Interest rates on these post office saving schemes move in line with the government’s interest rates on small savings schemes.India Post or Department of Posts, which runs the postal network of the country, offers a number of saving schemes with income tax benefits. Using these saving schemes, investor can claim a deduction up to Rs. 1.5 lakh in a financial year from taxable income under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. Interest rates on these post office saving schemes move in line with the government’s interest rates on small savings schemes, which are revised on a quarterly basis.

Here are post office saving schemes that offer tax benefits:

Post Office Time Deposit (TD) or Fixed Deposit (FD) account

In a post office fixed deposit (FD), one can deposit a lump sum of money for a specific period and avail of features like guaranteed returns and choice of interest payout. Post office time deposit (TD) or Fixed Deposit (FD) account offers interest rates across four maturities: one year, two years, three years, and five years, noted India Post on it’s official website- indiapost.gov.in. The investment under 5 years fixed deposit qualifies for the benefit of Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961, mentioned India Post.

Post Office Public Provident Fund (PPF) account

Post office Public Provident Fund (PPF) account offers an investment avenue with decent returns coupled with income tax benefits. For the quarter ending December, PPF accounts fetch an interest rate of 8 per cent per annum. Interests on deposits are compounded on an annual basis, which means that it is added to the principal amount every year, noted India Post. PPF comes under the exempt, exempt, exempt (EEE) category of tax status. This means that returns, maturity amount and interest income are exempt from income tax. Deposits qualify for deduction from income under Section 80C of Income Tax Act.

Post Office Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) account

Post Office Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) serves as an investment avenue and helps in generating wealth for a successful retirement life. SCSS earns an interest rate of 8.7 per cent per annum, which is payable from the date of deposit on March 31/ September 30/December 31 in the first instance and thereafter, interest are payable on March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31. Tax Deducted At Source (TDS) is deducted at source on interest if the interest amount is more than Rs. 10,000 per annum. Investment under this scheme qualifies for the benefit of Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961 from April 1, 2007.

Post office National Savings Certificates (NSCs)

Post Office National savings certificates (NSCs) fetch an interest rate of 8 per cent per annum. This interest is compounded annually but payable at maturity. An NSC of Rs. 100 will offer Rs. 146.93 on maturity after five years. NSCs have a lock-in period of five years. Deposits in the National Savings Certificate qualify for deduction under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.

Source: NDTV

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With some tinkering in the income tax rates for 2017-18, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley reduced the tax rate for income between Rs. 2.5 lakh and Rs. 5 lakh to 5 per cent in the Union Budget, while adding a surcharge of 10 per cent on tax for income between Rs. 50 lakh and Rs. 1 crore.

Although the basic income tax exemption limit remains the same at Rs. 2.5 lakh, there are many exemptions available in the Income Tax Act, which can substantially reduce your tax liability.

One needs to plan from the beginning of the next financial year to take maximum benefit of the income tax deductions available.

Here are the new income tax slabs for taxpayers:

Here are the some of the deductions available for FY2017-18: 

House Rent Allowance under Section 10 (13A) of the Income Tax Act

House Rent Allowance, commonly known as HRA, makes up a major chunk of a salaried individual’s total pay. HRA is partly exempted from tax. If you are staying in your own house or not paying any rent, your HRA will be completely taxable. However, those who stay with their parents can also claim HRA benefits by paying rent to their parents.

The amount which is allowed for exemption under HRA is calculated as minimum of:

1) Rent paid annually minus 10 per cent of basic salary plus dearness allowance

2) Actual HRA received

3) 40 per cent of basic and dearness allowance (50 per cent in case of metro cities)

Deductions under Section 80C

Section 80C of the Income Tax Act provides various provisions under which an individual can get deduction benefits up to Rs. 1.5 lakh. Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), Public Provident Fund (PPF), Sukanya Samriddhi Account, National Savings Certificate and tax-saving fixed deposits are some of the investment options that offer benefits under Section 80C. The premium paid for life insurance plans, National Pension Scheme (NPS) and tax-saving mutual funds (ELSS) also qualify for deduction under Section 80C.

Further, one can claim tuition fees paid for up to two children, principal repayment on home loan, stamp duty and registration cost on the house bought as deduction under Section 80C.

Deductions under Section 80CCD(1B)

Introduced in Budget 2015-16, Section 80CCD (1B) provides deduction up to Rs. 50,000 for investment in NPS Tier 1 account. This deduction is over and above the deduction available in Section 80C. An individual in 30 per cent tax bracket can save up to Rs. 15,450 of tax by investing Rs. 50,000 in NPS.

Deduction of interest on housing loan (Section 24B)

Buying a house is among several other things an individual wants to do during his or her lifetime. The income tax rules also incentivise the same. Under Section 24B of the Income Tax Act, interest paid up to Rs. 2 lakh on housing loan and up to Rs. 30,000 on home improvement loan is allowable as deduction from your taxable income.

The government has however cut down tax benefits borrowers enjoyed on properties let out on rent. As per current tax laws, for properties rented out, a borrower could deduct the entire interest paid on home loan after adjusting for the rental income. On the other hand, borrowers of self-occupied properties get Rs. 2 lakh deduction on interest repayment on home loan.

However, according to the proposed change in Budget 2017, on rented properties, the borrower can only claim deduction of up to Rs. 2 lakh per year after adjusting for the rental income. And the amount above Rs. 2 lakh can be carried forward for eight assessment years.

Since the interest component of home loan repaid in initial years is higher, experts say that the borrower may not be able to fully adjust the interest paid as deduction even in subsequent years.

Deduction under Section 80EE

Under Section 80EE, an additional deduction of Rs. 50,000 is available over and above the limit of Section 24B on interest paid on home loans if the person is buying a house for the first time (the person must not own any other residential property on the date of sanction of loan). However, to avail the benefit of this section the value of the property must be below Rs. 50 lakh and the loan amount should not exceed Rs. 35 lakh. Further, the property must be bought after April 1, 2016.
Deduction under Section 80D

Premium paid for medical/health insurance for self, spouse, children and parents qualify for deduction under this Section. On can claim deduction of Rs. 25,000, if he is below 60 years of age, and Rs. 30,000 if he is above 60 years of age, towards medical insurance premium paid for self, spouse and children. Further, additional deduction of Rs. 25,000 is available if one has bought medical insurance for his parents. This deduction can go up to Rs. 30,000 if parents are above the age of 60 years.
Deduction under Section 80DD

If a tax payer has dependent parents, spouse, children or siblings who are differently-abled, then he can claim deductions up to Rs. 75,000 for expenses on their maintenance and medical treatment under this section. This deduction can increase to Rs. 1.25 lakh in case of severe disability.
Deduction under Section 80DDB

Under this section, one can claim deduction of Rs. 40,000 for treatment of certain diseases for self and dependents. The deduction can go up to Rs. 60,000 if the tax payer is above 60 years of age and if he is above 80 years of age, then the deduction amount is up to Rs. 80,000.
Deduction under Section 80E

According to the provisions of Section 80E, a taxpayer can claim deduction for interest paid on education loan for him, spouse or children. There is no upper limit on the amount of deduction. However, the loan must have been taken from a financial institutional or approved charitable institution and for full-time higher education.

Source: NDTV

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New Delhi: At the investment stage, National Pension System (NPS) offers the income tax benefits under different sections of the Income Tax Act – Section 80CCD (1), Section 80CCD (1b) and Section 80CCD (2).

NPS is especially useful for investors who may have exhausted the Rs 1.5 lakh investment limit under Section 80C but want to save more.

Under Section 80CCD (1): Investment up to Rs 1.5 lakh into NPS in a financial year is eligible for deduction under Section 80CCD(1). This deduction comes under the overall ceiling of Rs 1.5 lakh for deduction under Section 80C.

Under Section 80CCD (1b): In budget 2016, the government had introduced additional tax benefit for investment up to Rs 50,000 in NPS. If the taxpayer contributes more than Rs 1.5 lakh to the NPS in a year, the amount in excess of Rs 1.5 lakh can be claimed as a deduction under the new Section 80CCD(1b).

Under Section 80CCD(2): Over and above the ceiling limit of Rs 1.5 lakh provided under Section 80C and limit of Rs 50,000 under Section 80CCD(1B), contribution from the employer up to 10% of Basic Salary + Dearness Allowance is also eligible for deduction under Section 80CCD(2). There is no upper cap (in terms of amount) on this tax deduction and it is available only to employees.

Inputs with ET

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New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley unveils the budget on 1 February. The salaried class has a lot of expectations from the Budget. Increase in the personal income tax exemption limit and a higher deduction limit on home loan interest are among the common ones, say analysts.

The following salaried people’s expectations from FM Jaitley’s Budget 2017-18:

1. Raise minimum limit for taxable income

Considering the increase in cost of living, the current basic exemption limit of 2.5 lakh should be raised to Rs. 3 lakh. If the minimum limit is increased, it will not only benefit taxpayers at the bottom but also salaried class youth who are starting out as employees.

2. Change in tax slabs

A Change in of tax slabs will be a big balm for the salaried class. Currently, 10 per cent tax is charged on annual income of Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, 20 per cent on Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh and 30 per cent on income above Rs 10 lakh. The first two slabs can be widened or taxed at a lower rate.

3. Raise exemption limit on allowances

Salaried employees enjoy exemption from tax on several allowances/benefits that the employer provides such as children’s education, conveyance, medical reimbursement, house rent and leave travel. The allowance limits were fixed a long time ago and need to be revised in view of inflation.

4. Increase deduction under Section 80C

Currently, deduction under Section 80C of the Income-tax Act is allowed from Rs 150,000 to Rs 300,000. If Jaitley increases the limit, he can boost household savings which can ultimately get invested and power growth.

5. Bring back deduction on infrastructure bonds

The government may reintroduce deduction of Rs 20,000 or actual amount invested, whichever is lower, for investments made in infrastructure bonds. This will also boost spending, spur growth and create more jobs.

6. Offer more incentives for NPS investment

Jaitley can offer more incentives for taxpayers to invest in the National Pension System (NPS). He can increase the deduction under Section 80CCD (1B) to Rs 100,000 from the existing Rs 50,000. He can also being NPS on par with the Employees Provident Fund or Public Provident Fund with respect to exemption of 100 per cent of the accumulated balance on withdrawal, subject to certain conditions.

7. Offer interest subvention on home loans

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already offered interest subvention of 3 per cent and 4 per cent for loans of up to Rs 12 lakh and Rs 9 lakh, respectively, under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. However, these subventions are targeted at buyers in Tier 3 cities. Budget 2017 has scope of offering interest subvention on larger amounts of loan which will benefit buyers in big cities and other urban areas.

8. Allow higher deduction on home loan EMIs

Currently, the deduction available on interest on home loan is up to Rs 2,00,000. The deduction can be claimed on the principal repayment for up to Rs 1.50 lakh. There is a large scope in both cases to raise the deduction limits.

9. Allow early deduction on home loan EMIs

Deduction for interest on home loan is currently available only after the buyer gets the possession of the property. This means the benefit begins several years after the buyer gets the home loan and begins paying the EMIs. This deduction can be given right from the payment of the first EMI.

10. Raise exemption limit for senior citizens

The existing exemption limit of Rs 300,000 for senior citizens (60 years to less than 80 years) and Rs 500,000 for super senior citizens (80 years and above) could be enhanced to Rs 400,000 and Rs 600,000 respectively.

TST

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7th Pay Commission Pay Out – Best Tax Saving Investment Options – The increased pay packet by the 7th pay commission will come with its own set of concerns on managing the money.

The 7th Pay Commission payout is all set to begin with central government employees to get higher salaries and arrear payments soon.

The increased pay packet by the 7th pay commission will come with its own set of concerns on managing the money. While there will be a portion for expenditure that has been pending, you need to have a definite plan of setting aside a decent amount as long-term savings and invest it in appropriate instruments. One portion of investment would be for tax-saving purposes.

You will have nearly eight months till March 31, 2017 to make your investment for tax-saving purposes but it is always good to start investing early. So, what are the options before you and what should you look for while investing for saving tax?

“There are a large variety of tax-saving options available under Section 80C of the Income-Tax Act. However, the key issues are the safety, returns and tax status while investing. You also have to consider the periodic returns and at the time of maturity or redemption,” Sanjeev Govila, CEO, Hum Fauji Initiative, told FeMoney.

Govila suggests Public Provident Fund (PPF) figures among the top of the list. “PPF is the best tax- saving avenue for the risk averse as it gives decent interest of 8.1 per cent as on date and enjoys the E-E-E (Exempt ExemptExempt) status. If someone finds the returns low and are prepared to accept some volatility of returns, tax saving mutual funds (called ELSS – Equity Linked Savings Scheme) are very good. They also have E-E-E status. If chosen carefully ELSS are likely to provide higher returns than PPF,” Govila said.

Though ELSS have the shortest lock-in period of all tax-saving investments of just three years, you can continue investing for as long as you want. Also contributions can be made regularly through automatic ECS from bank account. Govila, however, warns that ELSS returns are market linked.

“Apart from these, five year tax-saving bank FDs, insurance policies and NSC also are 80C investments. But low returns take their sheen off. NSC are E-E-E provided the interest received is shown re-invested in the I-T Returns each year (except the last year when it matures) and bank FDs are in the E-T-T bracket,” says Govila.

FeMoney spoke to leading personal finance advisor, Anil Rego, CEO and Founder, Rights Horizons to bring to you snapshot of the most-favoured tax-savings options under Section 80C as a ready reckoner.

Equity-linked Savings Scheme – Has lock-in of 3 years; can be invested up to be a maximum of Rs.1.5 lakhs under 80C and others.

Public Provident Fund – Has lock-in of 7 years, investments are eligible for tax exemption u/s 80C.

Sukanya Samridhi Scheme (If the investor has a girl child) – Investments can be withdrawn only after girl turns 21 or 50 per cent of the corpus when girl turns 18 or gets married.

National savings certificates – NSC-VIII has a lock in period for 5 years and NSC-IX has lock in for 10 years. There is no maximum limit of investment in NSC, but you can claim a tax deduction for Rs 1.5 lakhs under section 80C.

Tax free bonds – These bonds are not eligible for deduction under section 80C. It means that the interest earned on tax-free bonds is exempted from taxation. However, the bonds are subject to capital gains tax. Usually these bonds have a lock in period of 5 years.

Insurance policies – Though these can be used for tax savings under Section 80C, Rego advises that the principal aim of insurance should be to cover life risk rather than as an investment instrument.

Source: FE

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It is learnt that Finance Ministry is considering to put up a proposal for discontinuing Exemption of Rs. 1.5 lakh presently available under Section 80C for Savings and Insurnace such as premium paid, investment in NSS, Mutual funds, Pension funds etc. Alternatively, the basic income tax exemption limit of Rs. 2.5 lakh would be raised to Rs. 4 lakh. Reasons behind such a bold move by Finance Ministry as per sources are:

1. Income Tax Department could not verify whether the Investments declared to be have been made to avail exemption under Section 80 C were actually made

2. To make Income Tax Law simple by raising basic Income Tax Exemption Limit and avoid complexities involved in providing Income Tax Exemption to promote savings.

As per Finance Ministry proposals, the current system allows individuals to avail of the Section 80C benefit without having made the required investments.

Most of the tax returns by individuals are processed by what is called a ‘summary assessment’, under which an adjustment in the reported income is made only in cases of arithmetic error or of a wrong claim that is apparent from the return filed. Officials do not ask questions or insist on proof of investment while processing returns. Only in cases of ‘scrutiny assessment’ and ‘assessment of income that has earlier escaped assessment’, which are done in very few cases, more information or evidence is sought to ensure that the reported income is correct.

Even in the case of salaried individuals, where the employer may insist on proof of investments, the tax authorities do not. Besides, if a salaried individual wrongly claims in his return that Section 80C investments have been made, the TDS by the employer and paid to the department is refunded by the tax authorities without asking any questions. In the case of self-employed, there is no check either by the employer or the taxman.
So the ministry feels that any individual who is actually interested in saving would anyway do it and there is really no need to incentivise the same through the tax policy.

Savings entitled to tax benefit under Section 80C include payments towards life insurance, deferred annuity, provident funds, National Savings Certificates, unit-linked investment plans of LIC Mutual Fund, pension funds set up by mutual funds, equity-linked savings plans, deposits with National Housing Bank and tuition free paid for education of children.

Source: Financial Express

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INDIAN REVENUE SERVICE ASSOCIATION
(ALL INDIA BODY)

President

General Secretary

Raminder

Kaushal Rajani Kant Gupta

F.No. IRSA(AIB)/EC/Res./UK-DR/5

Date: 15th July, 2014

To
All Principal Chief Commissioners of Income Tax;
Principal Director General of Income Tax (Admm);
Principal Director General of Income Tax (Systems);
Principal Director General of Income Tax (Logistics);
Principal Director General of Income Tax (HRD);
Principal Director General of Income Tax (International Taxation);
Principal Director General of Income Tax (Training), NADT;
Director General of Income Tax (L&R);
Director General of Income Tax (Vigilance);
Director General of Income Tax (Exemption);
JointSecretary (Admn.). Department of Revenue

Sir/ Madam,

Sub: Contribution made towards disaster relief for the affected people of Uttarakhand- 100% deduction u/s 80G of the Income Tax Act-Reg.

Kindly refer to the Resolution dated 11-07-2013 and subsequent letters of the Executive Committee of the Indian Revenue Service Association (All India Body) calling for contributions towards disaster relief for the affected people of Uttarakhand.

2. In this regard, vide letter No. lR.SA(AlB)/EC,/Res./Ul(-DR/4 dated 05.06.2014 it was brought to the kind notice that 100% deduction under section BOG of the Income Tax Act is available on contributions made for Uttarakhand disaster relief. In this regard, it may further be informed that this 100% deduction is available as per section 8oG(2)(iiihf) of the Income Tax Act and PAN of CM Relief Fund Uttarakhand, for claim of the deduction, is AAAGM0036M.

3. This may kindly be brought to the notice of all concerned.

With highest regards,

Yours faithfully,
sd/-
Rajani Kant Gupta
General Secretary

Source: www.incometaxindia.gov.in
[http://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/archive/uttarakhand-disaster-relief-15-07-2014.pdf]

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