04 March 2016
As long as the house building loan is from a lender as defined, the interest on house building loan and repayment of principal can be claimed till the complete repayment of the same. However, since the repayment is by means of EMI, a certificate from the lender would be required quantifying the interest paid and principal returned. There is no time limit for the same e.g if the housing loan is for 15 years, the deduction can be claimed for 15 years and if it is for 30 years the deduction can be claimed for 30 years, provided the same is not prepaid. The only criteria is that some portion of the loan remains unpaid.