Editorial policy and how we research
Who writes FinPlann's guides, where the numbers come from, how we keep them current, and how to tell us when something is wrong.
Who writes our content
Guides on FinPlann are published under Pavan Polineni, the founder, who is responsible for everything on the site. Our focus is money questions for Indians in India and abroad: NRI residency and tax, returning to India, cross-border accounts, and Indian investments such as mutual funds, PPF and NPS.
FinPlann is not a SEBI-registered investment adviser, a chartered accountant or a tax practitioner. Our guides and calculators are educational. They explain rules and trade-offs; they are not personal advice. See our investment guidelines for our regulatory position.
When an article has been reviewed by a qualified professional, such as a chartered accountant or a US enrolled agent, we show the reviewer's name, qualification and review date at the top of that article. We only show this when a review has actually taken place.
How we research
- Official sources first. Tax rules come from the Income Tax Department and the Income-tax Act; banking and FEMA rules from the RBI; fund rules from SEBI and AMFI; insurance from IRDAI; pensions from PFRDA and EPFO; US topics from the IRS, the India–US tax treaty and the Social Security Administration.
- Product figures from the provider. Fund returns, expense ratios, interest rates and loan criteria come from AMFI data, fund factsheets, and banks' and insurers' own pages, not from aggregator sites.
- Every figure is dated. Returns, rates and limits change, so we say when we checked them (for example "as of 31 August 2026").
- If we can't verify it, we leave it out. Claims we can only find on unofficial sites are dropped, or clearly marked as unconfirmed.
- Sources are listed. Articles end with a Sources & References section so you can check the original.
- New tax law. The Income-tax Act, 2025 replaced the 1961 Act from 1 April 2026. Where readers know a rule by its old section number, we give both.
How we use AI
We use AI tools to help research, draft and check articles. AI output is treated as a draft: figures and rules are checked against the official sources listed with each article before it is published, and anything we cannot verify is removed.
Our older articles were written before this process was in place. We are re-checking them against the same standard, and correct them as we go.
FinChat and the AI Action Plan inside the planner are AI features that work from the numbers you enter. Their answers are general guidance, not personal advice.
Calculators
Our calculators use standard financial formulas and show their assumptions, such as expected returns and inflation, so you can change them. Results are estimates, not guarantees. The financial health score is explained in our score methodology, and the reference rates we use are listed on the data and rates page.
Keeping content current
The "Updated on" date on an article changes only when its content changes. Fixing a link or a page title does not count as an update.
Tax limits, interest rates and fund data change with each Union Budget, RBI policy and month of market data. When a rule changes, we update the affected articles and calculators.
Corrections
If you find an error, email hello@finplann.com with the page link and what you think is wrong, ideally with an official source. We check every report against the source, fix verified errors, and update the article's date when the content changes.
Independence
Our articles contain no affiliate or paid links. When we name a fund, bank or product, it is to illustrate a comparison using public data, not a recommendation to buy it. FinPlann earns money from subscriptions to the planner.