Section 80-IAC of the Income-tax Act 1961 gives an eligible startup a 100% deduction of its profits for any 3 consecutive assessment years out of the first 10 years from incorporation. The startup must be a company or LLP, must hold a DPIIT recognition certificate, and must have a certificate from the Inter-Ministerial Board (IMB). This tool picks the best 3-year window from your projected profits.

To claim s.80-IAC you must be a DPIIT-recognised startup: incorporated on or after 1 April 2016, formed for the purpose of innovation and development of products or services, with turnover not exceeding ₹100 crore in any previous year — the incorporation window was extended to cover companies incorporated before 1 April 2030 by the Finance Act 2025. An LLP qualifies; a partnership firm or proprietorship does not.

The Inter-Ministerial Board certificate is issued under Notification G.S.R. 127(E) dated 19 February 2019 (as amended), which also prescribes the startup definition and conditions for DPIIT recognition. The IMB certifies that the startup is engaged in eligible innovation work, and that certificate plus DPIIT recognition are both required to claim s.80-IAC.

You may claim the 100% deduction for any 3 consecutive assessment years within the 10-year clock from incorporation — so you wait for your most profitable years and start the clock then. The window is a strategy decision, which is exactly what this tool optimises: it computes your tax saving for every possible start year and shows the best one.

The s.80-IAC eligibility test applies per year — if turnover in a previous year exceeds the prescribed limit (₹100 crore), the startup ceases to be eligible for the deduction — whether already-claimed years remain protected is fact-specific, so take advice before restructuring. The tool flags any year where modelled turnover breaches the cap so you can see exactly where the holiday ends.