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Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() | Re: Important Government Circulars/ Orders / OM's / Notifications 10 lesser known Income Tax Deductions By Sandeep Kanoi, CA We all know about the popularly know deductions like deduction u/s. 80C & 80D. But many times we use to forget to claim many other deductions which are available under the Income Tax Act, which can reduce our tax burden significantly. In this article we discussed 10 such lesser know deductions which taxpayers tend to forget to claim while filing there Income Tax Return. 1. Set off of Capital Loss Against Capital Gain While most of us know that we need to pay taxes on short term or long term capital gains, not many are aware of the fact that capital losses, if any, can be balanced off against gains. So, for instance, if you have made a long-term capital gain of Rs 15 lakh by selling off your property and long-term capital loss of Rs 3 lakh by selling stocks which are either not listed or are sold off market , the total taxable amount would Rs 12 lakh. Please note Capital Gain on Sale of Shares sold through Stock Exchange can not be set off against other capital gain as profit from sale of shares of listed companies through stock exchange in exempt. It is important to note that short term losses can be balanced off against both short term as well as long term capital gains. However,long term capital losses can only be balanced off against long term capital gains. 2.Deductions under section 80 GG in respect of rent paid deduction to the extent of Rs 2,000 per month or 25 per cent of total income (whichever is less) is available under Section 80GG of the I-T Act in respect of rent paid by an individual on his accommodation, provided the individual does not get any house rent allowance. 3. Medical treatment of specified ailments under section 80DDB:-Deductions of expenses on medical treatment of specified ailments (such as AIDS, cancer and neurological diseases) can be claimed under Section 80DDB. The maximum amount of deduction allowed from gross total income is restricted to Rs 40,000 (which goes up to Rs 60,000 if the age of the person treated is 60 years or more) on condition that no medical reimbursement is received from any insurance company or employer for this amount. In order to claim this deduction, however, you will have to submit Form 10-1 from a specialist doctor working in a government hospital in India, confirming the treatment of the disease. 4. Deduction under section 80U for Person with disability:-Under Section 80U of the Act, an individual who is certified by the prescribed medical authority to be a person with disability shall be allowed a deduction of Rs 50,000 and an individual, who is certified as a person with severe disability, shall be allowed a deduction of Rs 75,000. W.e.f. 01.04.2010 this limit has been raised to Rs. 1 lakh. 5. Charitable deductions under section 80G deduction is also available under Section 80G of the I-T Act in respect of donations made by an individual to certain funds, charitable institutions and so on. There is no restriction on the amount of charity. The rate of deduction, however, is either 50 or 100per cent, depending on the choice of trust. Also, donations must be made to registered institutions only.This includes any amount contributed to a recognised political party. It can be claimed as a deduction under Section 80GGC (80GGB for corporates). This is a new deduction and was introduced in April 2010. Donations to institutions involved in scientific research or rural development get exemption under Section 80GGA. The donation can also be made to an electoral trust that works for conducting elections. Interestingly, unlike other deductions, there is no ceiling on the amount that can be claimed as deduction. Of course, this doesn’t mean one can claim deduction for cash payments. The deduction is available only if the sum goes into the party coffers. The quantum of deduction depends on the nature of the organisation. For instance, money given to certain establishments, such as the National Defence Fund, the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund and the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund enjoy 100% deduction.On the other hand, NGOs such as Child Rights and You, Helpage India and the National Children’s Fund give you only 50% deduction. So, it’s a good idea to find out how much deduction is available before you write out a cheque. However, you cannot use this route to evade tax by bringing down your income tax slab. There is a ceiling on the deduction a taxpayer can claim in a year. The quantum of deduction is limited to 10% of the gross total income of the donor. Also, only cash donations are taken into account. Donations of food, clothes and medicines do not qualify for such a deduction. 6. Interest on loan taken for higher education & vocational courses.:- Taxpayers also tend to forget that the interest paid on an education loan taken for higher studies or vocational curses qualifies for deduction under Section 80E of the I-T Act. Also, effective April 1, 2008, the said deduction is also available where the loan is taken for the purpose of higher education of spouse or children of the individual or the student for whom the individual is a legal guardian. Thus, if you have taken a loan for higher education, don’t forget to make your claim. Also remember that the deduction benefit on interest is allowed for maximum eight years, or till the interest is fully paid. 7. Interest paid on a second home loan is fully deductible:- The tax benefits of a home loan are well known. Under Section 24b, one can claim a deduction of up to Rs 1.5 lakh a year for the interest paid. If the taxpayer buys a second house through another home loan and gives it on rent, the entire interest paid on the home loan during a given year can be claimed as deduction. If you have more than one house, any one is deemed to be rented out. So the interest income on the home loan for that house can be claimed entirely for deduction, provided the rental income or deemed income is taxable. For instance, if you have taken a home loan of Rs 50 lakh at 9.5% for 20 years, your interest payment in the first year will be Rs 4.7 lakh and you can save tax up to Rs 1.09 lakh. 8. HRA as well as home loan benefits:- If you took a home loan and are still living in a rented place, you will be entitled to: Tax benefit on principal repayment under Section 80C Tax benefit on interest payment under Section 24 HRA benefit Of course, you can claim tax benefits on the home loan only if your home is ready to live in during that financial year. Once the construction on your home is complete, the HRA benefit stops. If you took a home loan, got possession of the house, have rented it out and stay in a rented accommodation, you will be entitled to all the three benefits mentioned above. However, in this case, the rent you receive would be considered as your taxable income. 9. Save tax through your family- Simplest way of saving tax is by investing through parents, parent in laws, wife and children. If you invest in the right instrument, the rate of return may be higher as well. Here is how we can save tax through our family members. Read Following Post for more details:- 10.Repairs and maintenance of house property –You will never forget to claim deduction of interest on repayment of your home loan, but not many people know that any interest paid on home loan for reconstruction or repair of the “house property” qualifies for deduction of up to 30,000, subject to the overall limit of 1,50,000. (Republished with amendments) |
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Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() | Re: Important Government Circulars/ Orders / OM's / Notifications The new small savings rates: Small Savings Schemes Interest Rates revised w.e.f 1st April, 2014 The Government, based on the recommendations of the Shyamala Gopinath Committee for Comprehensive Review of National Small Savings Fund (NSSF), announces revision of interest rates every financial year, to be notified before 1st April of that year. Accordingly with the approval of the Finance Minister, the rates of interest on various small savings schemes for the Financial Year 2014-15 effective from 01 April 2014, on the basis of the interest compounding/payment built-in in the schemes, shall be as under Schemes / Revised Rates from 1st April 2014 (%) / Existing rate for FY 2013-14 Post office Savings Deposit 4 / 4 1- Year Time Deposit 8.4 / 8.2 2 - Year Time Deposit 8.4/ 8.2 3- Year Time Deposit 8.4/ 8.3 5- Year Time Deposit 8.5/ 8.4 5 - Year Recurring Deposits 8.4 / 8.3 5 - Year Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS) 9.2/ 9.2 5- Year Monthly Income Scheme(MIS) 8.4/ 8.4 5- Year National Savings Certificate(NSC) 8.5 / 8.5 10 - Year National Savings Certificate (NSC) 8.8 / 8.8 Public Provident Fund (PPF) 8.7 / 8.7 Last edited by anjan_c2007 : 13th March 2014 at 21:20. |
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Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() | Re: Important Government Circulars/ Orders / OM's / Notifications Landlord's PAN Mandatory for House Rent IT rebates of Over 1 lakh P.A. Any salaried person would have heard of a term called HRA (House Rent Allowance). It not only gives benefit in the form of allowance but also gives an opportunity for tax exemption up to a certain limit. Almost every salaried employee takes this benefit. IT department also provides the facility of claiming tax benefit on HRA for rent paid to parents. HRA exemption can be availed up to least of the following: 1) Actual HRA received. 2) Excess of rent paid over 10% of the salary. 3) 50% of salary if house is located in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata or Chennai. 40% elsewhere. Change in Rule Until now, tax payers did not have to provide landlord’s PAN unless the rent was Rs. 1,80,000 p.a or Rs. 15,000 per month. However, IT department has put its foot forward in this regard and lowered the limit to declare landlord PAN to Rs. 1 lakh p.a or Rs. 8,333 per month. The reason IT department has brought about this new rule is because it believes there are a lot of fake receipts being submitted while claiming HRA exemption. Exemption for Rent Receipts However, employees who receive HRA up to Rs. 3,000 per month are not required to submit receipts for proof of rent paid. It may not benefit huge number of tax payers, though. This concession is only for the purpose of TDS (Tax Deduction at Source), and, in the regular assessment of the employee, the Assessing Officer will be free to make such enquiry as he deems fit for the purpose of satisfying himself that the employee has incurred actual expenditure on payment of rent. If Landlord does not have PAN In case the landlord does not have PAN, employee should submit a declaration stating the same along with the landlord’s details. The new rule is set to trouble the tax payers more as we know that a lot of landlords would be unwilling to submit PAN details or even give a declaration. What if documents are not submitted? The documents need to reach the IT department within February month of next calendar year. If it’s not the case, the HRA exemption given will be reversed and the entire HRA amount will be clubbed with the salary and taxed according to the tax slab. This new rule is definitely a set back for a lot of salaried people since there were many of those who were claiming HRA exemption even without paying rents. But, even the honest tax payers would be hit hard on account of this new rule because of the reluctance of landlords to neither submit PAN nor give a declaration. Last edited by anjan_c2007 : 4th April 2014 at 19:35. |
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Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() | Re: Important Government Circulars/ Orders / OM's / Notifications Minors above 10 years can operate bank accounts independently (RBI dated 6/05/2014) Quote:
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BHPian ![]() | Re: Important Government Circulars/ Orders / OM's / Notifications Quote:
With your above post, i have some queries with regards to my financials: 1. I've a home loan last October 2013 and not claiming home loan benefits as the balance loan amount is 6 lakhs now and will be finishing of this home loan this year for sure. 2. I'm planning to construct another home by taking home loan for around 20 lakhs later this year, where i can claim benefits for 50% as the plot is in the name of my spouse. Now, should i declare the first home loan to save tax this year or just forget it and claim the tax benefits of the home loan i will be taking this year? Which is more beneficial to me and how is it calculated? Please enlighten me on this one? Thanks in advance. Regards, Ramki | |
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Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() | Re: Important Government Circulars/ Orders / OM's / Notifications Quote:
The newer loan for Rs 20 L will mean IT benefits both for you and your spouse (Rs 10 L each), as far as the interest on the loan and deduction of capital ( both on an annual basis). So it would be more preferable to opt for IT benefits for your new loan of Rs 20 L. Regards ![]() Last edited by anjan_c2007 : 20th May 2014 at 21:09. | |
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Senior - BHPian ![]() | Re: Important Government Circulars/ Orders / OM's / Notifications Quote:
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BHPian ![]() | Re: Important Government Circulars/ Orders / OM's / Notifications Quote:
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I read that if two homes are taken, then IT will consider one as rented even any one is used by parents/self. So, if i take 2nd home loan i've to declare one as self use and for the other home i need to declare it as "Income from House rent" category. If i avail tax benefits for first home and take second home loan and take befenfits from it also, how will they verify, how much rent i'm availing and how much i'm declaring is valid? Thanks, Ramki | ||
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Senior - BHPian ![]() | Re: Important Government Circulars/ Orders / OM's / Notifications Quote:
The other one has to be declared as "Let Out" or will be deemed to be "Let Out" by the IT Dept. Remember, in case of a let out house property, the limit of 1.5 Lakhs for Interest does not apply (actually unlimited) and one is eligible for seperate deductions (Municipal taxes and 30% of the Net Annual Value for Repairs & Maintenance) also. The "Annual Value" of the house property is the higher of the three : Municipal Value Actual annual rent, and Fair rent i.e. rent of similar property in the same locality or a similar locality. | |
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BHPian ![]() | Re: Important Government Circulars/ Orders / OM's / Notifications Quote:
What is Municipal value? Sorry for too many queries. Ramki | |
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Senior - BHPian ![]() | Re: Important Government Circulars/ Orders / OM's / Notifications Quote:
Municipal Value: The municipal authorities have a host of factors which they consider to arrive at a municipal value of your property based on which municipal taxes are then levied. So the municipal value of your property is the value the municipal authorities assign to it. | |
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BHPian ![]() | Re: Important Government Circulars/ Orders / OM's / Notifications Quote:
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Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() | Re: Important Government Circulars/ Orders / OM's / Notifications The Income Tax Department has gone hi-tech: Beware! Your every transaction is under surveillance Of Income Tax Department If you receive a scrutiny letter from the income tax (I-T) department, don’t get surprised. It may not be based on your return of income; there may be many other reasons for scrutiny call. For example, High value transaction in your bank, foreign remittance, receipts in foreign currency, sale/purchase of property, cash deposit in your bank account, credit card payment, refund amount, fixed deposit, foreign travel etc The induction of advances information technology in Income Tax Department has made it possible to manage the large data of taxpayers and information at Income Tax Department. While on one part, the new policies and mechanism have simplified procedures and set up mechanism that makes it easier for the larger body of honest taxpayer to comply with the tax laws, it simultaneously raises the deterrence for non-compliances to make such behavior uneconomical. This article has been compiled for the interest of general public who are not much aware about these transactions, how the department gets information about these, and more importantly how does the department deals with the information? 1. PAN – A common Connection Rule 114B of Income Tax Rules, 1962 has made it mandatory to quote PAN in most of the transaction starting from opening a bank account to purchase/sell of jewellery articles. It has covered almost every significant transaction to track down the possible default in tax compliances. The following transaction has been prescribed where quoting PAN No. would be compulsory. a) Sale/purchase of any immovable property of Rs. 5 Lacs or more; b) Sale/purchase of motor vehicle; c) Fixed Deposit exceeding Rs. 50,000/- in any bank; d) Deposit exceeding Rs. 50,000/ - in any post office; e) Sale/purchase of Securities exceeding Rs. 1,00,000/-; f) Opening an Account with any Bank; g) Application for a telephone connection (including a mobile telephone connection); h) Payment to hotels and restaurants against their bills for an amount exceeding Rs. 25,000/- at any one time ; i) Payment in cash for purchase of bank drafts or pay orders or banker's cheques for an amount aggregating Rs. 50,000/- or more during any one day; j) Cash deposit in cash aggregating Rs. 50,000/- or more, with a banking company during any one day; k) Payment in cash for any foreign country travel exceeding Rs. 25,000/- at any one time. l) Application to any bank for issue of a credit or debit card; m) Payment of an amount of Rs. 50,000/- or more to a Mutual Fund for purchase of its units; n) Payment of an amount of Rs. 50,000/- or more to a company for acquiring shares issued by it; o) Payment of an amount of Rs. 50,000/-or more to a company or an institution for acquiring debentures or bonds issued by it; p) Payment of an amount of Rs. 50,000/- or more to the Reserve Bank of India, for acquiring bonds issued by it;] q) Payment of an amount aggregating Rs. 50000/- or more or more in a year as life insurance premium r) Payment to a dealer for purchase of bullion or jewellery, of an amount of Rs. 5 Lacs or more at any time If any person does not have PAN No., he/she need to file declaration Form No. 60 for such transaction. Hence, your every transaction can be tracked down by the department. Further, the decision of Finance Ministry to make PAN as the single unique identifier for financial markets has made the task of the department easier though the data volume has multiplied. 2. AIR – Providing Direct Information to Income Tax Department Section 285BA of Income Tax Act, 1961 as amended by Finance (No.2) Act, 2004, has brought a concept of Annual Information Report (AIR) of ‘specified financial transactions’, as distinct from the Return of Income. Under this concept, it has been made mandatory for various regulatory authorities like Registrars of immoveable properties, Registering authority for motor vehicles, Post Master General, Reserve Bank, Stock exchanges, and Depositories etc to furnish an AIR of specified transactions entered into by them during the year. Since, AIR does not involve any payment of tax, it become easy and hassle- free for third parties to discharge their obligations regarding specified financial transactions. Specified Financial Transaction:- Section 285BA of Income Tax Act, 1961 defines the ‘Specified Financial Transactions’ to mean any prescribed transaction above Rs. 50,000/- of - Purchase/sale or exchange of goods or property or right or interest in a property; or - Service of any service; or - Works contract; or - Investment made or expenditure incurred; or - Taking or accepting loan or deposit 3. TDS return/Form – 26AS As per section 206AA of Income Tax Act, 1961 has made it obligatory to furnish PAN no. for all transaction where TDS shall be deducted. In case of non-furnish of PAN No., TDS shall be deducted @ 20% irrespective of the rates prescribed under any other section. Form 26AS contains the detail TDS deducted during any financial year. If any person who has received amount on which TDS has been deducted, person may be required to furnish the records and accounts based on his Form 26AS. Role of NSDL IT department has appointed National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) as the agency to receive these electronic AIRs and TDS Returns. Their mandate requires NSDL to ensure that the AIRs filed electronically conform to prescribed format and that the data is clean and free of virus etc. before it is uploaded on the department's central system. NSDL has made available various facilities making it easier to file these returns correctly. The result is that the department is getting clean and structured information in electronic format in a central database on a regular basis. How the process works of TDS matching? The process adopted at Income Tax department can be summarized in the following points:- (i) First, the data is identified by PAN No. and TAN No. (ii) Since application of these rules is countrywide and the data is uploaded in a central database, it is possible to collate information about different transactions made by a person at different times, at different places, or with different parties. Thus, information about multiple credit cards or different bank accounts or different investments in mutual funds or in immovable properties in different cities made by a person becomes available in a single database. (iii) From the above database, an 'Individual Transaction Statement' is prepared in respect of each person based on its PAN. (iv) Above statement is supplemented by information coming from the electronic TDS returns which also contain the information about various payments. Even where PAN is not given or incorrect PAN is given it becomes possible to identify the transacting party using advanced IT tools. Thus all transactions of a year in respect of a particular PAN-holder whether coming from AIR or from the returns of Tax Deduction at Source, get appended to the 'Individual Transaction Statement' of the PAN-holder. (v) It takes few steps on the central system to create the family tree of a taxpayer along with names/ addresses of the concerns with which he is associated, and then to get the 'Transaction Statements' of such concerns. Once these statements are electronically linked with the data of returned/assessed incomes and tax payments of the taxpayer from the relevant databases, the department has an access to what it calls a 360 degree profile. The Income tax department utilizes this information at the first level, to widen its tax base, i.e. to identify tax non-filers. Hence, if such transactions are being reported in your bank accounts, it should dealt with proper tax planning and reporting. Amarpal, ACA, DISA and Ms. Dipti Sharma Email – amarpal@centrik.in web:- Mobile – 9717105008 Note: The above article is based on the personnel interpretation of the Author which may be different from person to person. |
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BHPian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: mumbai
Posts: 467
Thanked: 189 Times
| Re: Important Government Circulars/ Orders / OM's / Notifications Anjaan C2007 Hi Thanks for a detailed write up. Here is a link to the Times of India( 25th august) article which you may find interesting It updates the current situation. Surprisingly the yearly limit for property is 1 lakh !! and fixed deposits in banks is 2 lakhs . http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com//...8005&eid=31804 Regards |
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