice issued after the change. How to Close Your Home Loan Early: 5 Prepayment Strategies That Actually Work Why a prepayment in year three saves several times what the same amount saves in year fifteen, with the arithmetic on a ₹50,00,000 loan. SIP vs FD vs RD: Where Should a Beginner Put ₹5,000 a Month? Three products with three risk profiles and three tax treatments, compared honestly over 5, 10 and 20 years. Income Tax Act 2025: What Actually Changes for You From April 2026 The 1961 Act is being replaced. "Tax year" replaces previous year and assessment year, sections are renumbered, and the rates stay exactly where they are. ITR Filing Checklist for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27): Documents, Deadlines and Common Mistakes Which ITR form applies, the documents to keep open, the 30-day verification rule, and the errors that most often produce a mismatch notice.

Browse by topic

Tax

Slabs, regimes, rebates and the return itself. Start with the regime comparison if you are choosing for the year ahead, and the filing checklist if a deadline is close.

Loans

What an EMI really costs over its full term, and how to shorten it. The EMI tool gives the monthly figure; the prepayment guide explains where a lump sum does the most damage to your interest bill.

Investing

Where a modest monthly surplus should go, and what compounding does to it over a decade or two. Read the comparison guide before assuming a fixed deposit is the safe choice.

GST

The 2025 restructuring left four rates where there were six. The guide covers what moved; the calculator splits any gross amount into base price and tax, or adds tax to a base price.

How these guides are researched

Each guide is written from primary sources — the Finance Act, CBDT circulars, GST Council notifications and RBI releases — rather than from other websites, and every time-sensitive claim carries a date. When a rule changes, the affected guide is revised and its review date updated rather than left to rot. Our full methodology, sourcing and editorial policy are set out on the about page, and the assumptions built into the calculators are listed in the disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Tell us on the contact page and we will check it.