Queries

Ashutosh Sengupta, email

I am 25 years old and have recently started working. My father bought a house on loan which is now completely paid off. But he is retired. Can I take a home improvement loan for the house and claim tax benefits on the same?

Your right to a home improvement loan and/or tax benefit will depend on your ownership right on the property. If you are not named as owner of the property in the legal documents (property title), lenders will not give you a loan on that property. In such a case, the question of tax benefit does not arise.

You can take a home improvement loan and claim the tax benefit on its repayment only if you are a co-owner of the property or your father gives it as a gift after signing a registered gift deed.

Section 24 of the Income-tax Act allows for a deduction of up to Rs 30,000 per annum against interest paid on home renovation loans. That said, this is included in the overall deduction of Rs 2 lakh for interest payment on home loans taken for self-occupied property. So, in any case, the deduction against home loan interest repayment cannot go beyond Rs 2 lakh in a year.

Deepak Jain, Chief Executive, TaxManager.in

Ramesh Thakur, email

I am a mining engineer and have a life and health cover of Rs 50 lakh from my company. I have been advised to buy one on my own. Insurance agents often tell me to hide my job, as it could lead to denial or high premiums. My seniors have asked me to buy on true facts only. What should I do?

It’s crucial to disclose complete, material facts and unfalsified information while purchasing an insurance policy, as insurers assess the risk and calculate the premium on the basis of these facts. A policy bought on falsified information could be rejected in the consumer court or by the insurance ombudsman. Mining is unlikely to be a factor while buying health insurance.

Kapil Mehta, Co-founder, SecureNow Insurance Broker Pvt. Ltd