Finance Buddy

If you have made certain claims to get an income tax deduction or exemption while filing your income tax return , then you need to keep documentary evidence of it as the income tax department may ask for it. There were media reports which indicated that the income tax department was running a special drive to identify fake HRA claims from previous years. However, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) recently clarified that there was no special drive to re-open cases concerning mismatch of  data relating to House Rent Allowance (HRA) "There is no special drive to re-open cases of mismatch, and media reports alleging that large-scale re-opening is being undertaken by the CBDT are completely misplaced. At the outset, it is stated that any apprehensions about retrospective taxation on these matters and re-opening of cases on issues pertaining to HRA claims is completely baseless. Data analysis was carried out in some high-value cases of mismatch between the rent paid by the emplo...

HRA claims mismatch: Taxpayers should remain cautious. If there's a discrepancy between the rent paid and the rent received by the landlord, potential tax evasion issues may arise. Taxpayers making false HRA claims, whether intentionally or unintentionally, should be concerned about receiving a tax evasion notice from the income tax department. HRA claims and documents: Filing income tax returns often involves claiming  deductions or exemptions, such as House Rent Allowance (HRA). Recent media reports stated that the tax department was checking for fake HRA claims. However, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has clarified that there is no special drive to reopen cases related to HRA mismatches. In a press release dated April 8, 2024, the CBDT clarified that there's no special effort to reopen cases of mismatch. CBDT stated that concerns about retrospective taxation and reopening cases related to HRA claims are unfounded. The release mentioned analysing data in certain h...

Income tax rule for gold:  Amid fear of the  Iran-Israel war , the gold rate today is in an uptrend bias. Despite the weak opening of the gold price today on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX),  gold price  in the domestic market has risen to the tune of 7.60 percent in April 2024 whereas it has delivered more than 15 percent return to the gold investors in YTD time. So, at this juncture, when the market experts are still expecting a bounce back in gold prices, it is important to know how the  income tax  rule applies to income booked from gold investments. Gold price rally in recent intervals Speaking on the gold price rally in recent time intervals, Anuj Gupta, Head of Commodity & Currency at HDFC Securities said, "In YTD time, gold rate today is higher by   ₹ 9,500 per 10 gm from its 2023 close price of nearly   ₹ 63,200 per 10 gm. This means gold prices have appreciated to the tune of 15 percent in YTD time. Likewise, in April 2024, gold...