Income from House Property and Taxes

India has been witnessing continuous and rapid growth during the recent decades. It is the vision of the country to be a developed nation by the 100th year of Independence. Income from House property is one of the major source of passive income for many people. Rental Income from a property being a building or land attached to it is charged to tax under the head ” Income from House Property”

What is House Property?

House property consists of any building and land attached to it. The term house property includes a wide range of properties, such as apartments, independent houses, shops, offices, godowns, factories, and any other building or land that generates rental income. Further, The house property includes residential houses as well as commercial buildings.

Income from House Property shall be taxable only under the following conditions:

• The assesses must be the owner of the property.
• The property used for any purpose other than for carrying out Business or Profession. If the property is used for own business or profession, then the income from the same shall be taxed under the head ‘Income from Business and Profession’.
• Income from House Property will be taxable under the hands of the legal owner of the property. The owner for this purpose means a person who can exercise the rights of the owner on his own and not on someone else’s behalf.

Income Tax Calculator

Calculate income tax liability for FY 2020-21. Compare tax liability as per New vs Old Tax Regime.

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Income Tax Calculator

Calculate income tax liability for FY 2020-21. Compare tax liability as per New vs Old Tax Regime.

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Types of House Property under Income Tax

For the purpose of taxability, Income Tax categories the house property under 2 types:

Self-Occupied House Property:

A Self-Occupied House Property is the one which is use for own residence purpose. This may also be occupied by the owner’s family or relative or self. A property that is unoccupied is considered as a self-occupied property for the purpose of income tax.

If the taxpayer owns more than one House property, only one is considered as self-occupied and the rest are assumed to be deemed let out. However, from Financial year 20219-2020 onwards two properties can be considered as self occupied. The taxpayer have the option to select which property they wants to take as self-occupied.

Let-Out House Property:

Any house property that is rented for complete or part of the year is considered as a let out property for income tax purposes.

How to Calculate Income From House Property?

Where the property is self-occupied for own residence or unoccupied throughout the previous year, its Annual Value will be Nil, provided no other benefits is derived by the owner from such property.

When the property is let out for the whole or part of the financial year, then the GAV would be the higher of:
a) Expected Rent (ER)
b) Actual rent received or receivable during the year

In the case of self-occupied property, the deduction for interest on Home Loan have a maximum limit of INR 2,00,000 under section 24. Whereas in the case of a let-out property, the entire amount of interest as a deduction can be claimed.

Deduction from House Property Income

Deduction for Home Loan Interest under Section 24

• Owner of the House Property can claim a deduction of up to INR 2 Lakhs (INR 1,50,000 in case you are e-filing for FY 2013-14) if the property is Self Occupied as explained above.
• In the case of a Let Out House Property, the entire Home Loan interest will be allowed as a deduction.
• The deduction will be restricted to INR 30,000 if any of the following conditions are not satisfied.
  • The loan have been taken on or after 1st April 1999.
  • The Home Loan have been taken for the purpose of purchase or construction of a new property.
  • Acquisition or construction completed within 5 years from the end of the financial year in which the loan was taken.

Moreover, In case the loan is taken for the repairs or reconstruction of the property, then the deduction for interest will be allowed up to a maximum of INR 30,000. Also if the loan is taken in the pre-construction period interest paid during this period can be claimed as a deduction in five equal installments starting from the year in which the construction of the property is completed.

Deduction for principal repayment under Section 80C

• Deduction for principal repayment of Home Loan is available up to a maximum of INR 1,50,000 subject to the overall limit Section 80C. Satisfy the following conditions to claim this deduction:
  • Acquire Home Loan for the purpose of purchase or construction of a new property.
  • You must not sell the property within five years of taking possession. If you do so, the deductions for repayment collected will be added back to your income in the year of sale.
• Stamp duty, registration charges, and other expenses directly related to the transfer of the property are also permissible as a deduction under section-80C subject to a maximum limit of INR 1,50,000. The deduction for this payment will be allowed in the year in which they are paid.

Deduction for first time Home buyers under Section 80EE

• The first Home Loan from a bank or housing finance corporation up to INR 25 lakh will be eligible for an additional deduction of interest up to INR 1 lakh.
• Fulfill the following conditions to claim this deduction:
  • The loan sanction must have been between 1st April 2013 to 31st March 2014.
  • The Home Loan amount does not exceed INR 25 Lakhs
  • The value of the House Property does not exceed INR 40 Lakhs.
  • The assesses does not own any other residential House Property on the date of sanction of the loan.
• The benefit of the deduction spans over FY 2013-14 and FY 2014-15. If you are unable to utilize the total limit of INR 1,00,000 in FY 2013-14, then you can claim the balance amount as a deduction in FY 2014-15.
• It is not necessary that the residential House Property has to be Self Occupied to claim this deduction.

Deduction for first time Home buyers under Section 80EEA

Under 80EEA the Income Tax Department has extended the deductible amount from INR 50,000 to INR 1,50,000 for first time home buyers. Only individuals can claim this deduction until they repay their home loan.

For example, Ayush is buying a home for the first time. He can either claim deduction under 80EE or 80EEA. FM in budget 2020 has laid out a vision of “Affordable housing” with the introduction of section 80EEA which can help people like Ayush to get a higher deduction up to INR 1,50,000 against INR 50,000 as per the current regime.

Deduction under New Regime

No claim of home loan Interest on Self Occupied House Property:
Individuals who have taken a home loan on their self-occupied property and are paying interest on it, can not claim that interest deduction under Section 24(b).

For example, Ayush used to claim INR 90,000 as a deduction under 24(b) for interest on the home loan. Now if he goes for the new income tax regime he will not get this deduction of INR 90,000.

A claim of home loan Interest on Rental House Property:
Under the new income tax regime, individuals can claim interest on home loans for let out property only up to the amount of their rental income.

For example, Ayush is getting a rental income of INR 80,000 from his let-out property. Therefore, his claim on interest on the home loan cannot exceed his rental income that is INR 80,000.

Chapter VI Deduction:
No deduction under 80C, 80EE and 80EEA is available under new regime.

Income Tax Deductions for Joint Owners

Co-owners and co-borrowers

• In the case of co-owners of self-occupied house property who are also co-borrowers of a home loan, each one of them can claim a deduction on interest on the loan limited to Rs. 2 Lakh each.
• Each of them can also claim the deduction on principal repayments, stamp duty as well as registration charges under Section 80C with the overall limit of Rs.1.5 Lakh. The ratio of the deduction of each benefit will be in the same as the share of ownership in the property.

Co-borrowers but not Co-owners

• If any one individual is a co-borrower of a loan and is not the owner of the property, he or she is not entitled to claim interest on the home loan paid.
• Also, he or she is not entitled to any benefits on principal repayment, stamp duty, etc.

Co-owners but not Co-borrowers

• If one individual is just a co-owner of a loan and is not the co-borrower of the property, he or she is not entitled to claim interest on the home loan paid.
• However, each of them can claim the deduction on stamp duty as well as registration charges under Section 80C with the overall limit of Rs.1.5 Lakh. The ratio of the deduction of each benefit will be the same as the share of ownership in the property.

Setting off losses from house property

Old regime

As per the Old income tax regime, it is possible to set off losses made from house property against any other income head i.e, business and profession or salary income, etc. Moreover, it is also possible to set off brought forward losses and carry forward losses to another FY.

New Regime

As per the new income tax regime, losses from house property can only be set off against other income from house property. Moreover, it is not possible to set off brought forward losses and carry forward losses from income from house property in the new income tax regime.

For example, Ayush has an annual salary of INR 7,00,000. He had INR 2,00,000 loss from house property. It is possible to set off his loss from house property against his salary income as per the current regime. But in the new regime, his loss cannot be set off against any other head except for Income from house property.

Calculation of Income from House Property

The owner of the property charges the annual value of the property under the head ‘Income from House Property’. The income from property used for the purpose of carrying business or profession is not taxable under the head ‘Income from House Property’. Let’s understand the calculations with the help of an example:

Rahul owns a home in Ajmer. Calculate income from House Property under both the scenarios i.e Let-out & Self occupied if

• Rent received INR 40,000 per month.
• Property taxes paid INR 30,000.
• Interest on Home Loan INR 2,35,000.

In case of self-occupied property, the deduction for interest on Home Loan is restricted to the maximum of INR 2,00,000. Whereas in case of let out property, you can claim the entire amount of interest as a deduction.

This loss can be set off against income from other heads.

Note: Rental income from subletting is not taxed as income from House Property since in that case person receiving the rent income from subletting is not the owner of the property. Subletting income will be charged under the head ‘Income from other sources’.

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Documents Required to File ITR for Income from House Property

The House Property Income Documents Checklist is as follows:

• PAN
• Aadhaar
• Utility Bill
• Rent Agreement
• Form 16A
• Home loan repayment certificate/ Interest Certificate from the bank
• Municipal Tax Receipts

I receive HRA from my employer, can I also claim a deduction for my Home Loan?

Yes, you can. You can avail of the benefits of HRA and deduction for Home Loan simultaneously.

If you are living in a rental house & your own house is occupied by your spouse, children and/or your parents, you can claim:
HRA for the rent you pay to the landlord & Deduction for Home Loan interest up to a maximum of INR 2,00,000.
You can claim the following if you are living in a rental house and have rented out your house too:
HRA for the rent you pay to the landlord & Deduction for Home Loan interest without any limit.

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