Section 24 of the Income Tax Act, 1961: Deductions from income from House Property

#incometaxact #houseproperty #deductions

The section states that:

Income chargeable under the head "Income from house property" shall be computed after making the following deductions, namely:—

(a) a sum equal to thirty per cent of the annual value;

(b) where the property has been acquired, constructed, repaired, renewed or reconstructed with borrowed capital, the amount of any interest payable on such capital:

Provided that in respect of property referred to in sub-section (2) of section 23, the amount of deduction or, as the case may be, the aggregate of the amount of deduction shall not exceed thirty thousand rupees :

Provided further that where the property referred to in the first proviso is acquired or constructed with capital borrowed on or after the 1st day of April, 1999 and such acquisition or construction is completed within five years from the end of the financial year in which capital was borrowed, the amount of deduction or, as the case may be, the aggregate of the amounts of deduction under this clause shall not exceed two lakh rupees.

Explanation.—Where the property has been acquired or constructed with borrowed capital, the interest, if any, payable on such capital borrowed for the period prior to the previous year in which the property has been acquired or constructed, as reduced by any part thereof allowed as deduction under any other provision of this Act, shall be deducted under this clause in equal instalments for the said previous year and for each of the four immediately succeeding previous years:

Provided also that no deduction shall be made under the second proviso unless the assessee furnishes a certificate, from the person to whom any interest is payable on the capital borrowed, specifying the amount of interest payable by the assessee for the purpose of such acquisition or construction of the property, or, conversion of the whole or any part of the capital borrowed which remains to be repaid as a new loan.

Explanation.—For the purposes of this proviso, the expression "new loan" means the whole or any part of a loan taken by the assessee subsequent to the capital borrowed, for the purpose of repayment of such capital:

Provided also that the aggregate of the amounts of deduction under the first and second provisos shall not exceed two lakh rupees.

Deductions under this section:

1. Standard deduction: This is an exemption allowed to every taxpayer, where a sum equal to 30% of the net annual value does not come under the tax limit. This is not applicable if you are occupying the only house you own.

2. Interest on loan: If you have taken a home loan for purchase, construction or renovation of the house, whatever interest you pay on the principal amount of the loan is exempted from tax payment. The sub-clauses in this category are:

3. If the loan has been taken for a self-occupied property, then you can claim exemptions of up to Rs. 2 lakh.

4. If you took a loan for purchase or construction (not renovation) of a property before actually buying or completing its construction, you can still claim the interest. You can seek deductions on the interest paid before the construction or purchase is completed, in 5 equal instalments, from the year in which the house is bought or the construction is completed.

5. If the loan is taken for renovation or reconstruction of a house, you cannot claim tax exemption until the renovation is completed.

To avail this deduction, you need to compute the interest amount you have to pay to the bank or financial institution that you took the loan from, separate from the principal repayment. It does not matter whether you have actually paid the amount to the financier – you can get exemption for the complete annual interest amount.