It’s that time of the year again when reminders from the finance & Hr dept are filling up our mail box. ‘Investment Declaration’, ‘Tax’, ‘Exemption’, ‘HRA’, ‘Flexi’ are the only thing one hears about. I hate this time as much as I hate paying tax, but some things can’t be avoided. I’m listing some basic fundas I know about Income Tax India. If you know of something different or better, let me know!
What is the Tax slab for 2009-10?
What is Taxable Income?
Gross Salary Income + Income from any other source (Interest, House Rent etc)
LESS Exemption under HRA
LESS Conveyance Allowances of 9600/-
LESS Medi-claim/ LTA/ any other allowance
LESS Interest paid on Home loan up to 1, 50,000/-
= Gross Total Income
LESS Deductions under Sec 80 C up to 1, 00,000/-
LESS Deduction under Sec 80 D/E/G
= Total Taxable Income
What is the HRA exemption?
HRA Exemption – Least of (Actual HRA received OR Rent Paid by the employees less 10% of Basic OR 50% of Basic (metro city))
So, if you live in Delhi & 50% of your basic is 1 lk p.a., which is the HRA and the rent paid is also 1 lk then the tax exemption will be 90 thousand. (1lk- 10% lk)
The only way you’ll get HRA = tax exemption is when your rent is Rs.1.20 lk i.e. HRA+10%of Basic
What is deduction under Sec 80 D/E/G?
Sec 80 D Medical Premium for self / parent (up to 15,000/-)
Sec 80 E Interests paid on Education Loan
Sec 80 G Donations to approved fund (generally 50% of donated amount)
What is deduction under Sec 80 C?
Every one is always talking about the 1 lk investment. These are done under section 80C.
They include an employee’s contribution towards PF, so that investment that needs to be made is of
1 lk – PF deductions for the year (12% of basic). The rest of the investments may be made in one or all of the following:-
Ø Life Insurance premium (ULIP/ Traditional)
Ø ELSS – Equity Linked Saving Schemes of mutual funds
Ø National Savings Certificate
Ø Special Fixed deposits (5 years)
Ø Home loan principal repayment
What is the Tax on Bonus?
All Variable Income/ any one time variable payment (e.g. Incentive, Overtime and Other Allowance) have a higher tax rate which is calculated and deducted in the same month in which the payment is made.
Lastly, Tax Saving is a good idea but not Tax Evasion. Don’t fell bad about paying taxes, it’s our country that will benefit :).