Learn about Tax Benefits for Women Home Loan Applicants
Owning a house is a financial milestone that everyone looks forward to. Real estate is seen as a great long-term investment and purchasing property with a home loan also offers a number of tax benefits.
And to help women applicants take the first step towards owning their dream home, there are a number of special privileges and tax benefits that they can avail of.
Let’s take a look at the benefits best home loan available for women.
- Stamp duty concessions
It is known fact that in several states in India women homebuyers are charged a lower stamp duty, which is a compulsory tax. The difference is of about 1% to 2%. Normally, stamp duty is anywhere between 4% and 10% of the total property cost. As such, it adds to amount of funding required and thus increases the total interest payable. With a lower stamp duty, women borrowers enjoy the benefit of borrowing less and hence, paying less interest in the long run.
2. Special home loan features and offers
Courtesy of simpler home loan eligibility criteria, women applicants may get a large home loan easily. Also, the repayment tenor may be longer, up to 30 years or till the borrower completes 70 years of age. Male borrowers can generally make repayment up till age 65. Lenders may also extend gifts such as jewellery vouchers and gold coins to women borrowers. These home loan offers add value to the loan.
3. Standard home loan tax benefits
Women enjoy all the home loan tax benefits applicable to the instrument, which means you can get up to Rs.3.5 lakh, or up to Rs.5 lakh if you’re a first-time homeowner, as a deduction every year. Here, women borrowers can claim up to Rs.1.5 lakh as a deduction for principal payments made, under Section 80C of the IT Act.
Similarly, women can claim interest deductions up to Rs.2 lakh under Section 24B and additional interest up to Rs.1,50,000 under Section 80EEA.
The annual home loan tax benefit is applicable to women even if they are co-borrowers of the home loan and co-owners of the property. So, if you apply for joint home loan with your spouse, you can effectively double the tax savings of the family as a whole. To calculate how much, use a home loan tax benefit calculator.
4. Lower interest rates
It is quite a commonly known fact that some lenders perceive women to be more responsible as borrowers. As a result, and to encourage women to own assets, lenders often offer special home loans to women. These usually have low interest rates, which make borrowing more cost-effective. When it comes to such big-ticket undertakings, getting a lower rate of even 1% can translate to huge savings over the course of the entire tenor. To compare and know the difference yourself, use a home loan EMI calculator for the quickest results.
5. PMAY benefits
The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana scheme is one that works toward ‘housing for all’ and is especially beneficial to women. With this scheme, CLSS beneficiaries can avail an interest subsidy on home loans for affordable housing units. However, in order to encourage women homeowners in the country, a key requirement for families that apply for this scheme is that at least one woman must be registered as one of the owners of the home. This applies to beneficiaries from the EWS/LIG category, where a woman is part of the beneficiary family.
Women borrowers do enjoy a range of benefits when opting for a home loan. The home loan tax benefit of lower stamp duty alone is a great money-saver as this tax is usually quite a hefty sum. In any case, it is still important to remember that you need to pick a good home loan to enjoy a favourable overall experience. An option to consider is the Bajaj Housing Finance Limited Home Loan.
With this offering, you can get up to Rs.3.5 crore as a sanction at an attractive interest rate. What’s more, you can tailor repayment to your needs with the flexible tenor that ranges up to 30 years. You can get a PMAY interest subsidy of up to Rs.2.67 lakh should you qualify for it. You also get access to online loan management provisions that ensure convenience through the entire borrowing experience. To get started from the comfort of home, apply online for a hassle-free experience.