One of the mysteries for an income taxpayer is how income tax department comes to know about high-value transactions? The answer is very simple, through Annual Information Return or AIR. Besides Annual Information Return, the information is also collected through TDS (Tax Deducted at Source), TCS (Tax Collected at Source) and various other sources. As the reader's on my blog keep posting this query to me so i thought of sharing a separate post on Annual Information Return or AIR. Though it is a no-brainer that it is mandatory to quote PAN for certain high-value transactions. One of the ... Read More
Adjust LTCG against the Basic Exemption Limit and Save Income Tax
Income Tax is one of the most complex subjects in India. Most of the taxpayers struggle on this front. Through the posts on this blog, i always share my learnings, means and ways to save Income Tax in a legitimate way. The objective is to decode and explain the complex income tax rules in a simplified manner. In this post, i will share how a taxpayer can adjust LTCG against the basic exemption limit. Thus tax savings for the taxpayer. Some of the points shared in this post are already discussed in earlier posts. I hate being repetitive but some of the readers might not be able to comprehend. ... Read More
Provident Funds – Types, Tax Benefits and Most Common Queries
Provident Funds is one of the most loosely defined terms used by the taxpayer. At the macro level, except PPF, rest all types of provident funds are perceived as one and the same only. There are no efforts to educate the readers regarding the same. The tax treatment of different types of provident funds is different. For an investor/employee, the understanding of the types of provident funds is critical and important. Last week, one of my readers posted a query on withdrawal of provident fund. He worked in an organization from 1993 till 2013 as a blue-collar employee. He had to leave the ... Read More
Leave Encashment – How it is taxed in the hands of the Employee
In layman terms, Leave Encashment means to avail salary in lieu of accumulated leaves. In any organization, Leave Encashment is one of the major incentives for employees not to avail leaves :). I was one such employee who believed in the accumulation of leaves. In all my previous organizations, i accumulated at least 80% to 90% of the total leave eligibility. Normally the Leave Encashment policy of the organization allows you to encash the leave at basic salary. If your salary structure is tax friendly i.e. fully loaded with perquisites and allowances. In such cases, basic salary is less than ... Read More
Advance Ruling – NRI or Resident Indian can Avoid Tax Issues
Advance Ruling is one of the "Brahamastra" to avoid any future taxation issues. Not many NRI's or Resident Indian's are aware of the same. Advance Ruling is more popular among the corporates, in the case of disputes between 2 parties or high-value transactions. Alternatively, it can help to plan income tax liability in advance and avoid any future shocks on tax liability. In layman terms, if a resident Indian has any doubt or issue related to taxation in respect of a transaction with NRI that is already undertaken or proposed i.e. Scenario A. Alternatively, if the transaction is proposed or ... Read More
Home Loan Tax Benefits – A Mirage or Reality
Home Loan Tax Benefits is one of the key reasons to avail home loan. In other words, it is a motivational factor to buy a property on home loan. In my opinion, it is more of a perception that may or may not be true always. This perception is so deep rooted in our minds that it has become a sort of universal truth. Whenever we decide to purchase a property through Home Loan, our friends and relatives remind us about the attached Home Loan Tax Benefits. The million dollar question is Have you did financial calculations on Home Loan Tax Benefits? Based on my experience i can say that in 99.99% ... Read More