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Showing posts with label Public Provident Fund. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Public Provident Fund. Show all posts

Wednesday, 18 March 2020


When it comes to saving taxes, the Public Provident Fund (PPF) is one product a lot of people turn to
There are two reasons for this: its tax-free yearly interest and the annual compounding. Since the PPF has a long tenure of 15 years, the impact of compounding is huge, especially in the later years.

Wednesday, 10 April 2019

The assessment Year 2019-20 is here the "Best Tax Saving Investments". Sadly there is no straight response to this. The best speculation is diverse for various individuals and is lined up with their arrival desires, chance-taking capacity, individual conditions, and arrangement with their monetary objectives in addition to other things.

Saturday, 5 March 2016

Press Information Bureau 
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
                                                                                        01-March-2016 15:16 IST
Clarification about Changes made in the Tax Treatment for Recognised Provident Fund & National Pension System (NPS) 
There seems to be some amount of lack of understanding about the changes made in the General Budget 2016-17 in the tax treatment for recognised Provident Fund & NPS.( No Changed in General Provident Fund) [ G.P.F.]

The following clarifications are given in this matter:- 

(i) The purpose of this reform of making the change in tax regime is to encourage more number of private sector employees to go for pension security after retirement instead of withdrawing the entire money from the Provident Fund Account. ( Not G.P.F)

(ii) Towards this objective, the Government has announced that Forty Percent(40%) of the total corpus withdrawn at the time of retirement will be tax exempt both under recognised Provident Fund and NPS. 

(iii) It is expected that the employees of private companies will place the remaining 60% of the Corpus in Annuity, out of which they can get regular pension. When this 60% of the remaining Corpus is invested in Annuity, no tax is chargeable. So what it means is that the entire corpus will be tax free, if invested in annuity. 

(iv) The Government in this Budget has also made another change which says that when the person investing in Annuity dies and when the original Corpus goes in the hands of his heirs, then again there will be no tax. 

(v) The idea behind this mechanism is to encourage people to invest in pension products rather than withdraw and use the entire Corpus after retirement. 

(vi) The main category of people for whom EPF ( Not G.P.F.) scheme was created are the members of EPFO who are within the statutory wage limit of Rs.15,000 per month. Out of around 3.7 crores contributing members of EPFO as on today, around 3 crore subscribers are in this category. For this category of people, there is not going to be any change in the new dispensation. 

(vii) However, in EPFO, there are about 60 lakh contributing members who have accepted EPF voluntarily and they are highly - paid employees of private sector companies. For this category of people, amount at present can be withdrawn without any tax liability. We are changing this. What we are saying is that such employee can withdraw without tax liability provided he contributes 60% in annuity product so that pension security can be created for him according to his earning level. However, if he chooses not to put any amount in Annuity product the tax would not be charged on 40%.

(viii) There is no change in the existing tax treatment of Public Provident Fund (PPF). [NOT GENERAL PROVIDENT FUND FOR GOVT EMPLOYEES]

(ix) Currently there is no monetary ceilings on the employer contribution under EPF with only ceiling being that it would be 12% of the salary of the employee member. Similarly, there is no monetary ceiling on the employer contribution under NPS, except that it would be 10% of salary. 

(x) Now the Finance Bill 2016 provides that there would be monetary ceiling of Rs1.5 lakh (Annul) on employer contribution considered with the ceiling of the 12% rate of employer contribution, whichever is less. 

(xi) We have received representations today from various sections suggesting that if the amount of 60% of corpus is not invested in the annuity products, the tax should be levied only on accumulated returns on the corpus and not on the contributed amount. We have also received representations asking for not having any monetary limit on the employer contribution under EPF, because such a limit is not there in NPS. The Finance Minister would be considering all these suggestions and taking a view on it in due course.

Wednesday, 23 December 2015

Click to download Form 16 Part B for the Financial Year 2015-16 [ This Excel Utility can prepare One by One Form 16 Part B for Assessment Year 2016-17]

 Save Tax through your Spouse
Starting the tax planning with your wife is a good idea not because it saves you tax but woman always loves gifts. You can gift any amount to your wife with no restrictions as wife comes under the definition relative but the taxman is not foolish. The income earned from the amount given as gift to your wife will be clubbed with your income under section 64 and thus does not give you any tax benefit.
So how can you save tax? Simply invest in the tax-free instruments u/s 80C in your wife’s name such as Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS).
Click to download 50 employees Master of Form 16 Part B for the Financial Year 2014-15 [ This Excel Utility can prepare at a time 50 employees Form 16 Part B]

 Save Tax through Parents
Apart from the health insurance policy, parents can also help you to save some extra bucks from your tax liability.
The best way is to pay them the rent and claim HRA but you should be living with them and your parents shall be the owner of the house. Your parents should also need to file an ITR showing the rental income. It would be ice on the cake if your parents co-owned the house, you can split the rental amount and both of them can separately show the rental income.
The other way is to lend some portion of your money to your parent as well as your parents-in-laws which they could invest and the return would be taxable in their hands. So at one end they are giving interest to you and on the other end they are earning interest. This allows you to lighten your tax burden.

Click to download 100 employees Master of Form 16 Part B for the Financial Year 2015-16 [ This Excel Utility can prepare at a time 100 employees Form 16 Part B]

 Save Tax through Fiancée
Before becoming your life-partner, Fiance can become partner in your tax planning. If she does not have any taxable income or falls in the lower tax bracket than you can transfer some money to her which she can invest and gain money. The income from these investments will not be clubbed with your income as the transfer took place before the marriage.

Saturday, 16 May 2015

Many of our readers sought an answer of Can Account be opened without furnishing Birth Certificate of Girl Child? Or Is there any other document which can be submitted instead of Birth Certificate of Girl Child or What to do if the birth certificate does not have the name of the girl child?
Before giving answer to this question, let us first know the blueprint of the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana.

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana at Glance


1. Any Girl Child aged 10 years or less is eligible to open Sukanya Samriddhi Account either in post office or bank.
2. The account can be opened either by the parent or by the legal guardian. No other person can open account for the girl child, but depositor can be different person i.e. once account is opened by the parent, anyone can deposit amount into the account but do remember that the tax-benefit under section 80C for the deposited amount can only be claimed by the parent not by the depositor.
3. One account per girl child with a minimum deposit is Rs.1,000 per annum and maximum deposit of Rs.1.50 lakhs per annum. The deposits are to be made for 14 years from the date of opening of account and have no nexus with the age of the girl child.
4. Interest rate is flexible and shall be revised each year by the Government. For the current fiscal year i.e. 2015-16, interest rate is fixed at 9.20% p.a. (earlier 9.10% p.a.) which is compounded annually.
5. Amount deposited towards SSA, interest accrued on the deposited amount and maturity proceeds, all are tax-free i.e. SSA falls under EEE investment scheme wherein contributed amount is deductible under section 80C plus interest amount and maturity amount is tax-free.
6. The withdrawal up to 50% can be made when the girl child attains the age of 18 years and that too for the higher education or for marriage.
7. Sukanya Samriddhi Account will be matured after 21 years from the date of opening of account, not when the girl attains the age of 21 years.

Required Documents to open Sukanya Samriddhi Account


Following are the 3 documents required to open sukanya samriddhi account:
1.              Birth Certificate of the Girl Child having Name on it.
2.              Identity Proof of the Parent or Legal Guardian.
3.              Address Proof of the Parent or Legal Guardian.
Now the question arises, what if there is no birth certificate of the girl or the birth certificate do not have the name of the girl child on it?
In absence of the Birth Certificate or any other discrepancies in the Birth Certificate of the Girl Child, the following documents can be submitted in place of the birth certificate:
1.              Certificate of Date of Birth from the School Headmaster; or,
2.              Certificate of Date of Birth from the Hospital where the Girl Child was born.
But please bear in mind that the certificate should have the name of the Girl Child as this is the only document which will make Girl Child eligible to withdraw money at the time of maturity.


Wednesday, 24 December 2014

Save Tax through your Spouse

Starting the tax planning with your wife is a good idea not because it saves you tax but woman always loves gifts. You can gift any amount to your wife with no restrictions as wife comes under the definition relative but the taxman is not foolish. The income earned from the amount given as gift to your wife will be clubbed with your income under section 64 and thus does not give you any tax benefit.
So how can you save tax? Simply invest in the tax-free instruments u/s 80C in your wife’s name such as Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS).
Click to download Master of Form 16 Part B for the Financial Year 2014-15 [ This Excel Utility can prepare at a time 50 employees Form 16 Part B]

Save Tax through Parents

Apart from the health insurance policy, parents can also help you to save some extra bucks from your tax liability.
The best way is to pay them the rent and claim HRA but you should be living with them and your parents shall be the owner of the house. Your parents should also need to file an ITR showing the rental income. It would be ice on the cake if your parents co-owned the house, you can split the rental amount and both of them can separately show the rental income.
The other way is to lend some portion of your money to your parent as well as your parents-in-laws which they could invest and the return would be taxable in their hands. So at one end they are giving interest to you and on the other end they are earning interest. This allows you to lighten your tax burden.

Save Tax through Fiancée


Before becoming your life-partner, Fiance can become partner in your tax planning. If she does not have any taxable income or falls in the lower tax bracket than you can transfer some money to her which she can invest and gain money. The income from these investments will not be clubbed with your income as the transfer took place before the marriage.

Sunday, 21 December 2014

1) Download Master of Form 16 Part B for the Financial Year 2014-15 and Assessment Year 2015-16 [Prepare at a time 50 employees Form 16 Part B]


2) Download Master of Form 16 Part B for the Financial Year 2014-15 [This Excel Utility can prepare at a time 100 employees Form 16 Part B]


Modified Income deduction Under Chapter VIA & 80C as per new Finance Budget 2014

HRA exemption
 = Least of (40% (50% for metros) of Basic+DA or HRA or rent paid - 10% of Basic+DA)

Transport allowance is exempt up to Rs.800/- per month during the month. (Expenditure incurred for covering journey between office and residence.)  For people having permanent physical disability, the exemption is 1,600/- per month.

Reimbursement of Medical bills are exempt for self and dependent family, up to Rs.15,000/- per annum u/s(5) LTA is exempt to the tune of economy class Train/ Air /Recognised public Transport fare for the family to any destination in India, by the shortest route.

LTA can be claimed twice in a block of 4 calendar years. The current block is from 01.01.2010 to 31.12.2013. For claim, it is must to provide originals tickets etc.

U/s 24 There is an Exemption for interest on housing loan. Exemption is limited to Rs. 2,00,000/- per year if the house is self-occupied; There is no limit if the house is rented out.


U/s 80C- Maximum Exemption up to  Rs. 150000/-  Investments up to Rs. 1.5 lac in PF, VPF, PPF, Employee contribution in NPS,Insurance Premium, Housing loan principal repayment, NSC, ELSS, long term bank Fixed Deposit, Post Office Term Deposit, etc. are deductible from the taxable income. Item wise 80C deduction is given below as per the latest amended by the Finance Budget 2014.

  • Provident Fund (PF) & Voluntary Provident Fund (VPF) PF is automatically deducted from your salary. your contribution [12% of Basic] (i.e., employee’s contribution) is counted towards section 80C investments. You also have the option to contribute additional amounts through voluntary contributions (VPF). Current rate of interest is 8.5% per annum (p.a.) and is tax-free.
  • Life Insurance Premiums: Any amount that you pay towards life insurance premium in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) or any other Insurance CO.for yourself, your spouse or your children can also be included in Section 80C deduction. If you are paying premium for more than one insurance policy, all the premiums will be included. also premium paid for ULIP will also be treated as Premium paid for Life Insurance Policies.
  • Unit linked Insurance Plan : ULIP stands for Unit linked Saving Schemes. ULIPs cover Life insurance with benefits of equity investments.They have attracted the attention of investors and tax-savers not only because they help us save tax but they also perform well to give decent returns in the long-term.
  • Public Provident Fund (PPF) is one of the best. Current rate of interest is 8% tax-free and the normal maturity period is 15 years. Minimum amount of contribution is Rs. 500 and maximum is Rs. 1,50,000.(New Change) from Budget 2014
  • National Savings Certificate (NSC): National Savings Certificate (NSC) is a 5-Yr small savings instrument eligible for section 80C tax benefit. Rate of interest is  8.58% compounded half-yearly, i.e. If you invest Rs.100, it becomes Rs.150.90 after five years. The interest accrued every year is liable to tax (i.e. to be included in your taxable income) but the interest is also deemed to be reinvested and thus eligible for section 80C deduction.
  • Home Loan Principal Repayment & Stamp Duty and Registration Charges for a home Loan The Equated Monthly Installment (EMI) that you pay every month to repay your home loan consists of two components – Principal and Interest.The principal component of the EMI qualifies for deduction under Sec 80C. Even the interest component can save you significant income tax – but that would be under Section 24 of the Income Tax Act. The amount you pay as stamp duty when you buy a house, and the amount you pay for the registration of the documents of the house can be claimed as deduction under section 80C in the year of purchase of the house.
  • Tuition  fees  for 2 children  Apart form the above major investments expenses for children’s education (Only Tution Fee (for which you need receipts)), can be claimed as deductions under Sec 80C.
  • Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS): There are some mutual fund (MF) schemes specially created for offering you tax savings, and these are called Equity Linked Savings Scheme, or ELSS. The investments that you make in ELSS are eligible for deduction under Sec 80C.
  • 5-Yr bank fixed deposits (FDs): Tax-saving fixed deposits (FDs) of scheduled banks with tenure of 5 years are also entitled for section 80C deduction.
  • 5-Yr post office time deposit (POTD) scheme: POTDs are similar to bank fixed deposits. Although available for varying time duration like one year, two year, three year and five year, only 5-Yr post-office time deposit (POTD) – which currently offers 7.5 per cent rate of interest –qualifies for tax saving under section 80C. Effective rate works out to be 7.71% per annum (p.a.) as the rate of interest is compounded quarterly but paid annually. The Interest is entirely taxable.
  • Pension Funds or Pension Policies – Section 80CCC: This section – Sec 80CCC – stipulates that an investment in pension funds is eligible for deduction from your income. Section 80CCC investment limit is clubbed with the limit of Section 80C – it means that the total deduction available for 80CCC and 80C is Rs 1.5 Lakh.This also means that your investment in pension funds upto Rs.1.5 Lakh can be claimed as deduction u/s 80CCC. However, as mentioned earlier, the total deduction u/s 80C and 80CCC can not exceed  Rs.1.5 Lakh.
  • Infrastructure Bonds: These are also popularly called Infra Bonds. These are issued by infrastructure companies, and not the government. The amount that you invest in these bonds can also be included in Sec 80C deductions.
  • NABARD rural bonds: There are two types of Bonds issued by NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development): NABARD Rural Bonds and Bhavishya Nirman Bonds (BNB). Out of these two, only NABARD Rural Bonds qualify under section 80C.
  • Senior Citizen Savings Scheme 2004 (SCSS): A recent addition to section 80C list, Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) is the most lucrative scheme among all the small savings schemes but is meant only for senior citizens. Current rate of interest is 9% per annum payable quarterly. Please note that the interest is payable quarterly instead of compounded quarterly. Thus, unclaimed interest on these deposits won’t earn any further interest. Interest income is chargeable to tax.
  
U/s 80CCD -The Finance Act, 2011 provides that contribution made by the Central Government or any other employer to NPS (up to 10 per cent of the salary of the employee in the previous year)shall be excluded while computing the limit of Rs. 1,50,000.The contribution by the employee to the NPS will be subject to the limit of Rs. 1,00,000.

U/s 80CCG - Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme is a new exemption available for investment in stock markets (direct equity). Avaialble only for those with gross income less than 12 lacs and only for first time investors in stock market. Exemption available at 50% of investment subject to maximum of Rs.50,000/- invested. Investments are locked-in for three years

U/s 80D Medical Insurance Premium (such as Mediclaim & Critical illness Cover)& Health Check up Upto Rs. 5000, premium is exempt up to Rs. 30,000/ per year (Rs.15,000/- for self,spouse and children ) (Rs. 15000/- for Parents. If the premium includes for a dependent who is (Senior Citizen) above 60 years of age, an extra Rs. 5,000//- can be claimed.

U/s 80DD Deduction in respect of medical treatment of handicapped dependents is limited to Rs. 50,000/- per year if the disability is less than 80% and Rs. 1,00,000/- per year if the disability is more than 80%

U/s 80DDB Deduction in respect of medical treatment for specified ailments or diseases for the assesse or dependent can be claimed up to Rs. 40,000/- per year. If the person being treated is a senior citizen, the exemption can go up to Rs. 60,000/-. but any amount received under Medical Insurance Policy will be reduced from the amount of deduction allowed. The Diseases and ailments specified under rule 11DD are.
  1. neurological diseases being demetia, dystonia musculorum deformans, motor neuron disease, ataxia, chorea, hemiballismus, aphasia and parkisons disease,
  2. cancer,
  3. AIDS,
  4. Chronic renal failure,
  5. hemophilia, and 
  6. thalassaemia.
U/s 80E Interest repayment on education loan (taken for higher education from a university of self & dependents) is completely tax exempt

U/s 80G Donations given for certain charities are tax exempt. Some(NGO,Trust etc.) are exempt to the tune of 50%, whereas Govt funds are 100%.

U/s 80GG If you are not getting  HRA, but living in rented house, an exemption is available. This will be calculated as minimum of (25% of total income or rent paid - 10% of total income or Rs. 24,000/- per year)

U/s 80U who suffers from not less than 40 per cent of any disability is eligible for deduction to the extent of Rs. 50,000/- and in case of severe disability to the extent of Rs. 100,000/-

U/s 80TTA introduced through Finance Act, 2012. Section 80TTA provides a deduction of up to Rs. 10,000 on your income from interest on saving bank accounts.

U/s 87A Tax Rebate Rs.2,000/- who's taxable income less than 5 Lakh.