Income Tax Return: From paying loan, rent to health check up, offset your expenses by ITR filing

How would you feel, if your burden on various lists of expenses is brought down by just filing a form? It would be like a wish come true! Surely, much to your surprise, Income Tax Return (ITR) can help you achieve that dream. Yes shocking, but quite true. For your information, there are a host of claims given by Income Tax department on your expenses made for either investment or paying off money for loans, health check ups, etc. Guess what! Even losses in your capital gains arising from investment in markets, gets a breather in your ITR.

Income tax return filing is a very important tool in our lives. A taxpayer is liable to pay a portion of their money in the form of taxes for their income and other sources. While it would be saddening to share your money with government, but it needs to be noted, that the IT department does provide many tax benefits and claims in ITR filing. Hence, it is quite necessary to file an ITR if you want to avail these benefits, and pay less on your taxes. 

While there is already a section 80C under Income Tax Act, which gives you Rs 1.50 lakh benefit on your investments. There are certain expenses which can be claimed as well in ITR. 

Here's a list of five key factors where you spend some money, on which ITR releases some burden of yours. Let's find out, as per Ramki Gaddipati, co-founder and CTO, Zeta. 

Gaddipati says, "Apart from the investment options provided by section 80C, employees can also look into these financial investment options. Their choice should depend on their ability to save and their appetite for risk."

1. National Pension Scheme (NPS): The NPS is an umbrella of investment options, which is aimed at helping employees invest their pension wealth. Any citizen between the ages of 18 and 65 can invest in NPS. Any contribution up to Rs 50,000 can be offset against their taxable income.

2. Capital gains set-off: If employees made a loss on a capital asset sale, ( if acquisition cost > selling price, losses can be offset against future capital gains) This means, they can carry forward this loss to their IT returns. But remember - capital gains losses can be set off against other capital gains only. Employees can’t deduct from their taxable salary income, for instance.

3. Rent paid without HRA (House Rent Allowance): If employees’ salary doesn’t include HRA, but they stay in a rented house, they can still get a tax benefit on the rent they pay by filling form 10B.

4. Education loan repayment: Employees can claim a deduction on the interest they pay on their education loan

5. Medical insurance and health check ups: Employees can get a deduction for up to Rs. 25,000 on medical insurance premiums that belong to them, their spouse, dependent children and parents. If parents are senior citizens, then the limit increases to Rs 30,000. Additionally, any preventive health check-ups employees do is also deductible from their taxable income by up to Rs 5,000 a year.