From April 1, 2026, two sets of rules have changed that will directly affect your salary slip and your tax outgo. One is about how your CTC (cost-to-company) is structured. The other is about how much HRA exemption you can claim. In this post, let us look at both. The 50% Basic Salary Rule Under… Continue Reading
Mis-selling by banks is a well-known problem. There are umpteen examples of customers visiting bank branches for one-time bank fixed deposits and walking out with ill-suited insurance policies. Insurance policies that many of them could hardly afford. They went to the bank to grow their wealth or save for their retirement but only ended up… Continue Reading
The finance minister presented the Union Budget 2026 today. While this year’s budget did not tinker with the tax slabs under the old or the new tax regime, it did have a bit of good and bad news depending on your investments and expenses. Let’s look at some of the key announcements in Budget 2026.… Continue Reading
Gold loans are a quick way to access secured credit. Moreover, given propensity of Indian households towards gold, this is also an asset. RBI has released a draft circular (Lending against Gold Collateral-Directions, 2025) for gold loans and has made important changes to how gold loans shall be doled out in the future. Of course,… Continue Reading
The Reserve Bank of India recently cut Repo rate by 0.25% from 6.25% p.a. to 6.0% p.a. You have heard that the rate cut by the Reserve Bank will lead to lower EMI. However, despite this rate cut, let’s say, your loan EMI has not gone down. What could be the reasons and what can… Continue Reading
The Reserve Bank has revised the priority sector lending eligibility for housing loans vide its Master Directions on Priority Sector Lending, 2025. As a prospective home loan borrower, how does it affect you? What is Priority Sector Lending? Priority Sector Lending (PSL) is an RBI policy to encourage banks to lend to certain key sections… Continue Reading
Budget 2025 has made the New Tax regime more attractive, but we know that the new tax regime comes with certain restrictions. You do not get tax deduction for investments under Section 80C, specific expenses (health insurance under Section 80D, house rent/HRA) and loan repayments (home loan and education loan). Hence, as a taxpayer, you… Continue Reading
If you file returns under the new tax regime, if your annual income is up to Rs 12 lacs, then you do not have to pay any taxes. That is a major concession. Now, assuming you are retired, and your only source of income is house rent, you can earn a fair amount of rental… Continue Reading
The Union Budget 2025 brought huge relief to middle class taxpayers by changing tax slabs and reducing tax rates. Further, the income up to Rs 12 lacs was made tax-free through rebate under Section 87A. Amidst this excitement, you may have missed an important change for taxpayers with multiple houses. In this post, let us… Continue Reading
The Finance Minister has offered huge relief to taxpayers in the Union Budget 2025. This is something many middle-class taxpayers had been craving for. Let’s check out the major highlights of Union Budget 2025, including the relief to middle class income taxpayers. Pay No Taxes for Income up to Rs 12 Lacs Yes, you heard… Continue Reading