Is there any provision for a taxpayer owning only one self-occupied house to get exemption under income tax laws in respect of any expenditure incurred for the maintenance of the house in a particular year?
Under the provisions of income tax laws, only a deduction of up to Rs 2 lakh for interest paid on money borrowed for purchase, construction and/or repair and renovation of a maximum of two self-occupied houses is allowed under the old tax regime. If you opt for the new tax regime, no deduction whatsoever is available in respect of self-occupied property/ies. So, you cannot claim any expenditure incurred for maintenance of the self-occupied house property under any of the tax regime.
I am a senior citizen and I have no pension as such, but I do get interest income from several debt instruments and stock investments. The total income is very well within the non-taxable income of Rs 3 lakh. Do I still need to pay 20 per cent flat tax for short-term capital gains (STCG) made on stock sale?
The basic exemption limit for the general category of taxpayer is Rs 2.50 lakh, whereas for senior citizens aged above 60 years but below 80 years of age, it is higher. If you are over 80 years, the exemption limit is Rs 5 lakh.
In case of long-term capital gains (LTCG), a flat rate of tax of 12.50 per cent applies, while for STCG on listed equity shares and equity mutual fund schemes, a flat rate of 20 per cent is applied. However for a resident individual if his income which is taxed at normal rate is below the exemption limit, he is allowed to set off such LTCG and STCG against such shortfall and has to pay tax at flat rate applicable on the balance capital gains left after such set-off.
This facility to set off such shortfall is not available to a non-resident tax payer and has to pay tax at the applicable flat rate on the entire amount.
Since your total income including STCG on stocks does not exceed Rs 3 lakh, the basic exemption limit is applicable to you.
I have a saving bank account on which I have earned Rs 1,719 as interest. On a fixed deposit (FD) which matured in January 2026 and was renewed, the interest credited was Rs 7,018. I had taken an overdraft (OD) on this FD and had paid Rs 861 as interest. In my tax filing can I offset my OD interest with either the interest from the savings bank or the interest earned on the FD? The FD will have accrued interest of Rs 1,512 for FY 2025-26. Do I need to show it now in my tax filing or can I show it once I get the interest paid?
Whether you can claim the OD interest against your FD interest depends on for what purpose the OD was taken. If the OD was taken to earn more interest you can set off such interest paid, but if the OD is taken for personal use, you cannot set off the interest paid on such OD.
As regard inclusion of accrued interest is concerned, you have the option to show it either on accrued basis or on receipt basis. Once a particular option is exercised the same has to be followed consistently year after year.
The author is a tax and investment expert and can be reached on 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.)
