Someone has rightly said that there are only two things certain in life – death and taxes. So, while no one can avoid tax– if one has taxable income — it is also in your own interest to ensure that you are not paying more income tax than what you are required to pay under the I-T law. Sadly, in lots of cases, this does not happen and taxpayers end up paying more tax to the government – sometimes because of their ignorance of tax laws, and sometimes because of their laziness or inability to claim all the deductions. However, diligent planning and awareness of tax provisions can go a long way in enabling individual taxpayers to optimize on tax costs.