Last-minute tax planning for serial procrastinators:

Despite advice from financial planners to spread tax planning over the fiscal year, most self-employed and small businessmen tend to leave investments for the last week of March. The last-minute rush to get into tax-saving investments leads to mistakes.

This article is for such procrastinators who need not lose hope. The first thing to do is to evaluate your asset allocation. A simple rule of thumb is 100 minus your age should be the percentage of your portfolio that should go into equities. For instance , if you are 35, you should invest at least 65% of your portfolio in shares.

If you are overweight in debt, this could be the time to add equities through mutual funds using equity-linked saving schemes. “If you have invested in your provident fund and are a moderate risk taker, the balance investment left could be invested in ELSS schemes, which offer you growth in the long term,” says Anil Chopra, Group CEO, Bajaj Capital. However, if you have not invested even a rupee so far, it makes sense to stick to your asset allocation.

Ref: Economic Times Articles