Ministry of Finance has enhanced the income tax exemption for gratuity under section 10 (10) (iii) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 to Rs. 20 lakhs. Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Minister of State for Labour and Employment has expressed hope that this would benefit those employees of PSUs and other employees not covered by Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 and has thanked the Finance Minister for enhancing the exemption limit.

The ceiling of Gratuity amount under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 has been raised from time to time keeping in view over-all economic condition and employers capacity to pay and the salaries of the employees, which have been increased in private sector and in PSUs.

The latest such enhancement of ceiling of gratuity was made vide Government of India Notification dated 29.03.2018 under which the gratuity amount ceiling has been increased from Rs.10 lakhs to 20 lakhs w.e.f. 29.3.2018.

PIB

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Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Delegation of DoPT employees calls on MoS (PP) Dr Jitendra Singh

Employees thank Prime Minister for allowing standard deduction of Rs 40,000

A delegation of officials of Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), called on the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh here today. The officials thanked the Government led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for incorporating their issues in the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley yesterday.

The delegation was led by the DoPT Secretary Shri Ajay Mittal. The members thanked the Government for allowing them a Standard Deduction of Rs 40,000 p.a. for salaried individuals on income tax in lieu of the existing transport allowance and reimbursement of medical expenses. They also thanked the Government for taking various other welfare measures for the employees in the last three years.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that this is for the first time that a Government has acknowledged the contribution of the salaried class which is contributing the bulk of income tax collections throughout the country and accordingly, certain exemptions such as standard deduction of Rs 40,000 has been announced specifically for this class.

Shri Singh said that the Finance Minister also deserves to be lauded for having addressed the other issues of various sections and regions of the country. He also expressed happiness at the announcement of Rs 10,000 crore as “Fishery Fund” which will also benefit the people in Northeast. Bamboo Mission has a special significance for Northeast and the announcement made by the Finance Minister is a vindication of the Union Government’s continued commitment to the development of the remote regions. He said that the senior citizens faced the issues of late-age illness, lack of caretakers for help and financial constraint. He said that this has been taken care of by exemption of the interest on bank account from income tax up to Rs.50,000, enhancement of the health insurance amount up to Rs.50,000 and hike in medical expenditure. The budget is common man friendly and addresses issues of all sections, he added.

Source: PIB

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Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana extended up to March 2020

Existed limit on investment under PMVVY enhanced to Rs 15 lakhs

With the objective of providing a dignified life to senior citizens, the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley, announced significant incentives for senior citizens.

Presenting the General Budget 2018-19 in Parliament here today, the Finance Minister said that the exemption of interest income on deposits with banks and post offices to be increased from Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 50,000/- and TDS shall not be required to be deducted on such income, under section 194A. This benefit shall be available also for interest from all fixed deposits schemes and recurring deposit schemes.

The Finance Minister also announced raising the limit of deduction for health insurance premium and/ or medical expenditure from Rs. 30,000/- to Rs. 50,000/-, under section 80D. All senior citizens will now be able to claim benefit of deduction up to Rs. 50,000/- per annum in respect of any health insurance premium and/or any general medical expenditure incurred.

Further, the Finance Minister proposed raising the limit of deduction for medical expenditure in respect of certain critical illness from Rs. 60,000/- in case of senior citizens and from Rs. 80,000/- in case of very senior citizens, to Rs. 1 lakh in respect of all senior citizens, under section 80DDB.

These concessions will give extra tax benefit of Rs. 4,000 crores to senior citizens.

In addition to tax concessions, the Finance Minister proposed to extend the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana up to March 2020 under which an assured return of 8% is given by Life Insurance Corporation of India. The existing limit on investment of Rs. 7.5 lakh per senior citizen under this scheme is also being enhanced to Rs. 15 lakh.

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The finance ministry has informed Congress MP Shashi Tharoor that his suggestion to increase the tax exemption limit for pension up to Rs 5 lakh would be examined during the ongoing preparations for the Union Budget 2018, according to a communication.

Responding to a letter written by Tharoor in late September, Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said the suggestion that pension up to Rs 5 lakh per annum should be exempted from income tax in all cases was examined.

“The proposal would be examined during the exercise for the ensuing Union Budget 2018 and the outcome would be reflected in the Finance Bill, 2018,” said the letter, which was tweeted by Tharoor.

The letter, dated November 14, said that a pensioner who is above 80 years is not required to pay tax if the total income, including pension, does not exceed Rs 5 lakh.

“The suggestion that pension up to Rs 5 lakh per annum should be exempt in all cases would require amendment to the existing provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961,” the letter said.

A pensioner, who is a senior citizen – aged 60 to 80 years – is exempt from income tax if the income, including from pension, does not exceed Rs 3 lakh.

About the letter, Tharoor tweeted, “Govt’s semi- encouraging reply to my request to exempt pensioners from tax on the first 5 lakhs of income. Hope @arunjaitley will include this in his next budget”.

The work for preparation of the General Budget has already commenced and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is likely to present it to Parliament in the first week of February.

Source: Indian Express

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The Central Government vide notification dated 11th May, 2017 has notified that the requirement of quoting of Aadhaar / Enrolment ID shall not apply to the following individuals if they do not possess the Aadhaar / Enrolment ID:

• An individual who is residing in the state of Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Meghalaya.
• An individual who is a non-resident as per the Income-tax Act, 1961.
• An individual of the age of eighty years or more at any time during the previous year.
• An individual who is not a citizen of India.

The notification is available on the Income Tax website www.incometaxindia.gov.in.

Section 139AA of the Income-tax Act, 1961, as inserted by the Finance Act, 2017 provides for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar / Enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form for filing of return of income and for making an application for allotment of Permanent Account Number with effect from 1st July, 2017. Section 139AA (3) of the Act empowers the Central Government to notify the person(s) or State(s) to which the requirement of quoting of Aadhaar / Enrolment ID shall not apply.

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New Delhi: Every year when the Union finance minister presents the Budget speech, the ‘salaried people’ looks to him with expectations for reducing their tax liability.

It is possible that there would be some moves in this regard in the coming one.

The salaried people could get some relief as finance minister Arun Jaitley is likely to raise the minimum income threshold for paying personal income tax for those below 60 years of age to Rs 3 lakh a year from Rs 2.5 lakh at present and the deduction limit under Section 80C to Rs 2 lakh in the Union Budget for 2017-18, multiple sources told The Sen Times.

Currently the tax exemption slab is at Rs 2.5 lakh for individuals below 60 years, while deduction under Section 80C is Rs 1.5 lakh.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley raised the personal income tax exemption limit from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2.50 lakh on July 11, 2014 in the Union Budget for 2014-15.

Jaitley may also raise section 80C deductions limit to Rs 2.0 lakh, the sources said.

This move aimed at boosting household savings. The hike in deductions limit for investments by individuals in financial instruments to Rs 2.0 lakh would come as a sigh of relief for the salaried people blatting high inflation.

Investments under Section 80C up in popular tax saving instruments such as the general provident Fund, public provident fund, NPS, national savings scheme, unit-linked insurance plans and equity-linked savings schemes are not taxed up to the allowed threshold.

Section 80C was introduced by the UPA government in 2005-06 with a limit of Rs 1 lakh but UPA government did not revised it since then. Jaitley raised it up to Rs 1.5 lakh in the Union Budget for 2014-15.

Deduction on payment of income tax on interest paid on loans for self occupied houses may be also raised to Rs 2.5 lakh from Rs 2.0 lakh, the sources added.

Union Finance Minister will present the Union Budget on Wednesday.

TST

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New Delhi: The Finance Ministry is considering raising the current tax exemption limit from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh.

“A core commitee for Budget 2017 has proposed to revise tax exemption limit aimed to benefit small taxpayers,” a top official involved with the process of Budget told The Sen Times on the condition on anonymity.

Income of Rs 3 lakh to 5 lakh may be taxed at 10% (the current slab is Rs. 2.5-5 lakh taxed at 10%); Rs 5-10 lakh will be taxed at 20% (currently also Rs 5-10 lakh is taxed at 20%); Rs 10 lakh and above to be taxed at 30% (Currently also Rs 10 lakh and above is taxed at 30%).

“There are chances that a hike in tax exemption limit may be announced, but I am not sure if it will go up to Rs 4 lakh. Realistically the Finance Minister may announce a hike from the current Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh or maybe even Rs 3.5 lakh. Rs 4 lakh would be a lot, because then a lot of people who currently pay tax would go out of the ambit,” said a tax expert.

The government may also propose a higher super-rich tax for those who earn more than Rs 10 crore a year.

So, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley may have some good news for the salaried people in the budget for 2017-18.

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Income Tax 2016-17 (A.Year 2017-18) Rate, Exemptions, Deductions and Rebate for Salaried Employees under Section 10, Section 24, Section 89(1), Chapter VIA, and Section 87A

Income Tax Rate 2016-17

Section 10 (13A) – Exemption in respect of HRA:

Under Sec. 10(13A), an employee who is in receipt of House Rent Allowance (HRA) can claim exemption, if he does not live in his own house, and pays rent in excess of 10% of his salary for his residential accommodation.

Exemption u/s 10(13A) is the least of the following

1. Actual amount of HRA received

2. 50% (for Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi) / 40% (for other places) of the Salary for the relevant period

3. Rent paid Less 10% of Salary for the relevant period.

Section 87A – Rebate of Income Tax for Taxable income up to Rs. 5 Lakh 

Finance Act 2016 provides for rebate of Income up to Rs. 5000/- in respect of Persons who have Taxable not exceeding Rs. 5 lakh.

Section 10(14) – Transport Allowance and Children Education Allowance (CEA)

Under Section 10(14), the Budget FY 2016-17 lets you claim Rs. 19,200 tax exemption as transport allowance and Rs. 2,400 tax exemption as Children Education Allowance (CEA) in a financial year.

Section 24(b) – Home Loan

If you have taken a Home Loan, then you can claim a tax deduction on the interest component of the loan under Section 24(b). For self-occupied properties, you can benefit from deductions of up to Rs. 2,00,000.

Section 89(1) – Income Tax relief in respect of Arrears of Salary pertaining to previous years

If arrears of salary has been received in Financial year 2016-17 related to previous years then Relief of Income Tax can be claimed u/s 89(1) by accounting income from arrears in respective years on notional basis.

Deductions allowed under Chapter VI A of Income Tax Act

Deduction Limit – Sec 80CCE. As per Section 80CCE, deduction can be claimed upto Rs. 1,50,000 for the payments / contributions made under Sections 80C, 80CCC and 80CCD

Section 80C – Subject to overall limit of Rs. 1,50,000 under Section 80CCE

For investments in specified schemes, saving instruments etc.

1. Life insurance premium for policy:

   a) in case of individual, on life of assessee, assessee’s spouse and any child of assessee

   b) in case of HUF, on life of any member of the HUF

2. Sum paid under a contract for a deferred annuity:

   a) in case of individual, on life of the individual, individual’s spouse and any child of the individual (however, contract should not contain an option to receive cash payment in lieu of annuity)

   b) in case of HUF, on life of any member of the HU

3. Sum deducted from salary payable to Government servant for securing deferred annuity or making provision for his wife/children [qualifying amount limited to 20% of salary]
4. Contributions by an individual made under Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme
5. Contribution to Public Provident Fund Account in the name of:

   a) in case of individual, such individual or his spouse or any child of such individual

   b) in case of HUF, in the name of any member there of

6. Contribution by an employee to a recognized provident fund
7. Contribution by an employee to an approved superannuation fund
8. Subscription to any notified security or notified deposit scheme of the Central Government.

   For this purpose, Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme has been notified vide Notification No. 9/2015, dated 21/1/2015. Any sum deposited during the year in Sukanya Samriddhi Account by an individual would be eligible for deduction. Amount can be deposited by an individual in the name of her girl child or any girl child for whom such an individual is the legal guardian.

9. Subscription to notified savings certificates [National Savings Certificates (VIII Issue)]
10. Contribution for participation in unit-linked Insurance Plan of UTI:

    a) in case of an individual, in the name of the individual, his spouse or any child of such individual

    b) in case of a HUF, in the name of any member thereof

11. Contribution to notified unit-linked insurance plan of LIC Mutual Fund:

    a) in the case of an individual, in the name of the individual, his spouse or any child of such individual

    b) in the case of a HUF, in the name of any member thereof

12. Subscription to notified deposit scheme or notified pension fund set up by National Housing Bank [Home Loan Account Scheme/National Housing Banks (Tax Saving) Term Deposit Scheme, 2008]
13. Tuition fees (excluding development fees, donations, etc.) paid by an individual to any university, college, school or other educational institution situated in India, for full time education of any 2 of his/her children
14. Certain payments for purchase/construction of residential house property
15. Subscription to notified schemes of (a) public sector companies engaged in providing long-term finance for purchase/construction of houses in India for residential purposes/(b) authority constituted under any law for satisfying need for housing accommodation or for planning, development or improvement of cities, towns and villages, or for both
16. Sum paid towards notified annuity plan of LIC or other insurer
17. Subscription to any units of any notified [u/s 10(23D)] Mutual Fund or the UTI (Equity Linked Saving Scheme, 2005)
18. Contribution by an individual to any pension fund set up by any mutual fund which is referred to in section 10(23D) or by the UTI (UTI Retirement Benefit Pension Fund)
19. Subscription to equity shares or debentures forming part of any approved eligible issue of capital made by a public company or public financial institutions
20. Subscription to any units of any approved mutual fund referred to in section 10(23D), provided amount of subscription to such units is subscribed only in ‘eligible issue of capital’ referred to above. 21. Term deposits for a fixed period of not less than 5 years with a scheduled bank, and which is in accordance with a scheme framed and notified.
21. Subscription to notified bonds issued by the NABARD.
22. Deposit in an account under the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme Rules, 2004 (subject to certain conditions)
23. 5-year term deposit in an account under the Post Office Time Deposit Rules, 1981 (subject to certain conditions)

Section 80CCC – Subject to overall limit of Rs. 1,50,000 under Section 80CCE

Contribution to certain specified Pension Funds such as LIC or other authorised Insurance Companies

Section 80CCD(1) – Subject to overall limit of Rs. 1,50,000 under Section 80CCE

Deduction in respect of contributions to National Pension Scheme / System (NPS) notified by Central Government

Limit : 10% of salary in case of employees, 10% of gross total income in case of others

Section 80CCD(1B)

Deduction in respect of the deposit under a pension scheme notified by Central Government (NPS) up to Rs. 50,000/-

Section 80CCD(2)

Deduction in respect of employer contributions to NPS – National Pension Scheme / System – This deduction is available over and above the Rs. 1.5 lakh limit

Section 80 CCG

Amount invested in listed shares covered by Rajiv Gandhi Equity Equity Saving Scheme. Deduction of 50% of total investment subject to maximum of Rs. 25,000 is allowed for 3 consecutive assessment years, beginning with the assessment year relevant to the previous year in which the listed shares or list units of equity oriented funds are first acquired

Section 80D

Amount invested in Health Insurance

In case of Individual, amount paid: a) For self, spouse and dependent children: Up to Rs. 25,000 (Rs. 30,000 if specified person is a senior citizen or very senior citizen) b) For parents: additional deduction of Rs. 25,000 shall be allowed (Rs. 30,000 if parent is a senior citizen or very super senior citizen) In case of HUF, up to Rs. 25,000 (Rs. 30,000 if specified person is a senior citizen or very senior citizen).

The aggregate amount of deduction cannot exceed Rs. 60,000/- in case of an individual.

Section 80DD

Expenditure incurred for the medical treatment of a dependent (spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters of the individual) up to Rs. 75,000 (Rs. 1,25,000 in case of severe disability)

Section 80DDB

Expenditure incurred for medical treatment of specified diseases for self, or wholly dependent spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters up to Rs. 40,000 (Rs. 60,000 in case of senior citizen and Rs. 80,000 in case of very senior citizen)

Section 80E

Interest paid on Educational Loan with no limit

Section 80EE

Interest on loan for acquiring residential house property, sanctioned during the financial year 2016-17. The Housing Loan availed should be up to Rs. 35 lakh and should have been availed in the year 2016-17

Section 80G

Deduction in respect of donations to certain funds, charitable institutions, etc.

Section 80GG

Rent paid for residential accommodation from the income of Tax Payer / assessee who is not in receipt of HRA

Least of the following shall be exempt from tax: a) Rent paid in excess of 10% of total income*;

b) 25% of the Total Income; or

c) Rs. 5,000 per month.

Section 80 TTA

Interest on Savings Bank accounts subject to maximum of Rs. 10,000

Section 80U

Exemption of income tax for an income up Rs. 75,000 for persons with disability (Rs. 1,25,000 in case of persons with severe disability)

Source: Incometaxindia.gov.in

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The Finance Act, 2015 had introduced section 192(2D) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (the Act) wherein the person responsible for making payment of salary (employer) was obliged to collect the necessary evidence or proof in the prescribed form and manner to allow any claim for any deduction and/or tax saving investments. However, the relevant rules and form were yet to be prescribed. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has come out with the relevant rules1 and also prescribed the form i.e. Form 12BB, in which salaried employees would now be required to furnish evidence of claims and tax saving investments to the employer.

Download Form 12BB as a PDF file for declaring your deductions and savings to your Employer

Download Form 12BB as a Word File

Download Form 12BB as Excel File

Till Finance Act 2016, there was no standard format for salaried employees for filing declaration with their employer to claim deduction for savings under Section 80 C, payment of house loan interest under Section 24, and HRA exemption under Section 10. In the absense of single declaration form, employees had to submit proof for each investment made in the year.

As a relief to employees and also to employer, Income Tax Department has introduced a new Form 12BB. This form, applicable from June 1, 2016, will act as a single entity that you can use to declare your to claim deduction for savings under Section 80 C, payment of house loan interest under Section 24, and HRA exemption under Section 10.

Deductions that can be declared under Form 12BB:

The standard Form 12BB is for all salaried Employees to claim tax deductions. You use can use it to claim deductions for leave travel allowance (LTA/LTC), house rent allowance (HRA), interest paid on home loans, and all other tax deductions pertaining to Chapter VI-A of the Income Tax Act.

House Rent Allowance (HRA):

With form 12BB, you can claim any HRA tax deductions under Section 10 (13A) of the Income Tax Act. Along with 12BB you will need to provide the relevant rent receipts for this deduction. You will also need to submit the name and address of the landlord. In the event the aggregate rent paid by you exceeds Rs 1 lakh, you will also need to submit the Permanent Account Number (PAN) of your landlord.

Amount claimed under Leave travel Concession (LTC)

With Form 12BB, you need to furnish amount and provide evidence of expenses made towards your travel. Unlike in the past, it is now mandatory to provide proof of all travel expenses in the form of receipts for your claim.

Interest on home loan under Section 24:

Earlier to claim deduction for interest paid on home loan, we have to submit interest certificate from the concerned bank. Now, in addtion to the same we will have to fill up Form 12BB to claim deductions under Section 24 of the Income Tax Act.

Savings / deductions under Chapter VI-A:

All tax deductions under Section 80C, Section 80CCC, and Section 80CCD, as well as other sections like 80E, 80G, and 80TTA come under Chapter VI-A of the IT Act. For deductions, fill up Form 12BB and provide details and proof of your investments and expenditures incurred related to the relevant section you are seeking deductions under.

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Union Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia today defended the proposal to tax Employee’s Provident Fund withdrawals, saying the intention was only to encourage investment in pension schemes, but the phrasing in the Budget speech caused the confusion.

“The entire thing happened not because of any illogicality in the step but due to the communication gap,” Adhia said at an interaction on Budget at the Ahmedabad Management Association here.

“In the budget we try to concise the speech by minimising the words. If it goes beyond 1 hour and 30 minutes it becomes boring. When we were reducing the number of words and when it came to this paragraph we chopped it off and that is how the problem occurred,” Adhia said.

“If we had paraphrased this paragraph differently then less confusion would have been created.”

The government has in fact continued with the policy of exempting EPF at all three stages (entry, during the scheme and exit), he argued.

“We have not said that we will be taxing remaining 60 per cent (of withdrawn EPF). The first 40 per cent is totally exempt. Regarding remaining 60 per cent the expectation is you should put it in some pension scheme….To encourage people to put their money in pension products we have said if you put the remaining 60 per cent in annuity scheme it will not be taxed….original corpus after your death will go to your heir and that will also be tax exempt,” he said.

“So in a way we have continued exempt, exempt, exempt scheme, but with a time period,” he said.

“We do not wish to get anything out of this, it is not a revenue mobilisation effort,” Adiha said.

“The Finance Minister has already said that he will make the announcement on it in a very short time (in Parliament)”, he noted.

The government could not raise the Income Tax exemption limit as when it was raised the last time from Rs 2 lakh to 2.5 lakh, it lost some 40 lakh tax payers, he said to another question.

PTI

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