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Capital Gain Exemption

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Hiral Vakil

Capital Gains Exemption
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Income Tax
Last updated on February 23rd, 2023

Capital Gain Tax arises on the sale of a Capital Asset by the taxpayer. The Income Tax Act has laid down a list of exemptions under Capital Gains. These provisions allow a total or partial exemption from Capital Gain and minimize tax liability for individuals. However, the Capital Gains Tax Exemption amount can not exceed the total amount of Capital Gain. Following is a list of all capital gain exemptions:

The individual can claim the capital gain exemption while filing ITR for the financial year. An individual taxpayer having income from capital gains should file ITR-2 on the income tax website on or before the due date of 31st July.

List of Capital Gain Exemption

The Income Tax Act has defined the particular sections under which exemptions can be claimed on capital gains earned. The intention of the exemption is to allow the taxpayer to invest in a new Capital Asset within a specified time limit without any tax burden. Here is a summary of the exemptions laid down by the Income Tax Department.

Income Tax Section Description Applicability Deduction Amount
54 Sale of Residential House Property (LTCA) by Individual/HUF Purchase or Construction of Residential House Property Lower of
Cost of New House Property
OR
Capital Gains
Purchased 1 year before or 2 years after the sale of a property
Constructed within 3 years from the sale of a property
54F Sale of Long Term Capital Asset (LTCA) other than house property by Individual/HUF Purchase/Construction of New House Property Cost of new asset * Capital Gains / Net Consideration
Purchased 1 year before or 2 years after the sale of a property
Constructed within 3 years from the sale of a property
54EC Sale of Land or Building or both (LTCA) by any taxpayer Investment in NHAI/REC Bonds Lower of
Cost of Investment 
OR
Capital Gains
An investment made within 6 months from the sale of an asset
The investment amount can not be more than Rs. 50 lakhs
54B Sale of Agricultural Land (LTCA/STCA) by Individual/HUF Purchase of new Agricultural Land Lower of
Cost of New Agricultural Land 
OR
Capital Gains
Purchased within 2 years from the sale of land
Land sold must be used for agriculture purposes for 2 years prior to sale
54D Compulsory acquisition of land and building (LTCA) used in an industrial undertaking Purchase of land or building for shifting or re-establishing the industrial undertaking Lower of
Cost of New Asset
OR
Capital Gains
Purchase within 3 years from the date of receipt of compensation
Land/Building acquired must be used for industrial undertaking purposes for 2 years prior to transfer
54E, 54EA, 54EB Sale of any LTCA by any taxpayer Investment in Specified Securities Cost of new asset * Capital Gains / Net Consideration
Specified securities include Government Securities, Savings Certificates, Units of UTI,  Specified Debentures, etc
An investment made within 6 months from the sale of an asset
54EE Sale of any LTCA by any taxpayer Investment in units of a notified fund to finance startups Lower of
Cost of Investment 
OR
Capital Gains
The investment amount can not be more than Rs. 50 lakhs
An investment made within 6 months from the sale of an asset
54G Sale of plant, machinery, land,  building to shift industrial undertaking from urban area to rural area Purchase of new plant, machinery, land, building to shift industrial undertaking to rural area Lower of
Cost of New Asset
OR
Capital Gains
Purchased within 1 year before and 3 years after the sale of assets
The asset sold can be LTCA or STCA
54GA Sale of plant, machinery, land,  building to shift industrial undertaking from urban area to rural area Purchase of new plant, machinery, land, building to shift industrial undertaking to SEZ Lower of
Cost of New Asset
OR
Capital Gains
Purchased within 1 year before and 3 years after the sale of assets
The asset sold can be LTCA or STCA
54GB Sale of residential house property or residential plot of land (LTCA)  by individual or HUF Subscription in equity shares of eligible company or startup Cost of new asset * Capital Gains / Net Consideration
Eligible company or startup should utilize the amount of subscription for purchase of new assets

 

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CGAS Scheme i.e. Capital Gains Account Scheme is an option for the taxpayers to temporarily park their funds before making an investment in the specified assets as per the relevant section to claim the capital gain exemption. The taxpayer who has income from capital gains and wants to reduce the capital gains tax by making a specified investment has an option to create a CGAS account. If such taxpayer is unable to utilise the sale consideration for buying the new asset before the due date of filing ITR, he/she must create a CGAS account and deposit the funds there to claim the capital gain exemption. The benefit of CGAS Scheme is available for Section 54, Section 54B, Section 54D, Section 54EE, Section 54F, Section 54G, Section 54GA, Section 54GB of Income Tax Act.

FAQs

How to claim exemption if we wish to buy the house property next year?

Taxpayer can claim exemption u/s 54, 54F depending on asset sold. An exemption can be claimed by putting the amount in Capital Gains Account Scheme (CGAS) before the due date of filing of ITR in the year of sale. And claim the same as exemption while filing ITR.

Can we claim exemptions on sale of Short Term Capital Asset(STCA)?

The taxpayer can claim exemption u/s 54B and 54G on Short Term Capital Asset. However, all the other exemptions are available on Lond Term Capital Asset.

What are the documents required as proof of investment while claiming exemption?

While filing ITR, taxpayer only needs to enter the exemption section, required details of purchased asset and amount of exemption claimed. However, it is important to keep the purchased assets documents on record for future use.

Got Questions? Ask Away!

  1. Hey @TanyaChopra

    To claim Capital Gains Exemption under Section 54EC, you need to file ITR-2.

    Read more about Section 54EC here

  2. Details are as follow:

    • Commercial Plot is purchased through joint names (father and me), construction cost paid through cash.
    • Plot booked in 2019, Sale process started in 2022 [about 35% received via biana within a week ago, remaining 65% payment to be received within 2 months as per mutual agreement]
    • Plot’s Basic Sale Price = Rs. 33L; however, overall including EDC and Delayed Interest, up to Rs. 34L
    • Sale amount = Rs. 50L
    • I do not own any house, live under mother’s rental lease agreement, currently.
    • I’m a salaried employee under private company.

    My queries/confusion:

    1. Cost Inflation Index FY based on possession date (not booking date) as entry date and sale transferred (not biana date) as exit date, right?

    2. Since it is a jointly held, I did not pay anything to acquire the commercial plot but father did. Now when we sell, 50% will be to each account, what would be my LTCG?

    3. Please correct me if I’m missing something for my LTCG (>24 mo.):
      (+) Sale Consideration: Rs. 25L (half of 50L overall joint)
      (-) Transfer Expenses: Rs. 0 (constructed via cash not eligible, right?)
      (-) Indexed Cost of Acquisition: 16.5L * 317/289 = 18.1L
      (-) Indexed Cost of Improvement: ?? (what exactly is this?)
      Long-Term Capital Gain: 6.9L

    4. If possession date and sale date is 24+ months , can I save LTCG tax by just investing Rs. 6.9L in IRFC/NHAI/PFC/IRFC bond under Section 54EC?

    5. If yes, can I keep 18.1L in my bank account or invest in FD / MF? Any further suggestion?

  4. Hey @learner

    1. Indexed Cost of Acquisition is calculated as Cost of Acquisition * CII for Sale Year/ CII for Purchase Year. In your case, CII for Sale Year would be CII of the year in which you sold property. CII for Purchase Year would be CII of the year in which you got the possession of property.

    2. If you have not contributed towards the purchase consideration, you will not be treated as a co-owner for income tax purpose. Thus, the entire LTCG would be taxed in the ITR of your father as Sale Value - Transfer Expenses - Indexed Cost of Acquisition

    3. Cost of Improvement is a capital expenditure incurred by an assessee for making improvement in the property. It can be claimed as a deduction for computing capital gains. Indexed Cost of Improvement is calculated as Cost of Improvement * CII of year of sale / CII of year of improvement

    4. If the period of holding is more than 24 months, income is treated as LTCG. You can claim exemption under Section 54EC if you fulfill all the conditions as per the Section. Read more about it here

    1. With the remaining sale proceeds, if you keep them in bank account, you will earn Savings Interest, if you invest in FD, you will earn FD Interest, You can look for other investment options where you earn income and also gain tax benefit such as ELSS, PPF, NSC, etc. Read more about it here

  5. Thanks a lot @Sakshi_Shah1 for the detailed answer and @Amulya_Garg for ensuring my queries addressed.

    I do have a follow-up queries.

    1. Since the tax is under hand of my father as he only purchased the commercial plot, can I enjoy 50% of sale proceeds that is credited to my bank account without any tax? “Enjoy” in my term refer to Multi-Option-Deposit (Bank) with quarterly payout.

    2. My father has purchased another commercial plot, do you have any relevant article that explains how tax can be saved by utilizing the sale proceeds to buy another commercial plot (before or after)?

  6. Hello @learner

    1. Ideally, since your father is the owner of the property, the sale proceeds should be credited to his bank account. If the money has already been credited to your account, there are chances that the Assessing Officer i.e. AO might question the source of funds and a justification why they are not reported as income in the ITR.

    2. Capital Gains on sale of commercial plot can be exempt if the taxpayer invests in any of the following assets:

    • Section 54EC - Buying bonds of NHAI, REC, etc
    • Section 54EE - Buying units of fund notified by Central Government to finance start-ups
    • Section 54F - Buying residential house property

  7. The registration of commercial property comes under both father and my name (co-owners), which is how sale proceeds is credited to each of us, however, all the payments for purchase of property were done by father only. And my father will report the whole capital gains in his account.

    Will this below stands true in my ITR if I do not report?

    And thanks for 2nd point.

  9. Hey @learner

    Your father should report the capital gains in his ITR. You need not report the same in your ITR. However, you must hold relevant proofs of the capital gains taxed in your father’s ITR in case the AO questions source of funds in your account.

  10. The income tax department introduced a new Section 54EE of Income Tax Act with effect from 1st April 2017. Section 54EE provides for exemption from Capital Gains Tax on the sale of any long-term capital asset by investing into units of specified funds.

    A taxpayer can claim an exemption u/s 54EE if they fulfill all the below conditions:

    1. Any assessee i.e. Individual, HUF, Company, LLP, Firm, etc can claim an exemption under Section 54EE.
    2. The asset sold is any Long Term Capital Asset (LTCA).
    3. The taxpayer invests Capital Gains within 6 months from the date of transfer of the original asset.
    4. Taxpayer invests in units of funds notified by the Central Government on or before 1st April 2019 to finance startups.
    5. The investment amount can not be more than INR 50 lakhs during any financial year.
    6. The investment amount can not be more than INR 50 lakhs during the current and succeeding financial year.

    You can read more about Section 54EE here.

    Got questions? Shoot’em here.

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