Tuesday 29 January 2019

3 Reasons To Keep Track Of Your Credit Score



January, 2019
Your credit score helps any banking or non-banking financial company judge your creditworthiness before they lend money to you. The score is like your report card that shows how good you are at handling the money you earn and the debt you take. The score ranges from 300 to 900 points. 

These scores are generated by credit information companies, that are also known as credit bureaus. Four such licensed credit information companies that are licensed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to produce credit scores are TransUnion CIBIL, Equifax, Experian and CRIF Highmark.

Your credit score is based on several factors like age, years of employment, your earnings and your spending habits among others. It is good practice to know and assess your credit score as regularly as you can. In an era where everything is possible with a click, credit scoring companies allow you to check your credit score at any time and here are 3 reasons why you should be doing it more often.

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1. Prevention is better than cure

Most of us are unaware of our credit scores and fail to understand why a certain loan application was rejected. When you check your credit report regularly, you are aware of the reasons that may be damaging your score in any way. 

Banks or other lenders are required to report your EMI statuses to these agencies to keep the report updated. Even other negative or positive activities like a cheque bounce will be reflected in your score accordingly. When you check your credit report regularly, you will point out if the credit agency has recorded an activity incorrectly and fix it. These credit bureaus also provide services where they recommend action plans to improve your score.

2. Avoid loan rejections

A lender is bound to check your credit score before giving you a loan. When the lender contacts the credit bureau for your score, it is known as a 'hard inquiry.' Each of these is accounted for and reflected in your score. Too many inquiries could make you look "credit hungry" and puts you in a bad light.

However, when you check the score yourself, it is known as 'soft inquiry.' Soft inquiries do not reflect in your credit report. It is, therefore, better to check your score before you apply for a loan to avoid rejection by working towards improving it.

3. Get better deals

With a good credit score, banks would be glad to lend money to you and in an attempt to attract you to their bank, they will provide you with attractive interest rates. Apart from getting cheaper loans, a good credit score could also fetch you pre-approved loans.

Financial companies allow users to check your credit scores for free and provide you with pre-approved loans in a tie-up with various lenders. In such a case, when you have access to your latest credit score, you can check for offers from different lenders and pick the best one to suit your needs.

Some banks provide cheap loans to those with scores over 750. You can inquire for yourself if your bank has such an offer and regulate your score accordingly.

You may also contact us at - +91-22-25452903, 66543333 or Email us at - sales@squarefeetgroup.in

Monday 7 January 2019

Stamp Duty And Tax On Gift Deed Of Property


January, 2019
While a gift of house property does not involve monetary consideration, it needs to be registered and taxes should be paid in certain cases

Gifting is an act, through which a person voluntarily transfers certain rights in an asset to another person, without any consideration. Gifting of a house property, has certain income tax and stamp duty implications.

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Legal requirements for gift of property


As per the Transfer of Property Act, the transfer of a house property under a gift, has to be effected by a registered instrument/document, signed by or on behalf of the person gifting the property and should also be attested by at least two witnesses. The registrar shall ensure that proper stamp duty has been affixed on the gift deed/document when it is presented for registration. The amount of stamp duty and registration charges payable, with respect to a gift deed, are generally the same as in the case of a regular sale. However, if the gift deed is executed between some specified close relatives, some states provide concessions in stamp duty. For example, Maharashtra has a cap on stamp duty payable on gift of a residential or agricultural property to one’s spouse, children, grandchildren or wife of a son who has died, at Rs 200, irrespective of the value of the property.

Income tax implications on gift of property


According to income tax laws, the value of all the gifts received by a person during a year is fully exempt, as long as the total of such gifts does not exceed Rs 50,000 in a year. If the value of all the gifts taken together exceeds Rs 50,000, then, the aggregate of the gifts received become taxable without any threshold exemption. However, income tax laws also give a favourable treatment, to gifts between two close relatives. Consequently, the gift of any asset (whether movable or immovable) made to certain specified relatives, is fully exempt from tax in the hand of the recipient, without any upper limit. The list of close relatives includes parents, spouse, siblings, siblings of the spouse, lineal ascendants and descendants of the person and his/her spouse. The list also includes spouse of the abovementioned persons.

If the house property is received as a gift from a relative, the first incidence of tax will arise, when you sell the property. The cost for the purpose of income tax, shall be the taken as the cost that was paid for the property by any of the previous owners. The profits shall be treated as short-term or long-term, depending on whether the aggregate of your holding period as well as that of the previous owner who had actually paid for it, is more than 36 months or not.

If the holding period as computed above is less than 36 months, the profit accrued on the sale of such property, shall be treated as short-term and will be added to your regular income and taxed at the applicable slab rate. However, if the holding period is more than 36 months, you will get the benefit of indexation on the cost of the property, as well as the option to claim exemption from payment of 20% long-term capital gains tax, by investing in a residential house or in capital gains bonds of Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) or National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).


Source - www.housing.com

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