23 September 2013
presently i am staying in a rented house against which my company pays me house rent allowance. I had booked a flat for self occupancy which is in running construction. For that i have taken a loan from icici bank. now the entire building is being constructed and completed with work undergoing inside the flats. now my home loan instalments have started which i am paying with interest. no possession has been given to me till yet. can i claim deduction under sec 24 for the interest paid by me or continue to claim exemption under HRA . kindly suggest
1- In general, you can claim both, the HRA as well as Interest deduction under Section 24.
2. As long as the house is not ready, you cannot claim, interest deduction.
Once the house is done, if you continue to reside in the rented accommodation, kindly claim both HRA and section 24 benefits.
Interest accumulated till the year prior to the year in which construction is completed, can be claimed in 5 equal yearly installments starting from the year in which house was constructed.
For eg: If the house is completed in FY 2013-14. Interest paid till FY 2012-13 is Rs 100000. Then you shall claim in FY 2013-14 Rs 20000+ interest for FY 2013-14.
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