Download 1% Club App Now! https://app.onepc.io/?c=fws-yt-vid Tax season is here, and this episode is your complete playbook for legally paying less tax in India. Sharan sits down with CA Nitesh Buddhadev, Chartered Accountant and Founder of Nimit Consultancy, a Mumbai-based wealth management and tax planning firm. With over 10 years of experience in tax planning and more than 200 crores under management, Nitesh is a regular guest speaker on CNBC, Zee Business and Money9, and a columnist for Mint, Moneycontrol and Financial Express. In this conversation, Nitesh breaks down exactly how much income you can earn tax-free under the new Income Tax Act 2025, whether you are salaried, earning rental income, freelancing, or living off capital gains. You will learn how salaried employees can pay zero tax up to 15.75 lakh using EPF, NPS and the new meal coupon allowance, why rental income up to 17 lakh can be completely tax-free, and how freelancers can use presumptive taxation to pay zero tax up to 24 lakh. The episode also covers everything that has changed for ITR filing in 2026, including new deadlines for ITR 1 to 4, the four new metro cities that improve your HRA claim, and the revised children education and hostel allowances. Nitesh then goes deep into tax-efficient investing: why arbitrage funds beat FDs for short-term goals, how surcharge quietly pushes high earners into 39 to 43 percent tax brackets, the real tax difference between mutual funds and PMS, and how tax harvesting and loss harvesting can save you over 60,000 rupees every single year. Finally, the two topics every modern professional needs to understand: how ESOPs are actually taxed at exercise and at sale (and how Section 54F can bring that tax to zero), and how an HUF really works, including the myths and clubbing provisions that catch most people off guard. If you want to keep more of your hard-earned money in your bank account this year, this is the episode to study. CA Nitesh Buddhadev LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niteshbuddhadev Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ca_niteshbuddhadev Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/niteshbuddhadev Website: https://nimitconsultancy.com/ Subscribe: The 1% Club YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@onepercentclub12 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onepercentclub/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/the-1-clubfws Sharan Hegde Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/financewithsharan/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharanhegde95/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/financewsharan Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 02:09 - Zero Tax on Salary Up to Rs 15.75 Lakh 06:31 - Zero Tax on Rental Income Up to Rs 17 Lakh 08:40 - Buying Property on Loan and Renting It Out 12:02 - How Freelancers Pay Zero Tax Up to Rs 24 Lakh 15:14 - Zero Tax on Capital Gains Income 17:06 - ITR Filing Deadlines and Which ITR to File 20:15 - Key Changes in Income Tax Act 2025 20:35 - New Metro Cities and Higher HRA Benefits 21:11 - Children Education and Hostel Allowance 22:59 - Old vs New Regime: Rs 30 Lakh CTC Example 26:09 - Saving Taxes on Short-Term Goals with Arbitrage Funds 28:44 - Tax-Efficient Investing for 3 to 5 Year Goals 31:38 - How Surcharge Pushes Your Tax to 39 Percent 33:16 - PMS vs Mutual Funds: The Tax Difference 37:56 - Tax Gain Harvesting Explained 43:53 - Loss Harvesting and Cross Asset Adjustment 48:07 - How ESOPs Are Taxed 53:26 - Saving Capital Gains Tax by Buying a House 54:51 - How to Use HUF to Save Taxes 58:48 - Conclusion — Sharan Hegde is a personal finance creator & founder of the 1% Club, simplifying money, markets, and mindset for India's next generation of wealth builders. — #financewithsharan #taxplanning #personalfinance #incometax #investing