Short Term Capital Gains from sale of property – Gains earned from an asset owned for 24 months or less
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Long Term Capital Gains from sale of property – Gains earned from an asset owned for over 24 months
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Short-term capital gains are taxed as per the income tax slab rate and long-term capital gains are taxed at 20% after indexation.
Let us look at a couple of examples –
1) Shiveta bought a house in 2015 at a cost of ₹ 23,00,000. She spent ₹ 2,00,000 in repairs in 2017. She sold the house in 2018 for ₹ 28,00,000 incurring sale related expenses amounting to ₹ 55,000. What are her capital gains?
The profits she earns will be long-term capital gains as she owned the property for more than 24 months.
2) Abhishek bought a house in 2013 at a cost of ₹ 12,00,000 and sold it in 2014 for ₹ 15,50,000. He spent ₹ 30,000 on brokerage and documentation. He falls in the 30% income tax slab. How much tax does he have to pay on capital gains?
Tax Exemptions
There are tax exemptions applicable for capital gains from sale of property –
Section 54
There is exemption of tax on long term capital gains from the sale of house property provided you invest in a maximum of two house properties. This is applicable if capital gains on the sale of house property does not exceed ₹ 2 crores.
Section 54EC
If a tax assessee invests the capital gains from sale of the property into specific bonds, he/she gets tax relief. Up to ₹ 50,00,000 can be invested in infrastructure bonds issued by National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) or Rural Electrification Corporation (REC). Remember to invest within 6 months of earning capital gains. Complete the transaction before filing taxes for that financial year. The bonds have to be held for five years from the date of sale of the house else the provision is not applicable.
There is no tax applicable on inherited property. NRIs have to pay taxes on gains made on the sale of property in India.
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