Ajit, currently employed with Company A, is staying in a rented apartment in Mumbai and has bought himself a property in Chennai for which he has taken a home loan. He finds himself in a dilemma while filing tax returns — "Can I claim both HRA and home loan benefits?" This seems to be a confusing factor for most tax payers.  When Ajit pays rent, under the Income tax act, he is definitely allowed to claim both HRA and home loan benefits (interest payment and principal repayment).

Let us evaluate various possible situations an individual can find himself in and understand what the income tax act permits him to do.

1: You live in your own house

You have taken a home loan and residing in the house purchased with it. Since you are residing in your own house, you will not be able to claim HRA. However, you will be able to claim tax benefits on both, the principal and interest repaid on the home loan.

2:  You own a house in another city

This situation was the one faced by Ajit. He resided in

Government of India has outlined a plan to spend $1 trillion in next 10 years on infrastructure development. This development is needed because infrastructure needs to support and sustain the projected growth rate of Indian economy for next few decades. To fund this initiative, the Government is trying to tap the various sources at its disposal. Infrastructure bond is just one source where Government has given tax breaks for up to Rs 20,000 for individuals. This is to attract retail investment.

Infrastructure bond vis-à-vis other debt instruments

Infrastructure bond is widely welcomed by salaried individuals who have been demanding to increase the tax break from 1 lakh. It has given them another avenue to invest for tax saving purpose. Let's take a look at other investments that are available and provide a fixed income.

Debt oriented mutual funds

The other debt instruments available for investment are debt oriented mutual funds. These funds allocate major part of the fund in Government

The year 2011 witnessed a high interest rate scenario, shrinking profit margins and soaring input costs for property developers in India. The economic slowdown added problems for property dealers, as the number of customers dwindled in 2011. Most of the developers had to put their expansion plans on hold, and their existing projects also faced a setback due to slow sales, resulting in a piling inventory. In 2012 the realty market is expected to consolidate, and most of the developers are likely to focus on generating liquidity for better cash flow by selling their existing projects at a lower rate to tackle the stagnation in sales. The first priority for every developer would be to complete their existing projects to cut the capital involved for projects in progress. This situation would wash out players who just exist in a market to create competition against the genuine developers.

Now the question is what step a home buyer should take under such market conditions?

A person would be