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Budget 2025 restored partial indexation benefit on real estate (with the option to choose between 12.5% without indexation or 20% with indexation for properties bought before 23 July 2024). Equity LTCG stays at 12.5% above Rs 1.25 lakh per year. Gold LTCG at 12.5% without indexation. Crypto remains at flat 30%. The rules vary substantially…

Once your Section 80C is fully utilised at Rs 1.5 lakh — through PPF, ELSS, life insurance premiums, or home loan principal — most Indian salaried taxpayers stop tax planning. They shouldn’t. There are at least six additional deductions above 80C in FY 2025-26 that together can claim another Rs 2-3 lakh from your taxable…

HRA (House Rent Allowance) exemption is calculated as the LEAST of three values: actual HRA received, actual rent paid minus 10% of basic salary, or 40-50% of basic salary (depending on metro classification). The math is non-intuitive — most salaried Indians lose Rs 30,000 to Rs 1.2 lakh per year by not optimising their HRA…

An income tax notice in India arrives via email and the e-filing portal within 6-12 months of filing your ITR — and panicking is the most common (and worst) reaction. Most notices are routine: Section 143(1) intimation matches your ITR against IT Department data; Section 139(9) flags defective returns; Section 245 adjusts refunds against past…

Cryptocurrency and Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs) in India are taxed at a flat 30% (plus surcharge and 4% cess) on profits, with no setoff of losses and no indexation benefit. Every crypto sale triggers 1% TDS under Section 194S. Gifts of crypto over Rs 50,000 are taxable in the recipient’s hands. The rules apply regardless…

A salaried Indian buying a first home can stack three Income Tax Act sections to deduct up to Rs 5 lakh in a single year — Section 24 (interest up to Rs 2L on self-occupied property), Section 80C (principal repayment up to Rs 1.5L), and Section 80EE / 80EEA (additional Rs 50K and Rs 1.5L…

Section 80CCD(1B) gives every Indian an additional Rs 50,000 tax deduction over and above the Rs 1.5L Section 80C limit — for contributions to NPS Tier 1 only. At a 30% marginal tax rate, that’s Rs 15,600 in tax saved every year. Despite being one of the cleanest tax-saving tools in India, only ~6% of…

Form 16 is the consolidated TDS certificate your employer issues by 15 June every year, summarising your salary, tax deducted, and exemptions claimed for the financial year. It has two parts — Part A (TDS summary verified against TRACES) and Part B (salary breakdown with deductions). The five things every salaried Indian must verify on…