TAX BENEFIT ON HOME LOAN (INTEREST AMOUNT)Uner section 24B
Tax Benefit on Home Loan for payment of Interest on Home Loan can be claimed as Deduction underSection 24 as well as under the newly inserted section 80EE (Inserted in the Budget 2013, to be applicable from 1st April 2013)
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Section 24: Income Tax Benefit on Interest on Home Loan
Tax Benefit on Home Loan for payment of Interest is allowed as a deduction under Section 24 of the Income Tax Act. As per Section 24, the Income from House Property shall be reduced by the amount of Interest paid on Home Loan where the loan has been taken for the purpose of Purchase/ Construction/ Repair/ Renewal/ Reconstruction of a Residential House Property.
The maximum tax deduction allowed under Section 24 of a self-occupied property is subject to a maximum limit of Rs. 2 Lakhs (increased in Budget 2014 from 1.5 Lakhs to Rs. 2 Lakhs).
In case the property for which the Home Loan has been taken is not self-occupied, no maximum limit has been prescribed in this case and the taxpayer can take the tax deduction of the whole interest amount under Section 24.
Note: In case a property has not been self-occupied by the owner by reason of the fact owing to his employment, business or profession carried on at any other place, he has to reside at that other place not belonging to him, then the amount of tax deduction allowed under Section 24 shall be Rs. 2 Lakhs only.
It is also important to note that this tax deduction of Interest on Home Loan under Section 24 is deductible on the payable basis, i.e. on the accrual basis. Hence, the deduction under Section 24 should be claimed on the yearly basis even if no payment has been made during the year as compared to Section 80C which allows for deduction only on payment basis.
Moreover, if the property is not acquired/constructed completed within 3 years from the end of financial year in which the loan was taken, the interest benefit, in this case, would be reduced from 2 Lakhs to Rs 30 thousand only. This limit of 3 years has been increased to 5 years from Financial Year 2016-17 and onwards.
Quantum of Deduction allowed for Payment of Interest on Home Loan under Section 24
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Type of Property
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Self Occupied Property
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Not Self Occupied Property
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Completion Status
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Completed within 3 years
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Not completed within 3 years
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Completed within 3 years
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Not completed within 3 years
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Deduction Allowed
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Rs. 1,50,000
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Rs. 30,000
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No Limit
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No Limit
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The Quantum of Deduction allowed for payment of Interest on Home Loan under Section 24 has been summarized below:-
INCOME TAX TREATMENT OF PRE-CONSTRUCTION INTEREST
In many cases, the amount is paid for the purchase of property even before the construction is completed. Some home buyers, purchase properties on loan before the completion of construction and start paying EMI to the Bank.
In such cases, Section 24 very specifically states that Tax Deduction for payment of Interest shall not be allowed before the construction is complete. In such cases,
1. If Loan is taken for purpose of Repair/ Renewal/ Reconstruction: No Tax Deduction allowed for Interest paid before Completion
2. If Loan is taken for the purpose of Purchase/ Construction: The Interest that has been paid before the completion of construction should be aggregated and the whole aggregated amount shall be allowed as the tax deduction in 5 equal installments for 5 successive Financial Years starting from the year in which the construction has been completed.
For the purpose of simplicity and easy understanding, a comparison of Tax Benefit on Home Loan under Section 24 and Section 80C has been made here under:-
Particulars
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Section 24
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Section 80C
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Tax Deduction allowed for
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Interest
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Principal
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Basis of Tax Deduction
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Accrual basis
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Paid basis
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Quantum of Tax Deduction allowed
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Self Occupied Property:Rs. 2,00,000Non Self Occupied Property: No Limit
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Rs. 1,50,000
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Purpose of Loan
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Purchase/ Construction/ Repair/ Renewal/ Reconstruction of a Residential House Property.
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Purchase / Construction of a new House Property
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Eligibility for claiming Tax deduction
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Purchase/ Construction should be completed within 3 years
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Nil
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Restriction on Sale of Property
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Nil
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Tax Deduction claimed would be reversed if Property sold within 5 years
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