Section 80EEA of Income Tax Act: Deduction for Interest Paid on Home Loan

What is Section 80EEA of Income Tax?

Section 80EEA of the Income Tax Act 1961, provides an additional deduction on home loan interest for first-time homebuyers on affordable housing.

Features of Section 80EEA

Here are the key provisions of Section 80EEA:

1. Eligibility: The deduction is available to individuals who are first-time homebuyers. A first-time homebuyer is defined as someone who does not own any residential property (self-occupied or let-out) at the time of sanctioning the home loan.
2. Maximum Deduction: The deduction under Section 80EEA is limited to a maximum amount of Rs. 1.5 lakh per financial year.
3. Affordable Housing Property: The deduction is applicable to home loans taken for the purchase of affordable housing properties. The stamp duty value of the property should be up to Rs. 45 lakh.
4. Joint Ownership: The deduction can be claimed individually or jointly by the co-owners of the property. Each co-owner can claim a deduction up to the maximum limit of Rs. 1.5 lakh.
5. Time Limit: The deduction can be claimed for home loans sanctioned by financial institutions between 1st April 2019 and 31st March 2022.
6. Existing Deductions: The deduction under Section 80EEA is in addition to the existing deduction of up to Rs. 2 lakh available under Section 24(b) for home loan interest.

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Tax Benefits on Home Loan FY 2023-24

The deduction amount available under this section shall be calculated in the following manner:

Actual Interest payment or
Rs. 1,50,000/-
(whichever is lower)

This deduction is available over & above exemption u/s 24, provided other conditions are satisfied.

Example: A has taken a home loan during FY 2019-20. The stamp duty value of the house is Rs. 50 lakh. The total interest payment made during the year is Rs. 2,55,000/-. Whether A is eligible to claim a deduction under section 80EEA?

In the above example, the stamp duty value of the house exceeds Rs. 45 lakh hence A is not eligible to claim a deduction under section 80EEA.

However, A can claim an exemption of interest u/s 24 of Rs. 2,00,000/-

Example: A has taken a home loan. Given below is the information:

Now, we will discuss what the other sections under which deduction of interest paid on a home loan is available are:

Section 24: Under this section, exemption of interest payment on home loan maximum upto Rs. 2,00,000 under house property income is available subject to certain conditions.

Section 80EE: Deduction on a home loan's interest under this section is available. The maximum deduction available as per this section is Rs. 50,000/- subject to certain conditions:

• The house's value should be up to Rs. 50 lakh
• Loan amount should not exceed Rs. 35 lakh
• Loan must be sanctioned between 01-April-2016 to 31-March-2017

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Tax Benefits on Second Home Loan

Taxation rules for a second home loan depend on the purpose of your purchase.

• When one of your houses is on rent:
  • The income generated from renting your house is typically taxable according to the Income Tax Act.
  • You can claim standard deductions @ 30% for expenses related to the maintenance or repair of your rented property.
  • You can also claim tax deductions on the interest paid on the loan for your second home. There is usually no cap on the interest deduction based on the property's construction status.
• When both houses are not rented:
  • If you do not rent out either of your properties, the government may not consider them both as "self-occupied."
  • You can choose to treat one house as your "self-occupied property" and the other as "deemed rented out."
  • For the property categorized as "deemed rented out," you would need to pay tax on the assumed rental income, even if you are not actually renting it out.
  • The location of your house may influence the assumed rent amount and the payable tax.
• When both houses are on rent:
  • If you decide to rent out both of your properties, you will need to pay tax on the income generated from renting out both properties.
  • However, you may be able to avail tax benefits on the interest paid on the loan for your second home under Section 24 of the Income Tax Act.

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Tax Benefits on Joint Home Loan

Tax benefits on a joint home loan can vary depending on the ownership structure and the purpose of the loan. Here are some key points to consider:

• Co-ownership of the property: If you have taken a joint home loan with one or more co-borrowers, each co-owner can claim tax benefits individually, subject to certain conditions. The maximum deduction allowed remains the same as for an individual borrower.
• Tax benefits on interest repayment: As per the Income Tax Act, you can claim a deduction on the interest portion of the home loan repayment under Section 24(b). The maximum deduction allowed is up to INR 2 lakh per financial year for a self-occupied property. This deduction can be claimed individually by each co-borrower.
• Tax benefits on principal repayment: The repayment of the principal amount of the home loan is eligible for a deduction under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. The Section 80EEA maximum deduction limit is up to INR 1.5 lakh per financial year. This deduction can also be claimed individually by each co-borrower based on their share of ownership.
• Stamp duty and registration charges: If the joint property is registered in the names of all the co-borrowers, each co-borrower can claim a deduction on the stamp duty and registration charges paid under Section 80C, subject to the overall limit.

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Section 80EEA Eligibility

Deduction under Section 80EEA is not available to HUF, AOP, BOI, Partnership firm, or any other taxpayer except the Individual assessee.

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What are the conditions to claim deduction u/s 80EEA?

Deduction u/s 80EEA is available subject to the given below conditions:

• The stamp duty value of residential houses shall be up to Rs. 45 lakh.
• The loan is taken from a financial Institution or a housing finance company.
• The loan has been sanctioned between 01-04-2019 to 31-03-2020.
• Assessee is not claiming any deduction under section 80EE.
• The assessee owns no residential house property on the date of sanction of the loan.

Note: This deduction is allowed for a maximum of 5 years beginning from the financial year in which the loan is sanctioned. Also, the deduction can only be claimed by the person paying the interest and not by the co-borrowers or co-owners of the property.

Apart from all the above conditions, there is one additional condition related to carpet area, which is not given under section 80EEA but is given in the memorandum to the finance bill :

Carpet areas should not exceed 60 square meters in metropolitan cities (Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Noida, 12 Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and the whole of Mumbai Metropolitan Region or 90 square meters in cities or towns other than metropolitan cities.

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How is the Deduction Calculated Under Section 80EEA?

Let's consider an example to understand how the deduction is calculated under Section 80EEA:

Assume that you are a first-time homebuyer who has taken a home loan for the purchase of a residential property. The loan is sanctioned by a financial institution between 1st April 2019 and 31st March 2022. The stamp duty value of the property is within the limit of INR 45 lakhs.

Here are the details of your home loan:

Loan amount: INR 40 lakhs Interest rate: 8% per annum Loan tenure: 20 years

To calculate the deduction under Section 80EEA, you need to determine the interest payable on the loan during the financial year. Let's assume the interest payable for the first financial year is INR 3.2 lakhs.

Now, let's calculate the deduction under Section 80EEA:

The maximum deduction allowed under Section 80EEA is up to INR 1.5 lakhs per financial year.

In this case, the interest payable on the loan is INR 3.2 lakhs. Since the interest payable exceeds the maximum deduction limit of INR 1.5 lakhs, you can claim the maximum deduction of INR 1.5 lakhs under Section 80EEA.

It's important to note that the deduction under Section 80EEA is available for a maximum of up to INR 1.5 lakhs per financial year until the repayment of the loan or until the interest is fully paid, whichever is earlier.

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What is the Difference Between Section 80EEA & Section 24?

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What is the Difference Between Section 80EEA & Section 80EE?

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Meaning of Important Terms u/s 80EEA

What is the meaning of “Financial Institution” used u/s 80EEA?

• A banking company to which the Banking Regulation Act applies, or
• Any bank or banking institution referred to in section 51 of that Act or
• A housing finance company

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What is the Meaning of “Stamp Duty Value” Used u/s 80EEA?

Value adopted or assessed or assessable by

• any authority of the Central Government or
• a State Government

for the purpose of payment of stamp duty in respect of the immovable property.

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What is the Meaning of “Carpet Area” Used u/s 80EEA?

Carpet area refers to the actual area that can be used.

it means the area on which 'a carpet' can be put. It does not include the area of walls and ducts.

If you have taken any home loan and want to claim a deduction for interest on the home loan under section 80EEA, consider consulting a tax professional as he/she can help you maximize your tax deductions and e-file your income tax return. Book an Online CA Now!

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