To start with, let the explain what exactly has changed in terms of
taxation from last year (i.e. 2014-15):
- Tax slabs have been changed
- Deduction limit under sec.
80C increased to 1,50,000 from earlier 1,00,000. PPF investment limit
under sec. 80C also increased to 1,50,000
- Exemption for interest paid
on your housing loan has been raised to 2,00,000 from 1,50,000 earlier
All changes this budget have been beneficial for the tax payer. If you are
already aware of all the provision for saving income tax, you can skip the
remaining part and go directly to the
income taxcalculator for FY 2014-15 to compute your income tax liability (or TDS) basis your
salary or business income. Others, do read on to know all the different tactics
you can use to save on income tax.
Income Tax Slabs
Income tax slabs have been changed this year. Standard deduction limit has
been raised to Rs. 2,50,000 for both Male and Female assesses.
1) In Case of General Assesses (Both Male & Female):
Income Bracket
|
Rate
|
0 to Rs. 2,50,000
|
0 %
|
Rs. 2,50,001 to Rs. 5,00,000
|
10 %
|
Rs. 5,00,001 to Rs. 10,00,000
|
20 %
|
Above Rs. 10,00,000
|
30 %
|
2) In Case of Senior Citizens (Age above 60 years but below 80
years):
Income Bracket
|
Rate
|
0 to Rs. 3,00,000
|
0 %
|
Rs. 3,00,001 to Rs. 5,00,000
|
10 %
|
Rs. 5,00,001 to Rs. 10,00,000
|
20 %
|
Above Rs. 10,00,000
|
30 %
|
3) In Case of Very Senior Citizens (Age 80 years and above):
Income Bracket
|
Rate
|
0 to Rs. 5,00,000
|
0 %
|
Rs. 5,00,001 to Rs. 10,00,000
|
20 %
|
Above Rs. 10,00,000
|
30 %
|
* On final tax amount, a surcharge of 3 %
**No surcharge above 10 lacs.
***An additional surcharge of 10% will be applicable on
persons whose annual income is above Rs. 1 crore. This surcharge will be
applicable for only one year
Income Tax Exemptions:
1) Section 80 C Limit – Raised this year (to Rs. 1,50,000)
- Deduction on premium paid
for a life insurance policy, taken after 1 April 2012, will be allowed
only if yearly premium is less than 10% of sum assured. If its more
than 10% then it will be not eligible for deduction u/sec. 80C
- ELSS (Mutual Fund)
- PPF (upto Rs. 1,50,000)
- EPF
- FD for 5 years
- Pension Plans
- NSC
- Post Office SB
- Infrastructure Bonds
- Expenditure on Children
Education (For upto 2 children only for full time education)
- Tuition fees (Only Tuition
fees excluding Development Fees, Donations, etc.)
- Housing loan principal
- K.V.P ( Newly Added )
2) Section 80CCD - Unchanged this year
Deduction under this section can be claimed only if the contribution to your
NPS account is made by your
employer and the
deduction is limited to a maximum of 10% of your basic salary. Returns on
NPS are tax free, but withdrawal is still taxable. The deduction under sec
80CCD is over and above the deduction available under sec 80C.
3) Section 80 D – Unchanged this year
- Deduction of Rs. 15000/- is
allowed if the same is paid as premium for Medical Insurance taken for
self / dependents or towards preventive health check-up (max Rs. 5000). In
case any of self / dependents is a senior citizen, the deduction allowed
is Rs. 20000/-
- Additional Rs. 15000/- is
allowed as deduction if the same is paid as premium for Medical Insurance
taken for parents. In case the parent is a senior citizen, the deduction
allowed is Rs. 20000/-
Age profiles
|
Premium
paid for medical insurance
|
Total
Deduction under Sec. 80D
|
Yourself, your spouse and kids, if any
|
Parents
|
Every one is under 60 years
|
15,000
|
15,000
|
30,000
|
You and your family are less than 60 years & parents
are above 60 years
|
15,000
|
20,000
|
35,000
|
You and your parents are of 60 years and above
|
20,000
|
20,000
|
40,000
|
4) Section 80DD – Unchanged this year
Deduction under section 80DD
- Exemption given for
expenditure made for a disabled dependant towards Medical
Treatment/Training/Rehabilitation. It also includes the LIC/Insurance
premium paid towards maintenance of such dependant.
- Maximum deduction allowed
is Rs. 50,000/- in case of normal disability
and Rs. 1 Lakh in case of severe disability.
5) Section 80DDB - Unchanged this year
- Exemption given for
expenditure incurred on specified disease or ailments such as cancer/aids.
- Maximum deduction allowed
is Rs. 40,000/-. In case of Senior Citizens, maximum
deduction allowed is Rs. 60,000/-
List of ailments covered:
(
i) Neurological Diseases where the disability level has been
certified to be of 40% and above,
- Dementia ;
- Dystonia Musculorum
Deformans ;
- Motor Neuron Disease ;
- Ataxia ;
- Chorea ;
- Hemiballismus ;
- Aphasia ;
- Parkinsons Disease ;
(ii) Malignant Cancers ;
(iii) Full Blown Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS) ;
(iv) Chronic Renal failure ;
(v) Hematological disorders :
- Hemophilia ;
- Thalassaemia.
6) Section 80E - Unchanged this year
Deduction is allowed for repayment of
interest component
of Higher Education loan. All education after Class 12 is allowed, either
vocational or Fulltime. But should be from a school/institute/university
recognized by the government.
7) Section 80G - Unchanged this year
- Contribution to exempt
charities – 25/50/75/100% depending on the charity and as per approval
- 100% exemption on
donation to political parties
8) Section 80U - Unchanged this year
- Deduction upto Rs.
50,000/- is allowed in case of Permanent Disability.
- In case of Permanent
Disability exceeding 80%, maximum deduction allowed is Rs.
1,00,000/-.
9) Section 24(1)(vi) & Section
80EE - Raised this year
- Housing loan interest.
Maximum allowed limit raised to – Rs. 2,00,000 (for loans
taken after 1 April 1999. For loans before that Maximum Investment Limit
was 30,000).
- Additional deduction of Rs.
1 lac will be applicable to persons taking first home loan of up to Rs. 25 lacs for property worth
upto Rs. 40 lac.
For such persons, the total deduction will be Rs. 2.5 lacs (Rs. 1.5 lac
available under section 24(1)(vi) and Rs. 1 lac available under this new
section 80EE).
11) Conveyance/Transport
Allowance - Unchanged this year
Any Conveyance / Transport Allowance given to an employee is tax free upto
Rs. 9,600 /- (No Supporting Bills required).
12) Medical Allowance - Unchanged this year
Any Medical Allowance given to an employee is tax free upto Rs. 15,000 /-
(Supporting Bills required).
13) HRA - Unchanged this year
Any House Rent Allowance given to an employee is tax free upto the minimum
value of the following conditions (subject to – when an employee can produce
rent paid receipts from landlord for the period and if the employee has not
availed of tax exemptions for home loan interest / principal repayment):
- 50% of Annual Basic (40% of
Annual Basic in case of non-metros)
- Actual HRA received
- Rent Paid – (10% of Annual
Basic)
Calculate HRA Exemption U/s 10(13A) with Excel utility
14) Professional Tax - Unchanged this year
Any Professional Tax deducted from an employee’s salary can be reduced from
the annual salary income to arrive at taxable salary.
15) Provident Fund - Unchanged this year
Provident Fund contributions (under section 80 C and subject to an overall
investment limit of Rs. 1,50,000 ) deducted from an employee’s salary are tax
exempt.
16)80CCG – Direct Equity
Investment - Unchanged this year
Under ‘Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme‘ –
a new equity
investor will be able to claim 50% of his investment in direct
equity as deduction subject to maximum investment of Rs. 50,000 and provided
his taxable income is below Rs. 10 lacs. The investment will be subject to 3
years lock-in.
Government has notified this scheme (RGESS). Mutual funds and ETFs that
invest in BSE100 or CNX 100 stocks or PSUs which are Navratna, Maharatna and
Miniratna will qualify under this scheme. These investments can be traded over
stock exchange after 1 year of investment.
New
equity investor has been defined as someone who has opened a
Demat account but has not bought any securities till date of notification of
this scheme (22 Sep 2012).
17) Section 80TTA – Savings Bank
Interest - Unchanged this year
No tax will be charged on interest earned on balance in savings bank account
subject to a maximum of Rs. 10,000 per year.
18) Section 87 A [Tax Rebate
Rs.2,000/- - Unchanged this year