Can you file your tax returns for the last three years before March 31, 2009?

Is a post office recurring deposit covered under Section 80C? Can you claim any tax benefit on money spent on your child's school uniform? How can you avail of tax deductions under Section 80 DD?

Can you claim tax deduction on interest paid on personal loans?

In a chat with readers on January 21, Get Ahead tax expert Mahesh Padmanabhan answered these and many more queries related to tax claims on home loans, HRA benefits, capital gains tax and how to plan and invest your money in 2008-09?

For those of you who missed the chat, here is the transcript.

mamu asked, Hi mahesh, Can I file my tax returns for the last three years before March 31, 2009? What are the papers that I must give to my tax consultant?

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers,  at 2009-01-21 13:20:11You can file income tax returns for the FY 2006-07 & FY 2007-08 before March 31, 2009. Earlier years returns cannot be filed now as the time barring provisions would be applicable. The papers to be given to your tax consultant depends on your nature of income. In case you are a salaried individual then form 16 & PAN card copy would be the basic document that needs to be given.

Rahul asked, is it good idea to invest in property to get some Tax benifit when it is second home

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, In case of second home, regardless of the fact whether you are letting out the property on rent, you would be subject to tax on the deemed rental income. The choice of which house to be offered for tax can be decided by you (generally it is the house with lower rental value that is offered for tax) in case you have actually let it out on rent then the rental income is taxed. You would be eligible for a standard deduction of 30% as also interest that you may have paid for loan on such property.

Prasad asked, Hey Mahesh I do end up payng atleast 10k of tax evry month ,apart from saving 1lk of tax planners,is there any way of saving tax apart from the housing loan?

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, Tax planning can be optimized by structuring your salary better. However, this might be subject to the rules of your employer. Many employers are using the Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) liable expenditure components in the salary structure of the employee thereby reducing the tax outgo for the employees significantly without contravening any tax laws

mANOJ asked, RD of Post Office covered in 80 C

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, RD in Post office is not covered under section 80C deduction

naveen asked, Hello sir i am 28 years old , my annual package is 16 Lakhs. Can you please suggest me the best insurance policy suitable for me?

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, Insurance coverage requirements need a detailed analysis of your financial goals and liabilities. Cheaper insurance are better to cover your liabilities such as home loan etc and in terms of retirement planning have a mix of endowment plans and SIP investments in good mutual funds

pradosh asked, Best investment plan for tax proof as per current situation

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, Such bad times are good for a systematic investor with a long term horison. ELSS MF (in SIP mode) would be ideal to save tax with a mix of PPF & money back insurance policies.

bharath asked, Hi... my taxable sal. is 3.5 l this year.. A major part of my sal goes to personal loan repayment every month ( 20K ).. hence I do not have any tax saving bonds.... pls advise on saving of tax and to save money...

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, The usage of personal loan needs clarity. this would require detailed analysis of your financial position you can separately write in with details at info@relaxwithtax.com as this is an open forum.

nit asked, nit says, Can I claim loss on House property if it is rent out, is it calculated on actual interest paid on house loan minus the rent received on the rent out property, and this doesn't come under the limit of 1.5 lakhs, is it true?

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, In case of rented house property, you can avail of a standard deduction of 30% of the net adjusted annual value and the total interest paid / payable during the year without the limit of Rs. 1.5 lakhs applicable for the self occupied house property

Arun asked, Mahesh, is it possible to claim for HRA when we are already prevailing the home loan benifits?

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, You can claim HRA & home loan benefit provided you do not have your own house in the same city. The idea is that you should be residing in a rented premise owing to employment reasons and not from the perspective of personal convenience.

Yash asked, Can I get benefit of Education fees paid for Sr. KG student. If yes How much is the limit

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, Tution fees paid for your child would be eligible for deduction u/s 80C subject to the limit of Rs. 100,000.

kumar asked, Can I use the amount received from selling my parental property for refund of my house loan (partly) of IDBI wiyhout tax liability?

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, Your query needs further clarity. Do you hold the ownership to your parents property (by way of inheritance etc), if yes then first you would need to check if any capital gains tax is liable. If yes then you would need to check if the house for which you have a loan was acquired 1 year prior to this sale. If yes then you can claim exemption on the capital gains of your first house by repaying the loan of the second house.

subramanian asked, school fees and school uniform and various other tuition fees are all can be taken for tax saving purpose or not, basically what we can take, only paying to school fees towards education or uniform given by school outside special tuition etc. coaching fees like swimming etc

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, Only school tution fees can be considered for tax deduction and the other fees cannot be claimed

rgk asked, Dear Mahesh I have mentally challenged child & spent rs40000/=.can I get the tax benifit.But the doctor refuced to give the receipt.Please give the suggession

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, You can avail of tax deduction u/s 80DD. The amt of deduction is Rs. 50000 in case the disability is below 80% and Rs. 75000 in case the disability is over 80%. You would need to get a certificate from a medical authority in Form 10-IA to claim this deduction.

nisha asked, Can i invest a lump sum amount in PPF(cause my company has not activated a PPF account for us)? and how should it be done?

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, You can deposit lump sum in a PPF account subject to annual restriction of Rs. 70,000. Open a PPF account with any nationalized bank.

kalyan asked, HELLO SIR, IS INCOME TAX WILL BE INCREASED THIS YEAR?

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, The year has already been bad and we sincerely hope that nothing of this kind happens. Seriously speaking we do not expect any changes in the rate of taxes.

Nilesh asked, Hello sir, Which is a good plan NSC or Tax saving FD?

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, Safety wise both might score equally good. However, you need to note that interest from both would be subject to taxes. Hence it might be better to go in for a PPF account, where interest is not subject to tax.

Nagaraja asked, Am working for private IT company and i withdrawn 90,000 Rs of previous compny PF. Is it Taxable?

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, PF withdrawal is not taxable if the same has been withdrawn after 5 years of continuous service.

yogesh asked, i have 3 sip of 10,000 each every month i am capable of sparing further 50,000pm for saving instruments. my insurance cover is currently 20 lacs i want to enhance same should i go in for ulip of sbi where rs.20,000pm will give me 1cr cover. what do you suggest i do for any balance investments.

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, Our opinion is that as far as possible do not mix insurance and investments. Not saying that ULIPS are not good but go for cheaper insurance from insurance companies and go for investment options from mutual funds, PPF, term deposits etc.

venu asked, Hi Mahesh, I am having 1.5 L in hand now. I am 24 yrs old and i m working in an nbfc. can uplease suggest me the best investment options. I am looking for some 1 yrs span of investment

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, 1 year investment is a short term investment and safety of the principal is essential and hence our advise is that you should go for 1 year term deposit.

cx_xyz asked, from the tax point of view, which FD will be better in bank or in post-office?

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, Both will suffer the same rate of tax. hence the options on comparative basis might be tax neutral.

Hemansu asked, Hi Mahesh i want to ask that i am taking the benifit of housing interest paiad against housing loan. in Loaned house my wife run a institute having monthly income around 8000 Rs. So shall i File a IT return OF MY WIFE OR SHOES THIS INCOME IN MY REGULAR it return . Adwise

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, We would need further details & analysis on the same and hence would request you to write in at info@relawithtax.com

devz asked, Can one claim rebates from the interest repayment of a personal loan?

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, In case you have a business and have taken the personal loan for the same then you could claim deduction for the interest paid by you. In case you have taken the personal loan for acquiring a house property then again you can claim the interest deduction subject to the limit of Rs. 1.5 lakhs if the property is self occupied or the total amt if it is let out

koti asked, Hi Mahesh, for tax saving, I took a LIC [Get Quote] policy one year back with a premium of 22k/year for 30 yrs period. Now I feel that 30 yrs is a very long period ( my age 25). Is it possible to change the policy? Policy is Jeevan Anand. your thoughts on this pls?

Mahesh Padmanabhan answers, Age factor wise this seems to be a good deal as you would get covered for a long term even after getting the sum assured and the bonus amts at age 55. Would request you to write in at info@relaxwithtax.com so that our insurance expert can advise you on the same.

Mahesh Padmanabhan says, It is time to sign off friends. Thank you for your participation. We would be back later with more such interactive sessions. Team RelaxwithTax