Income tax benefits
An HUF is a separate entity from a legal point of view. Here, individual members of the family have PAN cards, and the HUF has its separate PAN card. An HUF can run its own business to generate income. It can also invest in shares and Mutual Funds. And being a separate entity, the HUF enjoys a basic tax exemption of Rs 2.5 lakh. So, imagine that you create an HUF consisting of you, your spouse and two children. In addition to income tax benefits you enjoy individually, you can also avail of an additional basic income tax exemption of Rs 2.5 lakh each year.
Owning a house
Under current income tax laws, if you own more than one self-occupied property, only one of them can be claimed as a self-occupied property. The rest are ‘deemed to be let out’ and you have to pay tax on notional rent. However, an HUF can own a residential house without having to pay tax. In addition, it can also avail of a Home Loan to purchase a residential property and get tax benefits up to Rs 1.5 lakh under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act for loan repayment and up to Rs 2 lakh for interest thereon.
Life Insurance
Provisions of the Income Tax Act allow individuals to claim tax benefits on certain payments they make during a year. Similar benefits are applicable for an HUF. For example, an HUF can pay Life Insurance premium for individual members, and claim tax benefits under Section 80C. The maximum amount that can be claimed as a deduction under this section is Rs 1.5 lakh.
Investments
An HUF is allowed to make investments in tax-saving Fixed Deposits and Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS) to earn tax benefits of up to Rs 1.5 lakh under Section 80C. And while an HUF cannot open a Public Provident Fund (PPF) in its name, it can claim tax deductions for the amount deposited by the HUF in respective PPF accounts of its members.
FAQs on Gifts received by an individual or HUF
If the following conditions are satisfied then any sum of money received (i.e, monetary gift may be received in cash, cheque, draft, etc.) by an individual/ HUF will be charged to tax (*):
(*) Refer next FAQ for situations in which sum of money received by an individual or HUF is not charged to tax, i.e., monetary gift is not charged to tax.
If any sum of money is received on or after 01/10/2009 by an Individual or HUF without any consideration and the aggregate value of which exceeds Rs. 50,000 during the previous year, then the whole of the aggregate value of such sum is chargeable to tax.
However, in the following cases nothing will be charged to tax in respect of any sum of money received by an Individual or HUF without any consideration, if the same is received:
Gift received from relatives are exempt from tax. by virtue of Section 56. Following persons would be considered as relative
If the aggregate value of monetary gift received during the year by an individual or HUF exceeds Rs. 50,000 and the gifts are not covered under the exceptions prescribed in the preceding FAQ, then gifts whether received from India or abroad will be charged to tax.
Sum of money received without consideration by an individual or HUF is charged to tax if the aggregate value of such sum received during the year exceeds Rs. 50,000. Once the aggregate value of monetary gift received during the year exceeds Rs. 50,000, then the aggregate value of gift received during the year will be charged to tax.
Stamp duty of immovable property is chargeable to tax, if immovable property is received by an Individual or HUF without any consideration and the stamp duty value exceeds Rs. 50000.
However, in the following cases nothing will be charged to tax in respect of immovable property received on or after 01/10/2009 without any consideration, even if the stamp duty value exceeds Rs. 50,000:
If an Individual or HUF receives (on or after 1st day of October, 2009 but before April 1, 2017) and any person receives (After April 1, 2017), in any previous year from any person or persons any immovable property(being land or building or both):
* To boost the demand in the real-estate sector and to enable the real-estate developers to sell their unsold inventory at a lower rate, the safe harbour limit is increased from existing 10% to 20% in case of transfer of residential property during the period from 12-11-2020 to 30-06-2021 by way of the first-time allotment to any person. Further, the consideration received or accruing as a result of such transfer should not exceed Rs. 2 crores
If the following conditions are satisfied then value prescribed for movable property (*) received by an individual or HUF will be charged to tax:
(*) Prescribed movable property means shares/securities, jewellery, archaeological collections, drawings, paintings, sculptures or any work of art and bullion, being capital asset of the taxpayer.
Considering the above definition, nothing will be charged to tax in respect of gift of any item being a movable property other than covered in the above definition, e.g., Nothing will be charged to tax in respect of a television set received as gift, because a television set is not covered in the definition of prescribed movable property.
If the conditions given in preceding FAQ are satisfied, then value of prescribed movable property received without consideration, i.e., received as gift by an individual or HUF is charged to tax. However, in the following cases nothing will be charged to tax in respect of prescribed movable property received without consideration:
If the following conditions are satisfied then prescribed movable property (*) received by an individual or HUF will be charged to tax ($):
(*) Prescribed movable property means shares/securities, jewellery, archaeological collections, drawings, paintings, sculptures or any work of art and bullion, being capital asset of the taxpayer.
Considering the above definition, nothing will be charged to tax if any movable property (other than those covered in the above definition) is received for less than its fair market value e.g., Nothing will be charged to tax in respect of a television set received for less than its fair market value because a television set is not covered in the definition of prescribed movable property.
If the conditions given in preceding FAQ are satisfied, then prescribed movable property received (i.e. acquired) by an individual or HUF for less than its fair market value is chargeable to tax. However, in the following cases nothing will be charged to tax in respect of prescribed movable property received for less than its fair market value:
(*) Relative for this purpose means: