Getting Started
First, you must look at the kind of tax planning you require and the amount needed for this purpose. The biggest tax planning is with respect to investments under Section 80C/Section 80CCC. This provides for a deduction from the taxable income of a person for a sum up to Rs 1 lakh. Secondly, if you have made some additional capital gains from the sale of land or a house, you need to make the necessary investments to ensure that you pay little or no tax. You'll have to ensure that you invest in the bonds specified under Section 54EC. But this option is restricted, as currently no bond issue is open for subscription and the existing limits for issue have already been exhausted. The third requirement is regarding `other additional income', which you may have earned apart from your main source of earning. This will include items like savings bank interest, bank FD interest or some additional other income. If this figure is high, you may have to pay advance tax for it.

What's Already Done
Now, you must check the amount that has already been invested to claim benefit under Section 80C and calculate the remaining amount that needs to be invested. You must check whether you can do something to save on the capital gains tax front. Also, find out if you need to pay some advance tax in the next phase by December 15, '06

<bAnd What Remains To Be Done</b>
The next important step involves completing the remaining investment to claim maximum tax benefit. As far as investments under Section 80C are concerned, most people must invest Rs 1 lakh to claim the benefit. The money required to make further investments must be arrived at by subtracting the amount that you have already invested. Remember, to arrive at that figure, you must also deduct some fixed payments like the provident fund contribution that is deducted from your salary and forthcoming insurance premium payments. So, how do you complete the remaining investment? There are several strategies you can follow. You must consider two things. The first concerns the remaining amount, while the second concerns the nature of investment.

If a large amount still needs to be invested -- which is more than Rs 80,000 out of the Rs 1 lakh figure and there is an equity component to the investment -- then it is better to go through a piecemeal route where the next 3-4 months are used for investment purposes. You will have to adopt this strategy unless you have ready cash, which can be invested in safe debt routes like public provident fund (PPF), National Savings Certificates (NSC) and bank fixed deposits (FDs). In such cases, lump-sum investments will not carry any risk. By spacing out your equity investments over the next several months in instruments like equity-linked saving schemes (ELSS), you can spread out the entry risk and enjoy the benefit of averaging out the cost as well. With the stock market poised at an uncertain level, a one-time investment is not advisable. If you want to adopt an `ultra safe' or `safe investment' strategy, then PPF, NSCs or bank FDs will constitute a large part of your portfolio. Here, the internal break-up will depend upon the individual. For example, an individual who has a PPF running since a long time may derive a higher benefit from the compounding effect of PPF, while another person may need the money back in five years and hence, may opt for the bank FD scheme.

If Rs 50,000-70,000 of the investment is still remaining and your investment strategy is tilting towards equity, then you can achieve the goal without increasing the risk because you can invest small amounts over the next few months. However, if the strategy is `risk' or `high risk', then most of the remaining sum will be in ELSS, which will require a higher amount, plus regular investing to reach the target effectively.
If the amount to be invested ranges between Rs 30,000 and Rs 50,000, then a 2-3 month option for investment can be chosen. This will ensure a regular investment pattern and depending upon the amount already invested, the existing routes can be used properly. This will also remove or reduce the last-minute rush in March.

If the final amount to be invested is just a few thousand rupees, this can be invested in the requisite investment instruments without much problem.