My mother in law passed in May 2025. She was a working lady. After her death, all her bank accounts had to be closed and all the money including her Provident Fund, gratuity, pension etc. was transferred to my wife's savings account, who is the sole legal heir. Will this be treated as my wife's income? Does she need to pay any income tax or any other kind of tax on this money?
Under Section 56(2) of Income-tax Act, 1961, gifts received by a person are to be taxed in the hands of the recipient if the aggregate of the gifts received during the year exceeds Rs. 50,000. However, there are certain exceptions to this. Any asset received as inheritance either under a Will or under the personal law of inheritance applicable to the deceased is not to be treated as income in the hands of the recipient. As such, there is no tax liability for the recipient at the time of inheriting the same.
Since the money received by your wife is an inheritance, she is covered under the exception stated above and does not have any tax liability on the sums received and transferred in her name after the death of her mother.
I had purchased unlisted shares without paying any securities transaction tax (STT). I sold these shares after holding them for three years and paid STT on the sale. How will my capital gains tax liability be determined for this transaction?
Profits on sale of these shares would be taxed as long-term capital gains (LTCG), as you have held them for more than three years. Since the shares were listed when sold and on which you have already paid STT, the profits would be taxed at flat 12.50 per cent beyond the initial Rs 1.25 lakh lakh which will be tax-free.
Can a retired senior citizen pay the taxes in March 2026 for the current financial year?
A senior citizen does not have to pay any advance tax in case he does not have any income taxable under the head “Profits and gains of Business or Profession”.
So a senior citizen does not have to pay the tax even in March 2026 for the current financial year.
The senior citizen can pay the tax due while filing the income tax return (ITR) but not later than the due date. Please ensure to file your ITR by July 31, 2026 and pay the tax then, In case you fail to file your ITR by the due date, you will have to pay interest on the same.
