• First, find your total income for the year from all sources before you take away any tax-saving investments.
• This is your starting point before claiming any deductions.

This is a specific version of your income used just for this calculation. To find it, take your total income from Step 1 and subtract the following:

• Other tax-saving investments you’ve already made (like Life Insurance or PF), but do not subtract the donation itself.
• Any income that is naturally tax-free.
• Profits from selling assets like property or stocks (specifically Long-term and certain Short-term gains).
• Specific types of investment income mentioned in the tax rules.

• Once you have your Adjusted Income from Step 2, take 10% of that amount.
• This figure is the maximum "ceiling" or limit for certain types of donations.

Different charities offer different levels of tax benefits. You need to see which category your donation falls into: