Can Your Wife Help You Bring Down Property Investment Cost ?

Women empowerment is the hottest trend in the country at the present. All the Government policies and provisions are framed in order to make women stronger and financially secured. Buying a property is a big dream that any family man tries to realize at least once in his lifetime. Therefore, ensuring women Financial Security for a long period of time to protect her rights in case of any mishap or uncertain situations, the Government gives many benefits.

 

A. Tax benefits of buying a home in the wife’s name
1. Tax is one of the main issues that clamour the minds of home buyers. If the wife is a taxpayer, she can enjoy additional deduction of up to 1.5 lakhs of rupees every year towards the payment of home loan. When both the husband and wife are working, then both can claim the tax benefits individually.
2. Tax slabs for woman exempt larger amount of income when the earner is a female.
3. The provisions of the Income Tax law in India, state that the income earned directly or indirectly by the wife from assets transferred to her will be clubbed with the income of the husband. Therefore, all the tax benefits can be enjoyed only if the wife is a taxpayer, otherwise the income shall be clubbed in the hands of husband.

 

B. Discount on stamp duty charges for women

Several state governments in north India are now offering a partial waiver on stamp duty, for buyers registering properties in a woman’s name – either as a sole owner or as a joint owner.

 

Stamp duty charges for MEN and WOMEN IN VARIOUS STATES (April, 2019 rates)

State Name	For Men	For Women
1. Delhi	6%	4%
2. Jharkhand	7%	Re. 1
3. Punjab	6%	4%
4. Haryana	6% in Rural              8% in Urban	4% in Rural              6% in Urban
5. Rajasthan	5%	4%

 

C. Discount on home loan interest rates for women

Additionally, many banks such as SBI, HDFC, ICICI, etc., offer discounts on home loan interest rates to women as compared to men. This varies from bank to bank and goes up to nearly one per cent.

 

The prevailing interest rates for women borrowers are as mentioned below:

Home loan interest rate (floating) – Women borrowers Vs Others

Bank	Interest rate for Women borrowers   (per cent, per annum)	Interest rate for others (per   cent, per annum)
SBI	8.95-9.20	9.00-9.30
ICICI   Bank	9.2-9.25	9.2-9.25
HDFC   Ltd	8.95- 9.1	9.00-9.15

Note: Rate as on 15^th April, 2019 (For Term loan amount < Rs Seventy Five Lakhs)

To conclude, in the present times, the Government is very particular about the clarity of source of income and property titles. Hence, while buying a property, the buyer should have a clean and crisp record of the money that goes into buying the property.
Buying a property in the wife’s name is beneficial only when she has an accountable source of income. Working couples looking for some relief in property buying expenses are the best lot to claim the deductions and to enjoy various monetary benefits associated with putting wife’s name as the property owner.