HDFC Ltd. merged with HDFC Bank effective July 1, 2023, and thus HDFC Ltd. ceased to exist from July 1. Does that affect the home loan borrowers from HDFC? What Happens to the Existing Home Loan Borrowers with HDFC? HDFC Bank has released FAQs for the existing HDFC home loan borrowers and loan applicants. You… Continue Reading
Starting July 1, 2023, using your credit card abroad will involve a cashflow hit. From July 1, there will be Tax Collection at Source (TCS) of 20% on credit card payments while travelling abroad or on foreign websites. Essentially, when you swipe your credit card for USD 100 abroad, your credit card will be charged… Continue Reading
Convenience is important. However, many a times, we take it too far. Recently, I read you can use Rupay cards (debit/credit/prepaid) to make online payments without having to enter CVV. And if you have auto-read OTP feature enabled on your phone, the purchase becomes a breeze. So, you are on the Amazon/Flipkart app, you add… Continue Reading
Human ingenuity knows no bounds. And if allowed to operate freely, many of us would behave irresponsibly and misuse/abuse the system to get undue advantage. Let us consider a hypothetical situation. We know credit cards allow an interest-free credit period. You have a credit card from Bank A. Let’s call this credit card A. You… Continue Reading
How do you make UPI payments? 3 broad ways. Link bank account to a UPI app: Your account gets debited, and the merchant/peer account gets credited. You can only spend the money in your account. Link RuPay credit card to a UPI app: Not Visa, not Mastercard. Only Rupay card. You get credit for UPI… Continue Reading
If you invest in debt mutual funds, the recent developments in late March 2023 would have come as a shock to you, even requiring you to relook at your financial plan. What Has Changed? The taxation of debt mutual funds will change, starting April 1, 2023. For the debt mutual fund investments made until March… Continue Reading
While trying to figure out a good home loan product for a client, I stumbled upon these revised interest rates on SBI home loan website. You can read the SBI campaign offer document here. There are a few points that stand out in this interest rate chart. #1 SBI Has Reduced Home Loan Interest Rate… Continue Reading
With loans, the compounding works in the reverse. If you miss an EMI installment, the overdue amount (which includes the principal) gets added to the principal. And you must pay interest on the overdue interest too. Interest on interest. Sounds like compounding, doesn’t it? Just that it is now working against you. After you default… Continue Reading
The Budget 2023 made multiple announcements that had a direct impact on the middle-class taxpayers. While the most prominent was about the fresh incentives for the New Tax regime, there were quite a few other small yet important takeaways from the budget. One such takeaway was in the form of clarification about disallowing double deduction… Continue Reading
The Finance Minister presented the Union Budget 2023 today. In the past, taxpayers have had big expectations from the Union Budgets but the budget announcement turned out to be a damp squib. Yes, there are always policy changes but not many seem to affect the salaried class directly. The Union Budget 2023 is an exception.… Continue Reading