Are you paying more tax then you are supposed to.....

For getting a bargain of some 100 Rupees we would travel 10 Km. But when it comes to check whether we are paying appropriate amount of tax we are supposed to we becomes lazy.

I have noticed while filing our tax returns we do not cross check the final calculation considering that our Accountant/Chartered Accountant or accounts deptt. must have done it correctly.

There is no doubt that above professional do their work efficiently, but we need to understand that they might not be aware of lot of expenses or investment which we made and are tax efficient. So it is our job to remain updated about the deductible/allowances and incentives allowed for tax . Also its our duty to provide the details to them in time.

I remember the year I bought my house, I was not having much of surplus section 80C investment, But I got the entire rebate because I was knowing that stamp duty paid for registry qualify for section 80C rebates,

Some of the deductibles/allowance/incentives I briefed in my last year's blog,http://www.rajtalati-abminvestment.blogspot.in/2012/09/save-tax-right-way-its-your-right-2012.html, please check for validity of certain clauses from your chartered accountant.

Appending below the slab rates applicable for Assessment year 2014-15 for ready reference.

Income Tax Rates applicable for Individuals, Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), Association of Persons (AOP) and Body of Individuals (BOI) in India is as under:

Assessment Year 2014-15, Relevant to Financial Year 2013-14 

For Individuals below 60 years age (including Woman Assessees): 

Income	Tax Rate
Upto 200,000	Nil
200,000 to 500,000	10% of the amount exceeding 200,000
500,000 to 1,000,000	Rs.30,000 + 20% of the amount exceeding 500,000
1,000,000 & above	Rs.130,000 + 30% of the amount exceeding 1,000,000

For Individuals aged 60 years and above but below 80 years (Senior Citizen):

Income	Tax Rate
Upto 250,000	Nil
250,000 to 500,000	10% of the amount exceeding 250,000
500,000 to 1,000,000	Rs.25,000 + 20% of the amount exceeding 500,000
1,000,000 & above	Rs.125,000 + 30% of the amount exceeding 1,000,000

For Individuals aged 80 years and above (Very Senior Citizen):

Income	Tax Rate
Upto 500,000	Nil
500,000 to 1,000,000	20% of the amount exceeding 500,000
1,000,000 & above	Rs.100,000 + 30% of the amount exceeding 1,000,000

Tax Credit: Rs. 2,000 for every person whose income doesn’t exceed Rs. 500,000

Surcharge on Income Tax: 10% of the Income Tax payable, in case the total taxable income exceeds Rs.10,000,000. Surcharge shall not exceed the amount of income that exceeds Rs.10,000,000.

Education Cess: 3% of Income Tax plus Surcharge

Professionals always work on the information provided by us. So it's our job to provide them with all the relevant information.

Great Investment opportunity for lower tax bracket or no tax individuals

Great news specially for senior citizens who are facing really hard time with their retirement funds because of high CPI inflation of almost 10%/Yr. for last 3 years and low interest rates.

RBI has atlast launched the much awaited Inflation Indexed National Savings Securities - Cumulative (IINSS-C) as promised. It is in continuation of Inflation indexed bonds (IIB) launched earlier. 

IIB's were targeted at large investors, so the markup- the additional payment over and above the inflation rate or the real coupon (interest) was arrived at via competitive bidding. RBI plans to pay this real Coupon on regular basis, then inflation component will be added to the principal and paid only at the time of redemption.

In a way it offers twin benefit first it protects the principal from inflation and you get the real value at maturity and second is an increase in cash inflow every year even when the real coupon rate remain constant.e.g. If Rs.1 Lakh invested in IIB and real coupon raet is 1.5% and the Whole sale price Inflation for 1st year is 5% then real payour for first year would be Rs.1500(1.5% of Rs.1 Lakh) and that for the 2nd year will be Rs.1575(1.5% of 1.05 Lakh).

But as the IIB were linked with WPI (Wholesale Price Index) it could not interest retail investors. As historically investors are more affected by CPI (Consumer Price Index) which is much above WPI. Like WPI for November was 7.52% whereas CPI was 11.24% i.e. a difference of 3.72%.

Now RBI has realised the same in the benefit of retail investors and has come up with IINSS-C (Inflation Indexed National Savings Securities - Cumulative) which is linked with combined CPI .Rbi has also avoided competitive bidding and markup fixed of 1.5% over CPI.

Obviously it is going to be a great instrument for the people who are in lower tax bracket or with non taxable income. I think they are the one who needs real protection from falling interest rates and rising inflation.

Appending below the scenario and benefits to investors :

IINSS-C Returns for difference tax Bracket Considering markup of 1.5% on base rate Tax Slab NIL Inflation Rate 8.00% 9% 10% Interest Rate 9.50% 10.50% 11.50% Effective Rate 8.00% 9.00% 10.00% Effective Rate due to half yly compounding 9.73% 10.78% 11.83% Tax Slab 10.30% Inflation Rate 8.00% 9% 10% Interest Rate 9.50% 10.50% 11.50% Effective Rate due to half yly compounding 8.73% 9.67% 10.61% Tax Slab 20.60% Inflation Rate 8.00% 9% 10% Interest Rate 9.50% 10.50% 11.50% Effective Rate 7.73% 8.56% 9.39% Tax Slab 30.90% Inflation Rate 8.00% 9% 10% Interest Rate 9.50% 10.50% 11.50% Effective Rate 6.72% 7.45% 8.17%

Now lets look at negative side - Interest is accrued and compounded every six months. Hence even though you do not receive interest tax has to be paid in each financial year.Looking at above calculation the IINSS will still not be that attractive for retail investors in higher tax bracket and also for senior citizen who requires regular income should avoid IINSS-C.

Instead of that it is better to invest in Tax free bonds, although it doesn't carry guarantee of Central bank.But with good credit rated bonds you have much better returns net of tax annually with much lower risk.

Save your wealth from going into wrong hands...

Recently I came across a study that shows 80% of the pending cases in High Court are related to property. Todays' newspaper shows banks are sitting on a pile of FD's amount to Rs.3600.00 Crore which are unclaimed for more then 10 years after maturity.

In most of the cases reason might be that the FD holder might have died and his successor doesn't know about it or proper nominations were not done.

Why is it so that the same brother and sister who used to live as family suddenly becomes enemy after their parents death, it doesn't end there but is followed by unending process of court cases/litigation and high expenses.

We can stop this from happening in our family or friends by just preparing a small one or two page statement called as will or Estate Plan. 

Contrary to perception, it is not necessary to write will on stamp paper or even get it registered. You can write a will on plain paper and it will be as legally valid as one prepared by a lawyer.

It's a myth that only super rich need to write wills. The fact is that everyone who owns a asset in any form should write a will so that his heirs do not face problems in accessing what is rightfully theirs and avoid disputes among them.The assets can be anything - Property, Jewellery, Painting, Cash, Bank FD's, Shares, Mutual Funds ,Insurance Policies, etc...

For most people, will making is do it yourself exercise. the only requirement is that the will should be legible. However, if your assets and ownership are a little complicated , you may seek help of a legal professional to draft the will.

Essential clauses of Will

1. Name - The name and description like age, religion etc...of person making the will.
2. Revocation of earlier wills : A declaration that the present will is his last will and he revokes all other earlier wills.
3. Appointment of executors : A executor is a person who has been confided with the job of execution of will.
4. Mention that you are not under any influence or duress while making the will. The witness must also attest the same at bottom.
5. Give clear details of Assets and how it should be distributed.
6. Residue Clause - It helps to include any other asset you may have left out inadvertently while enumeration your net wealth.
7. Mention full name of beneficiaries clearly with address.

Points you should know :

•  Preparation of will does not require any specific language
• Will need not be stamped
• Registration of will is not mandatory
• Will can be revoked by testator (Person making will) anytime during his lifetime.
• It is important to note that the attesting witnesses need not know the content of the will
• Review your will at regular intervals for the changes in your assets  or due to change in circumstances (Like beneficiary or executor mentioned in will dies).]

Consult your financial planner as Estate planning is an integral part of Financial planning.

By sparing five minutes in a year you can avoid lot of litigation within your family member and also save them from lot of expenses and mental agony.

"SAFETY"- No such word in Financial Dictionary

As per dictionary.com meaning of safety defined as: the state of being safe; freedom from the occurrence or risk of injury, danger, or loss.

On Googling for meaning of SAFETY in financial terms, I could not find a single dictionary which explains - safety. I did found words like : safe harbour, safety net, safe heaven etc etc...and the meaning of any of them didn't matched with dictionary meaning.

Investopedia.com do define "safe assets" as 

"Assets which, in and of themselves, do not carry a high likelihood of lawsuit risk. Mere ownership of this type of asset does not expose the asset owner to a significant risk of litigation.

Assets such as stocks, mutual funds, bonds, bank accounts and your personal residence are examples of safe assets." Which is totally different from what Indian investor thinks.

The recent development of Cyprus prompted me to search for meaning of "SAFETY in financial world".

First let me take you through some facts about pattern of Investment of Indian investor - As per the RBI's 2011-12 annual report bank FD's or contractual savings(Small Savings Scheme, LIC) constitutes almost 85% of total financial savings where as currency is almost 10% leaving 4-5% for Equities. 

The obvious reason for such a high allocation to FD is SAFETY. We perceive word safety as "To get back the capital and Interest on maturity date without any volatility". That might be the reason we rely mostly on all the government institutions like : Post offices, LIC, PSU Banks.

But, fallout of some of the biggest bank and government institution in U.S and Europe are the best example that even Govt. institutions are riskier at times and we may end up losing part of our money. Why to go to U.S we have example of our own government sponsored UTI US'64 scheme wherein government did paid back money of investors but with a delay of 6 years and that too in the form of 6% tax free bonds.(Just think of condition of a father who had invested money for his son's education or daughter's marriage)

Regarding Guarantee for repayment of Bank FD, RBI portal says "The deposits kept in different branches of a bank are aggregated for the purpose of insurance cover and a maximum amount upto Rupees one lakh is paid."  subject to bank have paid premium to deposit insurance and credit guarantee corporation .

Now, Let's understand what has happened in Cyprus, just to bail out economy "Government has imposed tax on bank deposits in Cyprus, they are taxed @6.75% on their  deposits less then EURO 100000.00 and @9.75 for more then that ".In simple terms one fine day suddenly government reduced your bank balances as well as FD value by 6.75%- 9.75%. Just think how would you feel if you woke up in the morning and found that government has decided to take away 6.75% of your money".

Even in case of India it is happening that our FD are reduced by almost 4-5% every year. Let me explain you how : The current CPI inflation rate is about 10.50% and Tax free FD rates of SBI is 5.78% (8.50% less 32% Tax rate). So the cost of goods which I can purchase today for Rs.100 becomes Rs.110.50 (CPI@10.50%) at the end of year whereas my FD value net of tax comes to Rs.106.00. So to buy the same goods I need to add Rs.4.50 to my FD amount, don't you think even we are paying a tax of 4%-5% year on year on our bank FD.

The purpose of highlighting above facts is not that we should not invest in FD's but we need to understand that there is no such word as safe asset class. The fall of 15% in Gold in last 3 months has proved even the safest asset class can be volatile at times.

We are now a part of the global investor community. The purpose of an investor seating in other part of the world is to make profit from his investment. Wherever and whenever he finds an opportunity he will buy into it and sells out in case of uncertainty. He is not concerned with asset class i.e. Debt, Equity,Real Estate or Commodities like Gold,Silver,Oil,Copper etc...

So it is mere foolishness to think that price of your investment in any asset class can grow perpetually or safe from all risks.

The only way to save yourself from getting in trap of any asset class is to follow a proper asset allocation strategy (Also read ;key-to-wealth-creation-asset-allocation.)

looking at above facts we can either act like an Ostrich who hides his face in the sand when attacked by a predator (assuming that if you can't see it , then anyone else also don't see you) or can take informed decision of how much amount to be allocated to FD,Gold, Real Estate or Equity so that we or our family do not need to compromise on future Dreams or Goals.

Consult your financial planner to advise you on proper asset allocation.

Key to WEALTH CREATION - Asset Allocation

Asset allocation plays a key role in every investors financial planning.

If, I get a chance to own a IPL Team "Dream Achievers'. How should I go for buying players,during auction.Should I buy all 15 team members as Fast Bowlers or All Rounders or Spinners or Hard Hitters. No, I need to make strategy looking at different options available, their pricing and my budget. According to that I will buy 7-8 good Batsman, 2-3 Spinners, Obviously a Wicket Keeper and 4-5 Fast bowlers, Possibly 2-3 of them being all rounders.

Depending on the ground conditions and opponent I decide the final team on the Jumping Japak Jumpak Jumpak. I might have 3 spinners and 2 pacers or 4 pacer and 1 spinner might send opener as Mr.Pinch hitter or Mr.Reliable. So I  need to put in place some strategy in buying the players as well as before start of the match.

Similarly in investments, all asset classes doesn't work at all the time, But perform in cycles. Hence if one were to invest all his savings in a single asset class then certainly he is inviting a big trouble for his future.As we all know world of finance is very uncertain and sticking to your asset allocation hold the key to success. 

Financial Planners uses asset allocation strategies not only to create wealth, but also to protect it during volatile times. It is not the maximisation of returns, but optimisation of returns that becomes the goal. This process plays a key role in determining the risk and return from your portfolio. Broadly speaking, the portfolio’s asset mix should reflect your risk taking capacities and goals. Financial Planners use different strategies of building asset allocations, some of them as follows :

Strategic Asset Allocation

Strategic allocation is typically the first stage in the investment process. Based on the investor’s long-term objectives, an initial portfolio is build. It is the backbone of any investment strategy. This often forms the basic framework of an investor’s portfolio. This is a proportional combination of assets based on expected rates of return for each asset class. For example, if stocks have historically given a return of 14% per year and bonds have returned 8% per year, a mix of 50% stocks and 50% bonds would be expected to return 11% per year. Strategic asset allocation generally implies a buy-and-hold strategy. Strategic asset allocation defines the boundary of risk, and it is these boundaries that help control portfolio risk.

Constant-Weighting Asset Allocation

Strategic asset allocation has its drawbacks as it entails a buy-and-hold strategy even if a change in the value of assets causes a drift from the initially established policy mix.The constant weighing strategy helps you to continuously rebalance your portfolio. For example, if gold was declining in value, you would purchase more of it to maintain its weightage and if its value increased you should sell it. There are no hard-and-fast rules for the timing of portfolio rebalancing under strategic or constant-weighting asset allocation. Most Planners advises rebalancing to its original mix when any asset class moves more than 5-7% from its original value or alternatively on semi annual basis.

Tactical Asset Allocation

Most of the Indian investor I have follows this allocation strategy without knowing risk associated with it. There are investors who constantly want to seek returns out of market opportunities that arise. Hence, they go in for short term tactical calls. Such tactical calls create room for capitalising on unusual or exceptional investment opportunities. This is like timing the market to participate in the fluctuations and volatility that arise due to market conditions. For example, shifting a part of the portfolio from large cap stocks to mid cap stocks to take advantage of the environment is a tactical call. Tactical allocations being opportunistic in nature, Investor are advised to always prefer to maintain clear time-based and value-based entry and exit points to ensure better management. Personally, I feel it is impossible to time the market on long term basis, it is something like predicting future and one wrong call can affect your financial plan drastically.

Dynamic Asset Allocation

It is for aggressive investors who want to ride momentum at times. So, if the stock market is showing weakness, investor sell anticipating a further fall. If it is going up, he buys anticipating a further rise. Here you constantly adjust the mix of assets as markets rise and fall. This is the opposite of constant-weighting strategy. As the entire portfolio is available for action, amateur investors may turn hyper active. Especially in the high volatile times, acting on all types of information can lead to high transaction costs. Also, the tax treatment of the returns turns to disadvantages if you churn your portfolio too much. 

Finally, victory of match depends on the strategy applied by captain in selecting the players as well as ground (market) conditions.

Similarly, to achieve financial goals as well as creating wealth every investor need to follow the asset allocation strategy and stick to it in different market conditions.Financial planners plays a big role in helping them to select a strategy which suits their risk profile and tries to bring in required discipline.

U.S.NRI's - Investments from INDIA are no more TAX FREE

Lots of U.S.NRI investors invests in India (non-US) mutual funds, bonds and various types of “life insurance” products (the latter are often a fancy version of a foreign mutual fund investment).  Sadly, these investors are often taken in by the sales pitch of investment advisors unfamiliar with latest US tax laws.  The sales pitch focuses on the fact that the investment can grow tax- free for many years. While it is true that no tax may be payable in the fund’s jurisdiction (Nil Long term capital gain for Equity for instance), significant US taxes are payable by the US NRI's owner under the so-called “passive foreign investment company” or  “PFIC” rules.

The latest IRS announcement regarding the annual reporting of PFICs as mandated by tax laws enacted in President Obama’s first term.  The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) enacted in 2010 had numerous provisions. One of them mandated that US owners of PFICs (whether such ownership is direct or indirect) must annually report significant information to the IRS(Internal Revenue Service U.S). This annual report was to be made on Form 8621. 

What is a PFIC and What Does it Mean If you Have One?

More often than not, the foreign mutual fund or similar investment will be characterized as a PFIC. A PFIC includes any non-US corporation if 75% or more of its gross income for the year consists of “passive income”.  Passive income generally includes dividends, interest, rents, royalties, most foreign currency and commodity gains, and capital gains from assets that produce such income. Just about all of the income of a fund will usually qualify as passive and so, nearly all foreign funds will qualify as PFICs!

Don’t Mind Losing Your Investment? PFIC Means Very Harsh Tax Consequences

Form 8621-This is the form you would need to fill up if you have mutual fund holdings in an Indian mutual fund company. The form gives you several options to declare the notional appreciation. Let's take a look at the options relevant for a retail mutual fund investor:

Option 1: Election to mark-to-market PFIC

This is the most common option for Indian mutual fund investments. "Broadly speaking, according to this option, you must declare as income the notional gains in the market value of your fund holdings during the year."

Here is what typically happens:

- In the year of purchase, the gains are the difference between market value at the end of the year and cost of purchase.

- In the subsequent years, the gains are the difference between market value at the end of the year and 'adjusted basis'. Adjusted basis is usually the market value in the beginning of the year. In case there is a loss, the loss can be set off against foreign PFIC notional gains of only the previous years. Any loss that is not set off is added back to the adjusted basis of the next year. So for instance, if in year 1 you incurred a notional gain of $100 on your PFIC, $100 would be taxed as ordinary income in year

Suppose your loss in year 2 was $150. In year 2, you would be allowed to deduct a loss of $100 from your total income (loss to the extent of gains taxed earlier).

- When the units are actually sold, you will be taxed long term capital gains only on the portion of gains that has not been taxed in previous years as ordinary income

Option 2: Election to treat as QEF - Qualified Electing Fund

"This option is commonly used in case of investments by US residents and citizens in offshore private equity funds,"

A QEF is taxed like a partnership wherein each investor is considered to have a share in the total profits of the fund. You can exercise this option only if the foreign fund agrees to share information with you about your share of profits.

Option 3: Excessive distribution method

"This is a default election. If you opt out of all other options, you will be taxed as per this option, which is also the most taxing,"

He adds, "According to this option, the distributions in the current year should be

at least 125% of the average distributions of last 3 years. The logic being that you are receiving incremental income every year from the fund and therefore not trying to defer taxes. If you do not meet this condition, then the total distributions are allocated over the entire holding period and taxed in each year at the highest tax rate of that year. Not only that, you will also be charged interest on each year's tax liability."

What this means: Suppose you did not make any election on your PFICs and throughout the holding period, did not fill up Form 8621 for your PFIC holdings.

You held the PFIC units for say 10 years and did not receive any distributions during these 10 years. In the year of sale, you made a gain of $100. In the year of sale, your gains will be distributed over the past 10 years, that is, $10 per year. It will be treated as though you did not pay tax on $10 per year and hence in year 10, you must pay tax for each of these years plus interest on the delay. You will have to fill up part IV of Form 8621.

Just in case you are thinking of ‘ignoring’ the rules regarding self-reporting on PFICs, please note that under other provisions of FATCA, ”foreign financial institutions” will be required to report directly to the IRS about assets held by US persons with that institution. The FATCA rules will make it very easy for the IRS to cross-reference the information provided by the foreign financial institution with the taxpayer’s Form 8621 to determine whether taxes and reporting on the foreign fund have been properly undertaken.

Owning a house or business "OH MY GOD"

After a long time got opportunity to watch a fantastic movie "OH MY GOD". There are certain movies like Munnabhai MBBS, 3idiots, Rang De Basanti, Tare Zameen Par , can shake you inside. It has power to bring in the change required.

Huge success of above movies confirmed that Indian society is ready to appraise the libertarian attitude and the Indian  youth is daring enough to raise the issues of collectivistic problems and is ready to denounce them, to fight against them.

I know this is not a movie review blog, but together with certain other facts shown in the movie "OH MY GOD" a very relevant point related to your financial planning is also been highlighted and that is insuring your HOUSE as well as your BUSINESS.

The biggest asset an individual builds during his life is his own house and business. A small accident can wipe out your earnings of life. How many of us have overlooked at insuring these investments? The requirement of home insurance is overlooked and understated in India.

While owning a house today, what youngsters forget is the protection of their property. The financial institutions providing housing loans ensure that the individual gets himself a home loan protection policy but no one ever bothers to insure the house that is being bought. There are many convenient options available in the market that helps one not only insure the property but also the belongings.

Let's know home insurance

Home insurance plans allow you to protect your house and household items against fire and other perils, such as theft, burglary, accidental breakdowns and so on. If you intend to buy house holders' insurance, you should buy a policy that provides cover for your house as well as contents in it.

Points to remember before buying home insurance

Make sure that you read and understand the policy coverage, exceptions, exclusions in the plan. So that you don't end up like Kanjibhai in the movie. Your cover therefore, should include your house, belongings, liability to others if some mishap occurs and your living exps., if you are forced to stay in rented house. Basically, if a disaster occurs, your policy should help you to rebuild your home and replace its contents.

Take an inventory of your possessions. If you have to file a claim, two things need to be done - prove you own certain items and verify their value. Some insurance companies advise clients to go through their homes with a video camera, walk through each room, and ensure that you have everything you own, recorded.

Always make sure that you update your policy value to cover various assets that you might add to your house as well as taking care of rate of inflation.

Eligibility

Any resident Indian who is owner and/or occupant of the property can purchase a home insurance policy.

Coverage

The covers provided are :

Fire and Allied Perils - Building and Contents , Burglary (optional), Unlike shown in movie you can also take a cover for earthquake by paying additional nominal premium.

Key features

An individual with an independent house or a flat can opt for this benefit and applicable to any residential building.It covers building against risks like Fire,Lightning,Storm, Riots, Strike and Malicious damage.

In city like vadodara an house with construction area of 2500 sq.ft considering construction cost be Rs1000/sq.ft , Total cost Rs.2500000.00 you need to pay an annual premium in the range of 1300 to 1400.

Remember to cover your house for construction cost and not for the value at which you bought, as it also includes cost of land.

So, put your house insurance to be on top priority.

SAVE TAX Right way - ITS YOUR RIGHT (2012-13)

Paying tax is moral responsibility of every citizen, but to save tax by using different allowed deductions,allowances and incentives is every one's right.

Let's understand major benefit and deductions allowed to save tax more efficiently.Please do check for your eligibility for saving tax under any of the following benefits.

ADDITIONAL BENEFITS PROVIDED IN UNION BUDGET 2012 :

1.  Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings scheme: It will provide income tax deduction of 50% for those who first time invest upto Rs.50,000 directly into equities and whose annual income is less than Rs.10 lakh, subject to a three -year lock in. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds listed on stock exchange and invested only in BSE 100, CNX 100 and blue chip public sector stocks would also be allowed tax rebate under the scheme.

2. Exemption limit raised to Rs 2 lakhs from Rs 1.8 lakh. 30% slab now starts from 10 lakh rather than 8 lakh earlier. Men and women now have same tax slab. No gender bias!

3. Within the existing limit for deduction allowed for health insurance, Rs.5000 deduction for preventive health checkup is allowed.

4. Deduction of upto 10,000 for interest from savings bank accounts under a new section 80TTA.

5. Senior citizens not having income from business proposed to be exempted from payment of advance tax.

6. Securities Transaction tax (STT) reduced to 0.1% from 0.125%

7. Exemption from Capital Gains tax on sale of residential property, if sale consideration is used for subscription in equity of a manufacturing SME for purchase of new plant and machinery.

8. Service tax rate increased to 12% from current 10%. This would mean more taxes in your mobile, telephone, internet, restaurant bills and life insurance premium etc.

9. Import duty free amount limit raised to Rs 35000 from 25000. So guys coming from abroad can bring more stuff.

10. Gold to be more expensive. Customs duty on standard gold raised from 2 per cent to 4 per cent.

11. Duty on large cars raised to 27%, so cars would be more expensive now.

12. Tax saving mutual funds (ELSS) deduction to continue.

13. 80C deduction on insurance policies purchased after 1st April, 2012 only if premium is less than 10% of sum assured. Benefit for existing purchased policies to continue.

14. 1% tax at source on cash purchases of jewellery over Rs 2 lakh.

15. 80CCF deduction for infrastructure bonds not valid anymore.

16. Income tax return filing would be now mandatory for every resident having any asset located outside India irrespective of the fact whether the resident taxpayer has taxable income or not.

17. 80G deduction not applicable in case donation is done in form of cash for amount over Rs 10,000.

Other Benefits :

House Rent Allowance : Rent receipts can be shown for taking tax benefit for living in a rented house.

Income tax exemption for HRA will be least of following:
1. The actual amount of HRA received as a part of salary.
2. 40% (if living in non-metro area) or 50% (if living in metro area) of (basic salary+ Dearness
     allowance (DA)).
3. Rent paid minus 10% of (basic salary+ DA).

In some cases, deduction for both HRA and home loan interest (u/s 24) can be taken together in case owned house is not in same city or not at a commutable distance to office.

Transport/Conveyance allowance: Rs 800 per month is non taxable if salary has this component. This would not be exempted in case employee also avail car reimbursement. No proofs/bills required to submit for this exemption.

Children education allowance: Per school going child 1200 per annum is non-taxable. Maximum for 2 children, so max 2400 per annum becomes non-taxable.

Arrears: Generally arrears are fully taxable, but employee may claim exemption u/s 89(1). One would need to compute income tax on the arrears if it would have been received in actual year. Now difference of income tax between payment year and actual year would be allowed for deduction.

Gratuity: If amount is received before completion of five years of service with employer, it should be taxable. Else it would be non-taxable up to Rs 10 lakh in case of non-government servants. In case of Government service employees, it would be fully non taxable.

Leave travel allowance (LTA): Two trips on a block of four years can be claimed for exemption for travel done inside India. Following amount would be non-taxable:
1. Where journey is performed by rail; railway-fare in first AC class by shortest route to destination.
2. Where places of origin and destination are connected by rail but the journey is performed by any other mode then first AC class fare by shortest route to the place of destination.
3. Where place of origin of journey and destination, or part thereof, are not connected by rail and journey is performed by any other transport; then (i) If a recognised public transport system exists between such places the first class or deluxe class fare of such transport by shortest route, or, (ii) If in other case, first AC class fare for the distance of the journey by the shortest route, as if the journey has been performed by rail.

Leave encashment: Payment by way of leave encashment received by Central & State Govt. employees at the time of retirement in respect of the period of earned leave at credit is fully exempt. In case of other employees, the exemption is to be limited to minimum of all below:
1. The actual amount received
2. The cash equivalent of leave balance (max 30 days per year of service)
3. Maximum of 10 months of leave encashment, based on last 10 months average salary
4. Rs. 3 Lakh

Performance Incentive/Bonus: This component would be fully taxable.

Medical allowance/Reimbursement: This component is on-taxable up to 15000 per year (or Rs 1250 per month) on producing medical bills.

Food Coupons – Non-taxable upto 50 Rs per day.

Periodical Journals: Some employers may provide component for buying magazines, journals and books as a part of knowledge enhancement for business growth. This part would become non taxable on providing original bills.

Professional Development Allowance : If original bills are submitted to employer, this allowance may become non-taxable. Generally payment done towards any technical course fee, certification etc done to enhance professional knowledge can be reimbursed.

Uniform/Dress Allowance: Some sections of employees mat get allowance for purchase of office dress/uniform. In such case, the component would become non-taxable.

Telephone reimbursements – In some of the cases, companies may provide a component for telephone bills. Employees may provide actual phone usage bills to reimburse this component and make it non-taxable.
Internet Expenses - Employer may also provide reimbursement of internet expenses and thus this would become non taxable.

Car expense reimbursements – In case company provides component for this and employee use self owned car for official and personal purposes, Rs 1800 per month would be non-taxable on showing bills for fuel or can maintenance. This amount would be Rs 2400 in case car is more capacity than 1600cc.

Driver salary – If employee pays driver salary for self owned or company owned car, Rs 900 per month may become non-taxable if employer provides component for it.

Gift from relatives vs non relatives: Gifts from relatives would be non-taxable with no limits attached. Following relations are covered under non-taxable rule:
1. Spouse of the individual
2. Brother or sister of the individual
3. Brother or sister of the spouse of the individual
4. Brother or sister of either of the parents of the individual
5. Any lineal ascendant or descendant of the individual
6. Any lineal ascendant or descendant of the spouse of the individual, Spouse of the person referred to in clauses (2) to (6).
If gift is received from a non-relative person worth more than Rs.50000, one is liable to pay the tax on whole vale. Gift can be in form of a sum of money (in cash/cheque/bank draft) or any articles.

Agricultural Income: If one has only only agricultural income, then it is fully exempt from income tax. If other income also there, rebate on agricultural income would be provided at 10-30% rate depending on actual amount of agricultural income.

House rent Income: 30% of the rental income can be reduced as a standard deduction for repairs, maintenance etc. irrespective of the actual amount spent.

Fixed deposit/Post Office/NSC/SCSS interest: Interest earned on fixed deposits, post office, debt mutual funds/fixed maturity plans(kept less than one year) would be added to taxable income and taxed as per slab rates.

Short Term Gains from Share Trading/Equity Mutual funds: if stocks/equity mutual funds are sold before one year, 15% tax would be payable on such gains. STT should have been on transaction.
Long term gains from Share Trading/Equity Mutual funds: If stocks/equity mutual funds are kept for more than a year before sale, it would be long term gains and such gains would be fully exempt from income tax.
Securities transaction tax (STT) must have been paid on transactions for availing this exemption.

Section 80C, 80CCD and 80CCC deductions- One can claim his investments/payments under section 80C, 80CCC and 80CCD, up to 1 lakh combined limit. Amount can be invested in:
1. Tax saving mutual funds (ELSS) with three years lock-in
2. Five year tax-saver bank Fixed deposits
3. Public provident fund (PPF)
4. National Savings Certificate (NSC) or National Service Scheme (NSS)
5. Employer contribution into New Pension Scheme (NPS) (Section 80CCD)
6. Life insurance/Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP) premium
7. Employee’s contribution towards Employee provident fund (EPF)
8. Home loan principal amount payment (only if you have got possession of house)
9. Senior citizen savings scheme (SCSS), if your age is more than 60 years
10. Post office tax saving deposit or tax saving bonds
11. Pension scheme/Retirement plans (Secion 80CCC)
12. Tuition fees paid for children education

Section 80D : Maximum deduction of up to 15,000 under mediclaim or health insurance offered by life insurers taken for self and family. An additional deduction of up to 15,000 for buying cover for dependent parents. If parents/assessee are senior citizens, they can claim deduction up to Rs 20,000.

Section 80DD : Deduction of 50,000 for maintenance of a disabled dependent. If the disability is severe, the deduction amount will be 100,000.

Section 80E : Tax relief on interest payments on education loan taken for higher studies for self, spouse or child. There is no maximum limit on this deduction.

Section 80G : The eligibility is 50% or 100% of the donation amount subject to overall ceiling of 10% of your gross total income to certain funds and charitable institutions.

Section 24/Home loan interest payment : The maximum limit is of 1.5 lakh on interest payments of a home loan for a self-occupied house. There is no ceiling on the amount of deduction if the house is let out or deemed to be let out. House rent would needs to shown in income in case house is not self-occupied.

Section 80DDB deduction (Medical treatment expenses): Expenses done for medical treatment for self, spouse, dependent children, parents, brothers and sisters. Maximum deduction can be Rs 40,000 (goes up to 60,000 in case patient is senior citizen). Deduction is only allowed in case of certain diseases:

Professional tax: Professional tax deducted from salary by employer should be removed from taxable salary before computation of income tax.

Tax deducted at Source (TDS) deduction: As per income tax rules, all payment which are taxable in nature should be done after deduction of taxes at the source itself. Hence employer compute income tax on salary payment and deduct it every month. This TDS is based on employee’s saving/investment declaration at the start of year. If investments for tax saving is not done, large amount may be deducted in last few months.

Advance tax schedule: As per income tax rules, 30% of income tax should be paid by 15th Sept, 60% by 15th Dec and rest by 31st March. If its not followed one may be charged interest penalty u/s 234C.