New Income Tax Slabs

In the union budget for financial year 2009-10, the Finance Minister has announced new tax slabs.

General
Till 1,60,000 – 0%
1,60,001 – 3,00,000 – 10%
3,00,001 – 5,00,000 – 20%
Above 5,00,000 – 30%

Women
Till 1,90,000 – 0%
1,90,000 – 3,00,000 – 10%
Remaining tax rates are same as general

Senior Citizen
Till 2,40,000 – 0%
2,40,001 – 3,00,000 – 10%
Remaining tax rates are same as general

As you can see, compared to the last change, there is a 10,000 rupees increase in the first slab across all categories, while the remaining slabs remain unchanged. This would lead to a maximum savings of 1000 rupees for a tax payer whose income falls above Rs. 1,60,000. This may not be a significant saving for many.

However the interesting thing to note is that there is no 10% surcharge for incomes above 10 lakhs. This is a welcome move because I feel progressive taxation is counter productive to an aspiring population. Eventhough these tax sops would make holes in government's revenues, I guess the government is looking to increase the expendable surplus of the populace so as to boost up the economic downturn.

Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement and Saving Tax

The balance sheet is one of the key financial statements of a company and is of particular interest to an existing or prospective shareholder of the company. Here’s an article from Rediff, which explains how to read a balance sheet.

Similar to balance sheet, cash flow statement is another key financial statement of a company and is a mandatory part of the company’s financial reports since 1987. It tells an investor how the company’s operations are running, where the money is coming from and how it is spent. This article describes what is a cash flow statement?

Two months from now, the financial year will come to and end and then starts the proceedings for filing tax returns. So, various ways for saving tax should be done in these two months. This ToI article, explains 10 smart ways to lower your tax bill.

No proof required for LTA & Conveyance allowance claims

In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court has said that employers are not under any statutory obligation to collect supporting evidence and furnish it to tax authorities while assessing Conveyance and Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) of their employees. Currently, claims without supporting bills are taxed.

The verdict came as a result of a plea from companies including L&T and ITI.

Quoting Times of India,

In its defense, the revenue department had argued that assessee companies were under statutory obligation under Income Tax Act, 1961, and relevant rules, to collect documentary proof to show that their employee(s) had actually utilized the amount paid towards the leave travel concession and conveyance allowance.

Rejecting the plea, the court in its order said: “The beneficiary of exemption under Section 10(5) (of the Income Tax Act) is an individual employee. There is no circular of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) requiring the employer under Section 192 to collect and examine the supporting evidence to the declaration to be submitted by an employee(s).”

So, until the tax authorities come up with a circular/amendment to clear this out (which I guess they might), claim all your LTA and Conveyance allowances without showing any bills.

More details here.

Advantages of investing in Real-estate

Investing in real-estate, or more specifically, on a house or flat, is something that interests the salaried class very much. Though the scenario appears bleak due to the recent CRR and Repo rate hike by RBI (which could lead to an increase in home loan rates), buying a real-estate is something that is still worth pondering.

Real-estate has certain advantages that other investment options don’t have. Let’s have a look at few of those advantages and see why investing in real-estate is still a better option.

Advantages
1) Property prices, in general, don’t show a downward trend, especially if selected at a location where there is ample scope for development. In such cases, it becomes a safer investment.
2) The rate at which real-estate prices increase sometimes even beat the stock market.
3) Inflation generally doesn’t affect real-estate (house/flat) returns because the costs of construction materials increase every year (with inflation). As a result, the cost of buying a house/flat is always going to increase with time. Hence properties will most probably be available at a higher price tomorrow.
4) Investing in a ready to occupy house/flat could save the money that you spend on a rented house. Till selling the flat, you can live in the flat and save on the rent amount.
5) If you are taking a home loan for buying the house/flat, the EMI could be afforded with 1) the money you otherwise pay as rent and 2) the tax savings (hence increased take home salary) you get on home loans.

Tax Savings
When you take a home loan, there are two ways with which you could save tax.
1) The principal component of the EMI is eligible for a deduction of up to 100,000 under Section 80C of Income Tax Act 1961. This is the same section under which Provident Fund, Insurance Premiums etc. are claimed.
2) The interest component of EMI is exempted up to 150,000.
3) If both husband and wife are working, then both can claim these exemptions for the same property, provided they have taken a joint loan and divide the principal and interest component of EMI among each other.

How to increase your take home salary?

When cost of living skyrockets, smart ways to plan one’s pay packet to reduce his tax outgo and maximize his take home salary becomes relevant. Companies also realize the need to have a tax-friendly pay packet to help their employees get the better of their salary.

30 tax-smart ways to plan your pay packet could help you plan your compensation package and get the best out of it. According to the article that came on Rediff,

Saving a rupee in tax means you have a rupee more to save, spend or invest as you wish. So, when negotiating or reviewing your salary package, you should choose perks which are both useful for you and your family, and which are also tax-smart.

Have a look at the article.

Seven things you should know about LTA (Leave Travel Allowance)

LTA can be availed twice in a block of 4 years. The block is defined by the government. The current block is 2006 – 2009 and is based on calendar year

Only the travel costs (air, rail or public transport, dependent on the employer) can be exempted under LTA

If LTA is not claimed in a particular block of 4 years, ‘one’ can be claimed in the ‘first year’ of the next block of 4 years

LTA is valid only for travel within India

Two LTA claims cant be made in the same year for travels made in the same year

If your spouse also has LTA, then both of you can claim two LTAs each in a block of 4 years. So that each year you can have one LTA claim

LTA can be claimed for travel done by self, spouse, children, parents and siblings dependent on self. Only thing is self (person who is claiming LTA) has to be present in the travel

New Tax Slabs

In the union budget for financial year 2008-09, the Finance Minister has announced the new tax slabs.

General
Till 1,50,000 – 0%
1,50,000 – 3,00,000 – 10%
3,00,000 – 5,00,000 – 20%
Above 5,00,000 – 30%

Women
Till 1,80,000 – 0%
1,80,000 – 3,00,000 – 10%
Remaining tax rates are same as general

Senior Citizen
Till 2,25,000 – 0%
2,25,000 – 3,00,000 – 10%
Remaining tax rates are same as general

This would be a welcome relief to crores of tax payers in the country who are caught under inflation woes.

Income tax may come down in India

Riding on a buoyant economy and making the most out of it with respect to direct taxes, the revenue department may consider reviewing direct tax rates and structures (income tax slabs) in the coming annual budget. This move comes as an aftermath of a 45% growth rate in direct tax revenues due to tax administration improvements, increase in voluntary compliance etc.

A week back the Finance Minister was seen saying that the Rs. 10,000 increase in tax slabs last year didn’t give much of a relaxation to the tax payers of the country. The ministry will also seek inputs from public, tax experts and industry associations on this. Let’s hope that this welcome move shall come into effect and lower the burden of taxation on the working class.

Tax savings options on conveyance allowance

For salaried individuals, the conveyance allowance or transport allowance is exempt from taxation up to Rs. 800 per month while he earns in India. For physically handicapped persons, this limit is Rs. 1600 per month. This exemption is provided without furnishing any bills.

If one has a car and uses that to travel to the workplace, then a vehicle maintenance exemption can be claimed for the petrol/diesel cost and vehicle maintenance expenses incurred. The exemption limit is Rs. 1200 per month if the engine capacity is less than 1600 c.c. and Rs. 1600 per month if the engine capacity is greater than 1600 c.c. If you are keeping a driver, an additional exemption of Rs. 600 per month is also available. Please note that when you claim the vehicle maintenance exemption, the conveyance allowance exemption is not available.

Some companies have different components included in the Cost To Company of their employees through which fuel bills, driver wages etc. can be reimbursed and is considered as an expense, hence exempted from taxation. You may check with the finance department of your company to find out the options available to you regarding this.

How is tax exemption on HRA calculated

It’s a common misconception that the tax exemption a person gets for paying house rent is equal to the HRA component of his/her salary. And usually we submit the receipt of house rent paid equal to the HRA component of our salary, even if it is more, to get the exemption on HRA.

But, do you know that the exemption limit on HRA is calculated in a different way by the tax man?

HRA exemption given is the minimum of the following,
a) HRA received
b) 40% of basic salary
c) Total HRA claimed – 10% of basic salary during the claim

For example, if your basic salary is 10,175 per month and the HRA component of the salary is 4,070 per month and you are claiming it for a period of one year then,

HRA received = 4,070 x 12 = Rs. 48,840
40% of basic salary = Rs. 48,840

If you are claiming HRA of Rs. 4,070 per month (48,840 per year), thinking that this is the upper limit, the third component (c) of HRA calculation becomes,
Total HRA claimed – 10% of Basic salary during the claim = 48,840 – 12,210 = Rs. 47,790, which makes the minimum of the three as 47,790.

Which means instead of Rs. 48,840 you will get an exemption for only Rs. 47,790!

Thus, you may have to work around with this a bit to get the maximum savings on HRA.