Capital Gains tax for sale of property - legitimate way to avoid burden

I am asking this question for my relative.

She is planning to dispose her property for a value of 70 lakhs (house + land). The land was purchased in 1991 and the house was built by 1995. I am told the cost of constructing the house then was 8 lakhs (1400 sq ft) and then misc. maintenance of max Rs5 lakhs was done so far.

The buyer is paying via a housing loan and the remaining amount will be paid via account transfer. There are no cash transactions planned.

The person who is receiving this fund is a 70 year old senior citizen.

What are the financial instruments she could park her funds to reduce the tax burden. Currently she has some FDs in her name and the total interest income does not exceed Rs15000 per month. She is not paying any income tax, she is widowed & her other monthly expenses are met via her daughter.

Afaik, there are only 2 “convenient” options.

Re-invest in another property or Buy some special Govt. Bonds.

Bonds: Section 54EC- Deduction on LTCG Through Capital Gain Bonds (cleartax.in)

More on this stuff here:
Capital Gains Exemption (cleartax.in)

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Can the section 54E bonds purchased via zerodha ?

Hello @viswaram,

There are two available options for your relative to park the funds to claim the exemption for Capital Gains on sale of land and house property. Those are purchasing a new house property and claiming exemption under section 54 or purchasing specified bonds of NHAI, REC, PFC and IFRC and claim exemption under section 54EC.

Since the preferred investment is Financial Instruments, she can purchase the bonds and claim exemption under section 54EC.

Hope this helps!

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Thanks, when i checked the 54 EC section gives an yearly interest of 5% & lock in for 5 years - is that right?

Hello @viswaram,

Yes, the details mentioned by you is correct. The interest rate on bonds is between the range of 5%-6% and the lock in period is 5 years.

Hope this clarifies!

Can you please highlight what bonds gives 6% ?

Hey @viswaram,

Quicko is a tax planning & filing platform.
We will be able to help you with all your tax-related queries.

Just a different approach.

What is the actual gains coming out to? since actual expense was done in 1991-95, indexed cost over almost 30 years will be extremely high. I don’t think actual capital gain would be more than 25-30 lakhs.
So instead of making investment in tax saving bonds at 5%, probably worthwhile to just pay 20% tax and invest in senior citizen scheme at 8+%?

numbers might be off a bit, but it will be much simpler for a 70 year old.

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@Meher_Smaran can we buy these REC, PFC investments for Sec 54 EC via zerodha demat?

If these bonds are listed on the exchanges, you can buy from Kite. If not listed on the exchanges, then you can also check GoldenPi to invest in tax-free bonds, these bonds will be credited to your demat account.

PS: I can be wrong but I think Section 54EC bonds are generally not listed.

1.) If a person has 2 houses already under his name (but on loan), in that case can he avail this exemption through section 54 ?

2.) Or is there some predefined limit of property ownership to avail this benefit ?

3.) And if there is any limit then does it apply even in case the previous 2 properties are purchased via loan ?

Hi,

Section 54 allows tax exemption on the long-term capital gains earned from selling a house property and reinvesting the sale amount in the purchase or construction of another house property.

  1. Yes, you can take benefit of capital gains exemption up to 2 house properties.

  2. Yes, the owner can have max two properties in their name to avail of the exemption under section 54.

  3. Irrespective of loan is taken or not, you’re eligible for a particular exemption.

Read more about Section 54 of Income Tax Act on Sale of House- Learn by Quicko.

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What to do in case the capital gains is accrued after the sale of ‘Residential Plot’ and not the house ?
Case Scenario : Plot purchased 7 years back for 30lakh(considering CII) and sold for 1 crore today.

1.) For how much amount one can buy the new residential house (what’s the upper limit) ?
2.) To save LTCG tax, does one have to buy the house for 70lakh (1crore - 30lakh) or of the whole proceed of 1crore has to be utilised ?

You can claim an exemption against the capital gains if you use the sales amount from land proceeds to buy a house property.
Purchase the house within 1 year before the date of land sale or within 2 years after the sale.
Construct one house within 3 years after the date of sale of land.
Do not sell the house within 3 years of purchase or construction.
On the transfer date, you should not own more than 1 residential house, excluding the new one.
Invest the entire sale proceeds towards the new house, you will not be liable for any taxes on your gains.
You can also claim exemption under 54EC by purchasing Capital Gains Bonds

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