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A guide to tax impact on income from capital gains Tax - Definition, Types, Exemptions & Tax saving on Capital Gains
What is capital gains tax?
Any profit or gain that arises from the sale of a ‘capital asset’ comes under the category ‘income’, and hence you will need to pay tax for that amount in the year in which the transfer of the capital asset takes place. This is called capital gains tax. The two types of Capital Gains are short-term capital gains tax (STCG) and long-term capital gains tax (LTCG).
Investment in a house property is one of the most sought out investments. The primary reason is to own a house, while others invest to seek a return upon the sale of the immovable property. A house property is a capital asset for income tax purposes. The gain or loss on the sale of a house property is taxable or allowed as a deduction in your income tax return . Similarly, capital gains or losses may arise from sale of different types of capital assets. We will discuss the chapter on ‘Capital gains’ here.
Simply put, any profit or gain that arises from the sale of a ‘capital asset’ is a capital gain. This gain or profit comes under the category ‘income’, and hence you will need to pay tax for that amount in the year in which the transfer of the capital asset takes place. This is called capital gains tax, which can be short-term or long-term. Capital gains are not applicable to an inherited property as there is no sale, but only a transfer of ownership. The Income Tax Act has specifically exempted assets received as gifts by way of an inheritance or will. However, if the person who inherited the asset decides to sell it, capital gains tax will be applicable.
Land, building, house property, vehicles, patents, trademarks, leasehold rights, machinery, and jewellery are a few examples of capital assets. This includes having rights in or in relation to an Indian company. It also includes the rights of management or control or any other legal right.
The following do not come under the category of capital asset:
a. Any stock, consumables or raw material, held for the purpose of business or profession
b. Personal goods such as clothes and furniture held for personal use
c. Agricultural land in rural(*) India
d. 6½% gold bonds (1977) or 7% gold bonds (1980) or National Defence gold bonds (1980) issued by the central government
e. Special bearer bonds (1991)
f. Gold deposit bond issued under the gold deposit scheme (1999) or deposit certificates issued under the Gold Monetisation Scheme, 2015
*Definition of rural area (effective from AY 2014-15) – Any area which is outside the jurisdiction of a municipality or cantonment board, having a population of 10,000 or more is considered a rural area. Also, it should not fall within a distance given below
|
Distance (to be measured aerially) |
Population (as per the last census). |
| 2 kms from local limit of municipality or cantonment board | If the population of the municipality/cantonment board is more than 10,000 but not more than 1 lakh |
| 6 kms from local limit of municipality or cantonment board | If the population of the municipality/cantonment board is more than 1 lakh but not more than 10 lakh |
| 8 kms from local limit of municipality or cantonment board | If the population of the municipality/cantonment board is more than 10 lakh |
1. STCG ( Short-term capital asset ) An asset held for a period of 36 months or less is a short-term capital asset.
The criteria is 24 months for immovable properties such as land, building and house property from FY 2017-18.
For instance, if you sell house property after holding it for a period of 24 months, any income arising will be treated as a long-term capital gain, provided that property is sold after 31st March 2017.
The reduced period of the aforementioned 24 months is not applicable to movable property such as jewellery, debt-oriented mutual funds etc.
Some assets are considered short-term capital assets when these are held for 12 months or less. This rule is applicable if the date of transfer is after 10th July 2014 (irrespective of what the date of purchase is). These assets are:
2. LTCG ( Long-term capital asset ): An asset held for more than 36 months is a long-term capital asset. They will be classified as a long-term capital asset if held for more than 36 months as earlier.
Capital assets such as land, building and house property shall be considered as long-term capital asset if the owner holds it for a period of 24 months or more (from FY 2017-18).
Whereas, below-listed assets if held for a period of more than 12 months, shall be considered as long-term capital asset.
In case an asset is acquired by gift, will, succession or inheritance, the period for which the asset was held by the previous owner is also included when determining whether it’s a short term or a long-term capital asset. In the case of bonus shares or rights shares, the period of holding is counted from the date of allotment of bonus shares or rights shares respectively.
| Tax Type | Condition | Applicable Tax |
|
Long-term capital gains tax (LTCG)
|
On sale of Equity shares/ units of equity oriented fund |
10% over and above Rs 1 lakh
|
| Long-term capital gains tax (LTCG) | Except on sale of equity shares/ units of equity oriented fund | 20% |
| Short-term capital gains tax (STCG) | When Securities Transaction Tax (STT)is not applicable | The short-term capital gain is added to your income tax return and the taxpayer is taxed according to income tax slab rates. |
| Short-term capital gains tax (STCG) | When STT is applicable | 15%. |
Gains made on the sale of debt funds and equity funds are treated differently. Any fund that invests heavily in equities (more than 65% of their total portfolio) is called an equity fund.
| Funds | Effective 11 July 2014 |
On or before 10 July 2014
|
||
| Short-Term Gains | Long-Term Gains | Short-Term Gains | Long-Term Gains | |
| Debt Funds | At tax slab rates of the individual | At 20% with indexation | At tax slab rates of the individual |
10% without indexation or 20% with indexation whichever is lower
|
| Equity Funds | 15% | 10% over and above Rs 1 lakh without indexation. | 15% |
Nil
|
Debt mutual funds have to be held for more than 36 months to qualify as a long-term capital asset. It means you need to remain invested in these funds for at least three years to get the benefit of long-term capital gains tax. If redeemed within three years, the capital gains will be added to your income and will be taxed as per your income tax slab rate.
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Capital gains are calculated differently for assets held for a longer period and for those held over a shorter period.
Full value consideration The consideration received or to be received by the seller as a result of transfer of his capital assets. Capital gains are chargeable to tax in the year of transfer, even if no consideration has been received.
Cost of acquisition
The value for which the capital asset was acquired by the seller.
Cost of improvement
Expenses of a capital nature incurred in making any additions or alterations to the capital asset by the seller.
Note:
Step 1: Start with the full value of consideration
Step 2: Deduct the following:
Step 3: This amount is a short-term capital gain
| Short-term capital gain = |
Full value consideration
Less: Expenses incurred exclusively for such transfer Less: Cost of acquisition Less: C ost of improvement |
Step 1: Start with the full value of consideration
Step 2: Deduct the following:
Step 3:
From this resulting number, deduct exemptions provided under sections 54, 54EC, 54F, and 54B
| Long-term capital gain= |
Full value consideration
Less : Expenses incurred exclusively for such transfer Less: Indexed cost of acquisition Less: Indexed cost of improvement Less: Expenses that can be deducted from full value for consideration* |
(*Expenses from sale proceeds from a capital asset, that wholly and directly relate to the sale or transfer of the capital asset are allowed to be deducted. These are the expenses which are necessary for the transfer to take place.)
Exception: As per Budget 2018, long-term capital gains on the sale of equity shares/ units of equity oriented fund, realised after 31st March 2018, will remain exempt up to Rs. 1 lakh per annum. Moreover, tax at @ 10% will be levied only on LTCG on shares/units of equity oriented fund exceeding Rs 1 lakh in one financial year without the benefit of indexation.
A. Sale of house property: These expenses are deductible from the total sale price:
B. Sale of shares: You may be allowed to deduct these expenses:
C. Where jewellery is sold: In case of sale of broker’s jewellery and where a broker’s services were involved in securing a buyer, the cost of these services can be deducted.
Note, that expenses deducted from the sale price of assets for calculating capital gains are not allowed as a deduction under any other head of income, and you can claim them only once.
The cost of acquisition and improvement is indexed by applying CII (cost inflation index). It is done to adjust for inflation over the years of holding the asset. This increases one’s cost base and lowers the capital gains.
Refer to this page for the complete list of CII.
The indexed cost of acquisition is calculated as:
|
Indexed cost of
acquisition = |
(Cost of acquisition
X
CII of the year in which the asset is transferred ) / CII of the year in which the asset was first held by the seller or FY 2001-02, whichever is later |
The cost of acquisition of the assets acquired before 1st April 2001 should be actual cost or FMV as on 1st April 2001, as per taxpayer’s option.
The indexed cost of improvement is calculated as:
| Indexed cost of improvement = | Cost of improvement x CII (year of asset transfer) / CII (year of asset improvement) |
Note, improvements made before 1st April 2001, should not be considered.
Instead of manually entering the details you can simply upload a Realised Gain statement that is a consolidation of your investment performance, capital gains and income for the current and last financial years across CAMS serviced funds.
Instead of manually entering the details you can simply upload a Realised Gain statement that is a consolidation of your investment performance, capital gains and income for the current and last financial years across KARVY serviced funds.
Instead of manually entering the details you can simply upload a Realised Gain statement that is a consolidation of your investment performance, capital gains and income for the current and last financial years across ZERODHA serviced funds
Instead of manually entering the details you can simply upload a Realised Gain statement that is a consolidation of your investment performance, capital gains and income for the current and last financial years across Groww serviced funds.
Instead of manually entering the details you can simply upload a Realised Gain statement that is a consolidation of your investment performance, capital gains and income for the current and last financial years across Upstox serviced funds.
Instead of manually entering the details you can simply upload a Realised Gain statement that is a consolidation of your investment performance, capital gains and income for the current and last financial years across ICICI serviced funds
Instead of manually entering the details you can simply upload a Realised Gain statement that is a consolidation of your investment performance, capital gains and income for the current and last financial years across Paytm Money serviced funds
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Example:
Manya bought a house in July 2004 for Rs 50 lakh, and the full value of consideration received in FY 2016-17 is Rs 1.8 crore.
Capital asset type:
Since this property has been held for over 3 years, this would be a long-term capital asset.
Cost of acquisition: The cost price is adjusted for inflation and indexed cost of acquisition is taken. Using the indexed cost of acquisition formula, the adjusted cost of the house is Rs 1.17 crore. (Refer CII here for the calculations)
Capital gain: Hence, the net capital gain is Rs 63, 00,000.
Tax: Long-term capital gains on sale of house property are taxed at 20%. For a net capital gain of Rs 63, 00,000, the total tax outgo will be Rs 12,97,800.
This is a significant amount of money to be paid out in taxes. This can be lowered by taking benefit of exemptions provided by the Income Tax Act on capital gains when profit from the sale is reinvested into buying another asset.
Budget 2019 announcement!
Capital gains exemption under Section 54:
Taxpayers can get an exemption from long-term capital gain from the sale of house property by investing in up to two house properties against the earlier provision of one house property with same conditions. However, the capital gain on the sale of house property must not exceed Rs 2 crores.
The exemption under Section 54 is available when the capital gains from the sale of house property are reinvested into buying or constructing two another house properties (prior to Budget 2019, the exemption of the capital gains was limited to only 1 house property).
The exemption on two house properties will be allowed once in the lifetime of a taxpayer, provided the capital gains do not exceed Rs. 2 crores. The taxpayer has to invest the amount of capital gains and not the entire sale proceeds. If the purchase price of the new property is higher than the amount of capital gains, the exemption shall be limited to the total capital gain on sale.
Conditions for availing this benefit:
Exemption under Section 54F is available when there are capital gains from the sale of a long-term asset other than a house property. You must invest the entire sale consideration and not only capital gain to buy a new residential house property to claim this exemption. Purchase the new property either one year before the sale or 2 years after the sale of the property. You can also use the gains to invest in the construction of a property. However, the construction must be completed within 3 years from the date of sale.
In Budget 2014-15, it has been clarified that only 1 house property can be purchased or constructed from the sale consideration to claim this exemption. This exemption can be taken back, if this new property is sold within 3 years of its purchase. If the entire sale proceeds are invested towards the new house, the entire capital gain will be exempt from taxes if you meet the above-said conditions.
However, if you invest a portion of the sale proceeds, the capital gains exemption will be in the proportion of the invested amount to the sale price LTCG exemption = Capital gains x Cost of new house / Net consideration.
Exemption is available under Section 54EC when capital gains from sale of the first property are reinvested into specific bonds.
Finding a suitable seller, arranging the requisite funds and getting the paperwork in place for a new property is one time-consuming process. Fortunately, the Income Tax Department agrees with these limitations. If capital gains have not been invested until the due date of filing of return (usually 31 July) of the financial year in which the property is sold, the gains can be deposited in a PSU bank or other banks as per the Capital Gains Account Scheme, 1988.
This deposit can then be claimed as an exemption from capital gains, and no tax has to be paid on it. However, if the money is not invested, the deposit shall be treated as a short-term capital gain in the year in which the specified period lapses.
In some cases, capital gains made from the sale of agricultural land may be entirely exempt from income tax or it may not be taxed under the head capital gains. See below:
a. Agricultural land in a rural area in India is not considered a capital asset and therefore any gains from its sale are not chargeable to tax. For details on what defines an agricultural land in a rural area, see above.
b. Do you hold agricultural land as stock-in-trade? If you are into buying and selling land regularly or in the course of your business, in such a case, any gains from its sale are taxable under the head Business and Profession.
c. Capital gains on compensation received for compulsory acquisition of urban agricultural land are tax exempt under Section 10(37) of the Income Tax Act.
If your agricultural land wasn’t sold in any of the above cases, you can seek exemption under Section 54B.
When you make short-term or long-term capital gains from transfer of land used for agricultural purposes – by an individual or the individual’s parents or Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) – for 2 years before the sale, exemption is available under Section 54B. The exempted amount is the investment in a new asset or capital gain, whichever is lower. You must reinvest into a new agricultural land within 2 years from the date of transfer.
The new agricultural land, which is purchased to claim capital gains exemption, should not be sold within a period of 3 years from the date of its purchase. In case you are not able to purchase agricultural land before the date of furnishing of your income tax return, the amount of capital gains must be deposited before the date of filing of return in the deposit account in any branch (except rural branch) of a public sector bank or IDBI Bank according to the Capital Gains Account Scheme, 1988.
Exemption can be claimed for the amount which is deposited. If the amount which was deposited as per Capital Gains Account Scheme was not used for the purchase of agricultural land, it shall be treated as capital gains of the year in which the period of 2 years from the date of sale of land expires. If you wish to know more about investment choices with good capital gains potential, please invest with 乐兔电竞积分查询官方(乐兔电竞手游数据) Invest. Our handpicked plans can help you build a portfolio that is best suited to your financial goals and risk profile.
Capital gains is determined by reducing the purchase price from the sale price. However, for an asset that has been held for a long time, it would not be appropriate to determine gains by merely reducing purchase price from sale price without giving any effect to the inflation. Hence, the concept of indexing the purchase price has been brought in. This way, the indexed purchase price can be reduced from sale price to determine gains. So, indexation applies only to assets held for long-term.
Different assets have different periods of holding to be called short-term and long-term. Here is a table that defines period of holding for different classes of asset in order to be classified as short-term or long-term.
|
Asset
|
Period of holding | Short Term / Long Term |
|---|---|---|
| Immovable property |
< 24 months
|
Short Term
|
| >24 months | Long Term | |
| Listed equity shares |
<12 months |
Short Term
|
| >12 Months | Long Term | |
| Unlisted shares |
<24 months |
Short Term
|
| >24 months | Long Term | |
| Equity Mutual funds |
<12 months |
Short Term
|
| >12 months | Long Term | |
| Debt mutual funds |
<36 months |
Short Term |
| >36 months | Long Term | |
| Other assets | <36 months | Short Term |
| >36 months | Long Term |
Property sold in India is generally subject to tax deduction. The person buying the property must deduct taxes at the rate applicable to the NRI’s income slab, if the property is a short-term asset. If the property is a long-term asset, 20% LTCG tax is charged. Further, it is important for the NRI to ensure that taxes are deducted on the gains made and not on the sale proceeds. A jurisdictional Assessing Officer can help to determine the gains on which taxes should be deducted by the purchaser.
First and foremost, capital losses can be set off only against capital gains. Accordingly, short-term capital losses can be set off against any income under capital gains be it short-term or long-term. However, long-term capital losses can be set off only against long-term capital gains.
Long-term capital gains on sale of house property is taxable at the rate of 20% flat on the quantum of gains made
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