Overseas salary can remain taxable in India.
Two houses can qualify as self-occupied.
Gifts from specified relatives are generally exempt.
Salary Received Abroad By Resident Taxpayer Is Taxable In India Under Tax Laws
A resident taxpayer transferred abroad can claim tax benefits under DTAA between India and his new country of residence. One can claim a maximum of two-houses as self-occupied for tax purposes. Money received from son as gift is not considered income for parent
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Six months ago I got transferred to our US office where I was allotted a new employee ID. My Form16 shows the salary paid to me in India only. Do I need to pay tax in India on the salary I earned in the US?
It seems you were resident in India during the previous year for the purpose of income tax, as you were in India for a period more than 365 days during the four years preceding the previous year.
As you were a resident under the Income-tax Act, 1961, all incomes arising to you will be taxable in India. So in your case even though your salary is not mentioned in Form 16, it is still taxable in India. However, you can claim benefits under the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) entered between India and the US.
I own a house in Rajasthan where my parents live and for which I have taken a home loan. A substantial portion of the loan has been repaid. I want to buy another house in Pune where I have been staying for the past four years. Can I avail myself of the tax benefits for home loan for two houses simultaneously? Is it possible to forgo the advantage of tax benefits on the first house since the amount outstanding is not huge and interest and principal amount are only nominal now?
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There are no restrictions under the tax laws about how many houses one can own or for how many houses one can take a home loan. Tax laws also allow a person to have a maximum of two houses as self-occupied. The house occupied by your parents can be treated as self-occupied for this purpose. So, you can avail yourself of the tax benefits in respect of repayment of home loan for any number of home loans within the overall limit of Rs 1.50 lakh every year if you opt for the old tax regime. Likewise, in respect of the maximum number of two self-occupied houses taken together you can claim deduction for interest up to Rs 2 lakh every year under the old tax regime.
However if you let out the property, you can claim interest deduction up to the taxable amount of rent received during the year. You can claim the tax benefits for both the home loans simultaneously within the limits discussed above.
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I am a senior citizen. I get around Rs 25,000 every month from my son which is not to be refunded back. Do I have to consider this money as my income? I don’t have any pension, but I do have a few fixed deposits (FDs), recurring deposits (RDs) and non-convertible debentures (NCDs), and do get a handsome amount as interest.
Anything received without tangible consideration is treated as a gift. Since the money received from your son is without any consideration and without any obligation, it is to be treated as a gift in your hands. Under the income tax laws, if the aggregate of all the gifts received during a financial year exceeds Rs 50,000, the same is treated as income of the recipient. This rule of treating gifts over Rs 50,000 is, however, subject to certain exceptions. The exceptions include gifts received from specified relatives, including parents and children. So the monthly payment received by you from your son is to be treated as a gift, and not as an income.
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The author is a tax and investment expert and can be reached at jainbalwant@gmail.com
(Disclaimer: Views expressed are the author’s own, and Outlook Money does not necessarily subscribe to them. Outlook Money shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organisation directly or indirectly.)
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