How to start an SIP in Parag Parikh ELSS Tax Saver Fund

From WebNotes, a public knowledge base. Last updated 17 May 2026. Reading time ~8 min. Level: Beginner.

Key facts

Minimum SIP installment	Rs 500 monthly or quarterly (multiples of Rs 500 thereafter)
Lock-in	Three years from each individual installment allotment date
Tax benefit	Section 80C deduction up to Rs 1.5 lakh per FY under the old tax regime only
Cut-off for FY 80C eligibility	Installment must allot on or before 31 March of the FY (typically a debit by 28 March)

This guide covers the end-to-end process for registering a direct-plan Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) in Parag Parikh ELSS Tax Saver Fund through the PPFAS SelfInvest portal at selfinvest.ppfas.com. The ELSS scheme is the AMC’s Section 80C tax-saver offering: subscriptions made under the old tax regime are eligible for deduction up to Rs 1.5 lakh per financial year, subject to a statutory three-year lock-in per installment.

Prerequisites

An active PPFAS SelfInvest account. If not yet created, follow how to open a PPFAS SelfInvest direct-plan account.
The investor must be filing tax returns under the old tax regime to actually claim the Section 80C deduction. Under the new tax regime (default since FY 2023-24), Section 80C deductions are not available, and an ELSS SIP becomes simply an equity SIP without tax benefit.
A registered bank account with adequate monthly balance to honour SIP debits.
A nominee registered against the folio or a SEBI-prescribed opt-out declaration.
An Aadhaar-linked mobile number (for Aadhaar-OTP NACH mandate) or net-banking access (for net-banking-authenticated NACH).
Awareness of the three-year-per-installment lock-in. The first installment is locked until three years after its allotment; the second installment is locked until three years after its allotment; and so on.
Awareness of the FY end-of-March cut-off: only installments allotted on or before 31 March of a financial year qualify for Section 80C deduction in that FY.

Step-by-step procedure

Step 1: Confirm the old tax regime is in use

Section 80C deduction up to Rs 1.5 lakh per FY is available only under the old tax regime as introduced by the Finance Act 2020 and made the default new regime since FY 2023-24 by the Finance Act 2023. The taxpayer must explicitly opt for the old regime when filing the income-tax return (Form ITR-1 or ITR-2 has a regime-selection field).

Under the new tax regime, an ELSS SIP receives no income-tax deduction, although it remains a valid equity-investing vehicle. For investors under the new regime, the PPFCF SIP is operationally equivalent without the lock-in, and is usually the preferred choice. Confirm regime status with the tax adviser before committing to a multi-year ELSS SIP solely for tax purposes.

Step 2: Log in to selfinvest.ppfas.com

Open selfinvest.ppfas.com or the SelfInvest mobile app. Log in with PAN, password, and OTP, or with biometric authentication. The dashboard loads.

Step 3: Navigate to Invest then SIP then ELSS Tax Saver Fund

From the dashboard, tap Invest then SIP. SelfInvest presents the scheme list. Select Parag Parikh ELSS Tax Saver Fund.

On the scheme-detail screen:

Plan: Direct is the default.
Option: Choose Growth (default). The IDCW option exists but is rarely used for ELSS because the three-year lock-in defers redemption flexibility anyway.

Step 4: Set SIP amount and frequency

Enter the per-installment amount. Constraints for ELSS Tax Saver Fund:

Minimum SIP installment: Rs 500.
Increment: Multiples of Rs 500.
Frequency: Monthly or quarterly.

Common SIP amounts:

Annual 80C target	Monthly SIP	Quarterly SIP
Full Rs 1.5 lakh	Rs 12,500	Rs 37,500
Rs 1 lakh	Rs 8,500	Rs 25,000
Rs 60,000	Rs 5,000	Rs 15,000
Rs 30,000	Rs 2,500	Rs 7,500

The Rs 1.5 lakh ceiling is shared across all 80C instruments (employee provident fund contributions, public provident fund, NSC, life-insurance premium, principal repayment on housing loan, tuition fees, ELSS, etc.). If other 80C contributions already cover part of the ceiling, the ELSS SIP can be sized accordingly.

Step 5: Pick a SIP date avoiding the March-end risk

Select a SIP date. PPFAS typically offers dates 1, 5, 7, 10, 14, 17, 21, 25, and 28 of each month. For 80C-purpose investors, the March-end risk is the most important date consideration. If the SIP date is 25 March and the bank does not debit until 28 March, and the units are allotted with a 1 April NAV (perhaps due to a system delay), the installment counts towards the next FY’s 80C, not the current FY.

Mitigations:

Pick mid-month SIP dates (5 to 17): The buffer between scheduled debit and FY end gives operational margin.
Avoid 25, 28, or 30 of March: The closer the SIP date to 31 March, the higher the risk of FY slippage.
Place a March-specific lump-sum top-up if the FY 80C is still short: A separate lump-sum order before 25 March is the most reliable last-minute top-up; see how to invest in PPFCF lump sum via SelfInvest portal for the lump-sum flow (apply the same mechanics on ELSS).

Step 6: Choose tenure: perpetual or fixed end-date

Choose between:

Perpetual: The recommended setting. Each installment is locked for three years from its allotment date; after the three-year point, the corresponding units become redeemable. A perpetual SIP creates a natural rolling-redemption window after year three.
Fixed end-date: Suitable if the 80C goal is for a specific number of years.

A perpetual ELSS SIP combined with the rolling lock-in creates liquidity from year four onwards without disrupting the SIP: each new month, the installment from three years prior becomes redeemable.

Step 7: Set up the NACH or UPI Autopay mandate

The mandate-setup options match the PPFCF SIP flow:

NACH e-mandate via Aadhaar OTP.
NACH e-mandate via net banking.
UPI Autopay.

Set the mandate ceiling at 2x or 3x the SIP amount for headroom (top-ups, planned step-ups, or a future increase to the Rs 12,500 monthly full-80C utilisation level). The NACH e-mandate framework covers operational details.

Step 8: Review and submit

The review screen displays:

Scheme, plan, and option (PPFAS ELSS Tax Saver Direct Growth).
Amount per installment.
Frequency and SIP date.
Tenure.
Bank account and mandate type.
Expected first-debit date.

Submit. SelfInvest issues a SIP registration number. The first-debit timing follows the same 7-business-day rule as PPFCF SIP.

Step 9: Track the lock-in clock on each installment

Each installment has its own three-year lock-in clock. SelfInvest’s portfolio view for the ELSS folio shows each installment with its allotment date, NAV, and redemption-eligible date (three years after allotment).

For tax-return purposes:

Form 16: The employer’s Form 16 does not include ELSS investments unless the employer pre-validates the investment through the proof-submission process. ELSS investments are typically self-declared in the ITR.
Capital gains statement: SelfInvest’s annual capital-gains statement, downloadable from the dashboard, lists each redemption with the associated cost basis. Section 112A LTCG (12.5% above Rs 1.25 lakh) applies to ELSS redemptions held over 12 months (the three-year lock-in ensures every ELSS redemption is LTCG by definition).

What can go wrong

New-regime taxpayer registers ELSS SIP for tax purposes: No deduction is available. The investment is still a valid equity SIP, but with a three-year-per-installment lock-in that introduces friction without tax benefit. Confirm regime status before registering.
SIP date in last week of March: A March-end SIP date can slip past 31 March and the installment then counts towards the next FY’s 80C. Pick a mid-month SIP date or supplement with a March lump-sum top-up.
Mandate not active in time for first March-FY-end debit: A SIP registered in late March may not have an active mandate until April, missing the current FY entirely. For the current FY, place a one-time lump-sum order in ELSS while the SIP mandate is being activated for future months.
Three-year lock-in misunderstanding: Some investors expect the entire SIP to be redeemable three years after the first installment. Each installment is locked individually. The 36th monthly installment is redeemable only after month 71 (three years after its allotment).
Form switching between regimes year over year: Switching from old to new regime can be done annually (for salaried, with employer-confirmation rules); switching from new to old once after switching can be one-time-only for non-salaried filers (with some exceptions). Map the regime decision to a multi-year horizon before committing the ELSS SIP.
Rs 1.5 lakh 80C ceiling exhausted by other instruments: EPF deductions plus PPF plus life-insurance premium plus housing-loan principal can easily fill the Rs 1.5 lakh ceiling. Confirm the headroom before committing the ELSS SIP for tax purposes; in saturated cases, an ELSS SIP becomes an equity SIP with extra lock-in.
ELSS folio fragmentation across multiple distributors: If the investor holds ELSS units acquired earlier through a distributor (regular plan), the SelfInvest SIP creates a separate direct-plan folio. The folios remain separate; the lock-in clock and 80C eligibility are calculated per folio per installment. See how to link an existing PPFAS folio to SelfInvest.

How to open a PPFAS SelfInvest direct-plan account is the prerequisite for any SelfInvest SIP
How to start a PPFCF SIP via SelfInvest portal is the flagship-scheme SIP variant without lock-in or 80C linkage
How to invest in PPFCF lump sum via SelfInvest portal covers lump-sum, often used as a last-minute March 80C top-up
How to set up SIP top-up on a PPFAS scheme covers automatic SIP-amount escalation
The reference article on the PPFAS SelfInvest portal covers the full portal functionality
The reference article on SIP in Indian mutual funds covers the broader SIP framework
The reference article on ELSS mutual fund India covers the Section 80C ELSS framework

External references

References

PPFAS Mutual Fund, Parag Parikh ELSS Tax Saver Fund Scheme Information Document, current version at amc.ppfas.com.
PPFAS Mutual Fund, SelfInvest portal at selfinvest.ppfas.com, SIP-registration flow (accessed May 2026).
Income Tax Act, 1961, Section 80C and Section 80CCE.
Finance Act, 2020 (introduction of the alternative new tax regime).
Finance Act, 2023 (default new tax regime from FY 2023-24).
Finance Act, 2024 (Section 112A LTCG at 12.5%, Section 111A STCG at 20%, Rs 1.25 lakh LTCG exemption).
SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996.
SEBI Master Circular for Mutual Funds, 22 May 2024.
SEBI nominee-registration circular, effective April 2023.
AMFI ELSS category framework and industry data series.

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Last reviewed: 17 May 2026
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