Archive · 9 Oct 2026
Tax Guide Covers Home Loans, Property Sales and Investments
The article answers questions about taxes on homes, investments, and trading.
If you borrowed money for a home that was still being built, you can claim eligible interest in five yearly parts after construction finishes.
The yearly interest deduction for a self-occupied home has a stated limit of Rs 2 lakh.
When you sell a home you received as a gift, the tax calculation uses the previous owner's purchase cost and includes their ownership time.
Losses from futures and options trading may reduce some business income, but not salary income.
Some unused losses can be carried forward for up to eight assessment years.
Gains from selling cryptocurrency are treated as gains from a Virtual Digital Asset and taxed at 30%, plus applicable charges.
The article also says losses from one such asset cannot be used to reduce other income.
The writer is a senior partner at Nangia & Co LLP.
Eligible pre-possession home-loan interest can be claimed in five equal annual instalments after construction is completed.
For a self-occupied home, the annual deduction for qualifying loan interest is capped at Rs 2 lakh.
For gifted property, capital-gains calculations use the previous owner's acquisition cost and include their holding period.
Futures and options losses are treated as non-speculative business losses and may be set off against business income, but not salary.
Virtual Digital Asset gains are taxed at 30% plus applicable charges; 1% TDS applies to transfer consideration.
- Who
- Neeraj Agarwala, senior partner at Nangia & Co LLP, answers readers' tax questions.
- What
- The article explains tax rules for pre-possession home-loan interest, gifted property, futures and options losses, and Virtual Digital Asset gains.
- When
- It describes claiming eligible pre-possession interest in five equal annual instalments beginning in the year construction is completed.
- Where
- India
- Why
- To answer readers' questions about how different property and investment transactions are taxed.
- Pre-possession interest
- Claimable in five equal annual instalments beginning in the year construction is completed.
- Self-occupied property interest cap
- Rs 2 lakh per year for qualifying home-loan interest.
- Let-out property loss
- Up to Rs 2 lakh of resultant house-property loss can be set off against other income; the balance can be carried forward for up to eight tax years and set off against house-property income.
- Gifted property cost
- The previous owner's acquisition cost is used; eligible improvement costs may also be deducted.
- Futures and options losses
- Treated as non-speculative business losses; carried-forward unabsorbed losses may be used for up to eight assessment years against future business income.
- Virtual Digital Asset tax
- Gains are taxed at 30%, plus applicable surcharge and health and education cess.
- Virtual Digital Asset reporting and TDS
- Transactions must be reported in Schedule VDA of the ITR; 1% TDS applies on transfer consideration.