Expenses Save Taxes

We incur several regular expenses which make us eligible for tax benefits but we fail to utilize them due to our less knowledge about it. Here we will discuss about some expenses which will help you to save tax.

1) House Rent : IF we are on rental, pay some amount as rent to our landlord, then you will get tax benefit. Some employee gets HRA (House Rent Allowance) which  helps to get income tax deductions. But if you are not getting HRA break-ups then you can also save tax as per provision under Section 80GG.

2) Travel Expenses : Income Tax gives tax rebate on conveyance @ 1600/- per month for office goers as Conveyance Allowances. Apart from this you can also enjoy tax saving benefit on LTA (Leave Travel Allowances) which can be claimed for two journeys in a block of 4 years. Expenses incurred by you & you family on travel for which your employer gives LTA can be claimed as deduction.

3) Medical Expenses : These expenses are a regular part of everybody's life. For this employee can get benefit of medical allowance allowed by their employee. Apart from this tax laws also allows some tax gains towards money spend on medical insurance & preventive health checkup. Limit of deduction is upto Rs.60000/- under Section 80D, if premium amount not make in cash.

4) Tuition Fees : To provide education we give tuition to our kids. IT Laws provides you opportunity to compensate the expenses you incur on your kids tuition fees by reducing your tax liability. This deduction can be claimed under Section 80C of IT Act.

5) Donations : If your kind hearted & God believer and doing some donations than this habit also helps you some in your tax liability. Cash Donation upto Rs.2000/- only and above by cheques/DD/Transfer to charitable Trust / Organisation will help you to save tax under section 80G.

6) Pension Fund : If your employee deduct your salary for pension fund contribution which is good for your future will also help you in tax saving. If your company not register with PF Scheme then you can opt some other Pension Fund Scheme for investment and future return.

7) Repayment of Home Loan : You have taken a home loan and worry about home loan burden and taxes. Then you should be happy that burden of your home loan EMI can reduce the burden of taxes. You can get the benefit on Repayment of both Principal Amount and Interest Amount components of your installments. You can get a deduction on home loan repayment under section 24 of IT Act  and a deduction on Principal amount under section 80C of Income Tax Act.

8) Repayment of Education Loan : Maintaining positions & for promotion higher qualification and up-gradation in it is must. Due to rising costs of educational courses, people often go for education loans when it comes to higher education. Just like deduction available on tuition fees, your education loan EMI also bring tax benefits to you.

Some Expenses are good. Above these expenses helps you to fulfill your dreams and reduce your tax burden, so don't worry about this. 

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Tax Benefits For Senior Citizens

In this blog we will discuss Income Tax Benefits to Senior Citizen available as per Income Tax Act. A person becomes senior citizen once he attains 60 years of age. Income Tax Department categories Senior citizen into two part. First Senior Citizen is with age bracket of 60 years to 79 years old and Second Senior Citizen is with age bracket of 80 years and above. 

There are some tax exemption available for senior citizen. From F. Y. 2011-12 qualifying age limit for senior citizen has been reduced from 65 years to 60 years and from F Y 2015-16 exemption limit for senior citizen has been enhance from 2,50,000/- to 3,00,000/-. 

A new category of Very Senior Citizen has been introduced in F Y. 2011-2012 (A Y 2012-13) with qualifying age 80 years and above with enhance exemption limit of Rs.5,00,000/-.

Senior Citizens and very senior citizen are granted a higher exemption limit as compared to normal tax payers.

EXEMPTION LIMITS

The Exemption Limit of a Senior Citizen for the financial year 2016-17 available to a Resident Senior Citizen is Rs.3,00,000/-. An Additional benefit of Rs.50,000/- in form of higher exemption limit available to Resident Senior Citizen in comparison to non-senior citizen.

The Exemption Limit of a Very Senior Citizen for the financial year 2016-17 available to a Resident Senior Citizen is Rs.5,00,000/-. An Additional benefit of Rs.250,000/- in form of higher exemption limit available to Resident Very Senior Citizen in comparison to non-senior citizen and Rs.2,00,000/- higher than Resident Senior Citizen.

TAX BENEFIT OF MEDICAL INSURANCE

From Financial Year 2015-17 (A Y 2016-17) a Resident Senior Citizen can claim higher deduction of Rs.30,000/- under section 80D on insurance premium paid for Medical Insurance. Earlier it was Rs.20,000/-

HIGHER DEDUCTION U/S 80DDB

Section 80DDB provides deduction to an assessee in case of expense on medical treatment of specified ailments. Deduction Limits is Rs.40,000/- for normal patient while deduction limit Rs.60,000/- for a senior citizen patient.

From A Y 2016-17 higher limit of deduction of upto Rs.80,000/- is allowable for the expenditure incurred in respect of the medical treatment of a Very Senior Citizen.

TDS EXEMPTION ON BANK DEPOSITS

Senior Citizen can claim exemption on the Tax Deducted At Source (TDS) on interest income earned on bank deposits. It can be done by submitting Form 15H  under Section  197 of the IT Act.

HIGHER INTEREST RATES

Senior Citizen receives higher interest rates on 5 Year Fixed Deposit which is eligible for deduction from total income under Section 80C.

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Life After Life With Life Insurance

One of my client asked me "why every alternate day an LIC Agent came to me and asked to buy an insurance policy? How I can buy if not able save to afford premium amount? I ask him just to imagine "you are the head of the family and only earning member. You have a good job, own flat, kids taking education in good school. But suppose unfortunately you are no more or no-more earning as now, then............. " that person silence for some time. Again I asked can you again imagine that your family can live without you as comfortable as now. They need money to fulfill their needs even in your absence... so we people come and tell you to do some for future cash requirement.
Always remember loss of an income always creates a dent in the financial plans of any family, and if that income is the only income, the damages can be very severe.
Nothing can be done to compensate for the emotional loss of the family. But we do something to take care of them financially when we are not there.
Therefore we can secure our family's financial future by buying a life insurance policy. Besides do not overlook benefits of a life insurance during your lifetime, especially if you are young. Here  I am listing some reasons for buying Life Insurance Policy.
1. Life After Life : As I illustrated above there are life after your life who need money to survive and fulfill their requirements. They are your dependent spouse, your child, your mother-father whom you love so much.
2. Supplements for your Retirement Goals: With a life insurance plan, you can ensure you have a regular stream of income every month till you survive. So, invest some money in  Pension Fund scheme.
3. Tax Saving Purpose: The premium you pay on an insurance policy is eligible for maximum tax benefit upto Rs.1.50 Lakh under section 80C. And give you a tax free return at the time of Maturity or death under section 10(D) of IT Act, 1961. So, you can save tax with insurance policies irrespective of what plan you buy. 
4. Peace of Mind: We all knows death is unavoidable. Atleast you can do this for your family to secure their financial future. Even if it is a small policy, you know that you have done all you can.
5. Forced Saving Tools: If you are not able to invest thou this investment forcefully ask you to save some money for future. If you choose a traditional or ULIP policy, you pay a premium each month, means each month savings.
6. Delay Cost More: Life insurance policy run on uncertainties. Now you are healthy so you can buy a life insurance but if you are ill your policy may be rejected. Buying life insurance early is cheaper than buying later. 
7. Helpful in Debt-dealing: If you have any home loan or car loan, you must not want your family to deal with financial liabilities during a crisis. Any outstanding debt either home loan, auto loan, personal loan or credit card outstanding will be taken care of if you have right (amount) insurance policies.
8. Fulfill Long-Term Goal: Life insurance a tool for long-term investment. It may help you to achieve your future goals such as buying home, fund for higher education of your child.

Using life insurance as an investment tool might make sense for some people in some situations - usually high net-worth individuals looking for a way to minimize income taxes. For the average person, it may fulfill their future financial needs.

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Top Investment Idea U/s 80C

Many of us start investment only in February or March, i.e. just before the Financial Year getting over. This could be a big mistake. You may invest your money without proper planning. You may lose interest/appreciation for the whole year. Right time to start planning to invest is start of the financial year. This way you would not only make well informed decisions but also can earn interest for the whole year.

Here we will discuss about investment and tax deduction under section 80C of Income Tax Act. Section 80C replaces Section 88. Section 80C has become effective from 1st April 2006. Section 80CCC on Pension Scheme also merged with this section. Section 80C of IT Act allows certain investment and expenditure to be tax exempt. 

The maximum limit of deduction under section 80 is Rs.1.50 lakh from F Y 2014-15 / A Y 2015-16. Before F Y 2014-15 the limit was Rs.1.00 Lakh.

Most of the Income Tax payer try to save tax by saving under section 80C. Must note that under this section you can not only just save tax on investment bust also save tax on certain Expenditure.

Top Investment idea U/s 80C:-

1. Life Insurance Premium: Any amount that you pay towards life insurance premium for yourself, your spouse or your children can also be included in this section deduction.

2. Unit Linked Insurance Plan: ULIP covers life insurance with benefits of equity investments. They have attracted the attention of investors and tax-savers not only because it help us to save tax  but also give decent returns in long-term.

3. Provident Fund: PF is deducted from your salary every month and both you and your employer contribute to it. While employer's contribution is exempt from tax, your contribution will come under section 80C. This deduction is compulsory, so this has to be the first and also apart from tax saving, it builds a long term, tax free retirement corpus for you.

4. Public Provident Fund (PPF): Public Provident Fund  is one of the best investment. Interest is compounded yearly and the normal maturity period is 15 years. You can deposit minimum Rs.500.00 and maximum Rs.1.50 Lakh. Remember rate of interest may vary by govt. notification.

5. Equity Linked Saving Scheme (ELSS): This is a mutual fund (MF) specially designed to save tax. The investments that you make in ELSS are eligible for deduction under section 80C.

6. National Savings Certificate (NSC): It is good investment option with a maturity period of Five years and Ten Years. Compounded Interest accrued Half Yearly. Minimum investment in NSC is Rs.100.00 and No Maximum limit. You can withdraw NSC before maturity period in case of certificate holder. Remember Investment in NSC are eligible for deduction but accrue interest income is chargeable to tax in the same year.

7. Pension Fund: In this Section 80CCC investment limit is clubbed with the limit of Section 80C. It means total deduction limit under section 80C and 80CCC is Rs.1.50 Lakh. This means that your investment in Pension Funds upto Rs.1.50 Lakh can be claimed as deduction under section 80C.

8. Five Year Bank Fixed Deposit (FD): Tax Saving fixed deposits with tenure of 5 years are also entitled for section 80C deduction.

9. Five Year Post Office Time Deposit: This is similar to bank's fixed deposit scheme. Interest is compounded quarterly but paid annually. Interest is totally taxable.

10. Home Loan Principal Repayment : The Equated Monthly Installment (EMI) that you pay every month to repay your home loan consists of two components- (i) Principal Amount (ii) Interest Amount. The principal component qualifies for deduction under section 80C. And interest component save your tax under section 24 of IT Act. If you have taken home loan this is an automated EMI deduction cum investment. 

11. Sukanya Samriddhi Account: If you have blessed with girl child then it is for you only. You can open account under this scheme from the birth of a girl child till she attains the age of 10 year with minimum deposit of Rs.1000.00 and maximum deposit of Rs.1.50 lakh per year. Accrued interest under this scheme is fully exempt from tax in that year as well as in the year of receipts. For more you can read details in Notification No. G.S.R.863(E) Dated 02.12.2014.

Decide and Analyze which investment idea suite you to save tax and save your money with good return. Decision is yours. Have a happy investment.

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Tax benefit on Payment and Maturity of Life Insurance Premium

People are using Life insurance policies as tax planning tool as premium paid on Insurance Policies are eligible for tax benefits under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act 1961 (Act) and Maturity Proceeds are also eligible for exemption under section Section 10(10D)  and  Section 10(10A)(iii). 
Life Insurance helps Assessee in saving tax, achieving their long term goals and it also provides Comprehensive financial protection against unforeseen events of their family.

Deduction U/s. 80C in respect of life insurance premium

Maximum Limit – Maximum Deduction allowed under this Section is Rs. 1.50 Lakh and the sum includes payment on other allowable investment option available Under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act,1961. It is to be further noted that combined Maximum limit of deduction under Sec 80C & 80CCC & 80CCD (1) is Rs 1,50,000.

Restriction on Deduction limit: Deduction will be allowed only for premiums upto a maximum of 10% of the sum assured for policy issued on or after April 1, 2012. In case of policy issued before March 31, 2012, deduction will be allowed only for premiums upto a maximum of 20% of the sum assured.

Allowable on Payment- Only life insurance premium paid or deposited during the year are allowable as deduction under Section 80C. 

Disallowance: 

The deductions claimed earlier will be taxable as income if the policy is terminated either by notice or by failure to pay any premium in case of,

Single Premium Policy : within 2 years after the commencement date
Regular Premium Policy : before premiums have been paid for 2 years.

Individual and Hindu undivided family (HUF) can take tax deduction's benefit u/s 80C. It can be paid :-

(i) in the case of an individual (Resident or Non Resident)
- On his own life
- On Wife/Husband (Dependent or Not)
- Child
- Major or Minor (Dependent or Not
- Married or Unmarried Daughter / Son (Dependent or Not)

(ii) in the case of a Hindu undivided family (HUF), any member thereof;

Please note that life insurance premium paid by you for your parents (father / mother / both) Brother, Sisters or your in-laws is not eligible for deduction under section 80C.

If you are paying premium for more than one insurance policy, all the premiums can be included.

It is not necessary to have the insurance policy from Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) – even insurance bought from private players can be considered here.

Tax-ability on Maturity

Section 10(10D)

The proceeds under a life insurance policy are exempt under Section 10(10D) of the Act, subject to the provisions of the said section.

Section 10(10A)(iii)

Commuted Pension received from Pension fund (Pension Plans approved by IRDA) would be tax-free.

Goods And Service Tax (Earlier Service Tax) on Life Insurance Premium

All premiums and charges are subject to applicable taxes (i.e. GST) as applicable under the prevailing tax laws.

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Documents Require To File IT Return & Claim Deductions

Financial Year is going to close. All Income tax Assesses are in hurry about their tax assessment. Getting sure about done adequate investment (Limit U/s 80C Rs.1,50,000/-) to  claim & save maximum tax rebate. Arranging documents pertaining to investment and tax return. 

First, all you need to know about Form 26AS. It is a summary of taxed deducted on your behalf and taxed paid by you. This summary is provided by Income Tax Department. It shows all details of deducted on your behalf by deductors, details of tax deposited by taxpayers and tax refund received in the Financial Year. This form can be accessed from Income Tax Department's Website.

Second, All Salaried Tax Assess needs to get Form 16 issued by their employer to get file their Income Tax Return.

Third, Documents Require for Interest Income, 

> Assesses needs to update his bank statement/pass book for interest on 

   saving bank account.

> Interest Income Statement (accrued or credited) on their Fixed Deposits.

> TDS certificate (Form 16A), if any, issued by banks or other financial 

    institution.

> Interest Accrue Certificate on NSC / Kishan Vikas Patra etc.

Fourth, Proof for Investment in Section 80C, Investment made under PPF, NSC, ULIPS, ELSS, RGESS are qualifies for deductions Under Section 80C.

Last Minutes Checklist to File Your IT Returns :

1. Pan Card

2. Bank Statement 

3. TDS Certificates

4. Tax Payment Challans (Advance Tax or Self Assessment Tax)

5. Form 16 / Salary Certificate received from the Employer.

6. Interest Certificates issued on your deposits

7. Rent Receipts copy (If You Are on Rent)

8. Life and Medical insurance payment receipts.

9. Tuition Fees Receipts.

10. Stock statement in case of trading in shares 

11. PPF Passbook for interest

12. Dividend warrants /amount

13. Interest Certificates on bonds

14. Details of interest accrue on NSC during the year.

15. Sale and Purchase deed of the property including Stamp Valuation of the           property (for land/building)

16. Repayment/Interest Certificate for Interest paid on housing loan and                 Principal amount Paid.

17. Donation Receipts for Section 80G (with PAN details of donnee)

18. Details of Expenses incurred on transfer of Re-Investment in property.

19. Any Other Tax Saving Investment receipts/proof.

20. Aadhar Card Copy (Mandatory for e-filing)

Remember all above documents are proof of income require for ITR filling purposes only does not require to attache along with ITR.

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Service Tax Paid on Insurance Premium U/s.80C

Many question arise about "can we take benefit of paying service tax paid on Insurance Premium!" If we check insurance premium receipts properly we get that the we pay three cost heads; Net Premium + Service Tax + E. Cess. On this basis final gross premium is calculated.

Now question is "can we take claim under section 80C of service tax paid along with insurance premium?"

The current tax rules states that "any amount paid to keep in force a life insurance policy qualifies for a tax deduction under section 80C." It is a common perception that Premium Paid all Life Insurance Policies are qualifies for deduction under section 80C of Income Tax Act, 1961. 

As per Section 80C(2) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 any amount paid to an insurer to buy or to keep a life insurance policy in force can be claimed as a deduction from gross total income by the policy holder. This implies that premium paid for a life insurance policy can be deducted from gross total income before arriving at taxable income subject to certain condition.

Section 80C(2) also clarifies that in order to claim the deduction from gross total income for a particular year the gross amount of premium must be paid or deposited in that particular financial year itself.

But when you ask insurance provider to provide Total Insurance Premium Paid Statement then they will provide you only statement of net premium paid. 

Tax experts interpret this to mean that the entire premium inclusive Service Tax and Cess, qualifies for a tax deduction.

Ideally, you need to mention the entire premium or gross premium for the purpose of availing a tax deduction under section 80C.

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