Section 87-A: An Introduction
Section 87A rebate is an income tax provision that allows taxpayers to lower their tax liability. It allows you to claim the refund if your yearly income does not exceed Rs 5,00,000. Your income tax burden is reduced to zero as a result of collecting this refund.
Initially, the highest tax rebate under Section 87A of the Income Tax Act was 2,000. It was raised to 5,000 in the 2016 Union Budget. Further, it was again increased by 2,500 in the Union Budget of 2017, for people with a net taxable income of up to INR 5 Lakhs.
Following the 2019 Union Budget, the government raised the net taxable income to 5 lakhs. The maximum 87A rebate amount has now been increased to Rs 12,500.
Gains from Shares or Stocks and Rebate under 87-A
There is a misconception that the rebate can be claimed on the income earned from any source after claiming all the exemptions and deduction does not exceed 5 lakhs. However, the truth is that the rebate under Section 87A can be claimed against any tax liability except for long term capital gains.
If the capital gains on equity are more than 1 Lakh rupees, then the tax must be paid on the gains earned for the remaining amount above 1 lakh.
To put this in simpler terms, if your total income is below 5 lakh after all the deductions but you have earned 1.5 Lakh as long term capital gain then you will be liable to pay tax on 50,000 rupees, on which credit under 87A will not be available.
On the other hand, if you earn below 1 lakh as long term capital gain and your total income after deductions and exemptions is below 5 lakh then your tax liability will become zero.
If the gains are short term capital gains, then the rebate can be earned to the maximum permissible limit of 12,500 rs.
More: You may read the details about section 87-A here.
How to Claim rebate under Section 87-A?
The rebate under the said section can be obtained while filing income tax returns.
Disclaimer: This blog is only for educational purposes and should not be construed as professional advice. You should get independent advice on all of your financial and tax problems.
