Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will persist in its efforts to prevent excessive volatility in the rupee, which has significantly depreciated against the US dollar due to global uncertainties, despite India's strong macro-economic fundamentals.
Indian stock markets witnessed a significant rebound, with the Sensex rallying 1,109 points and the Nifty closing above 22,720, driven by strong performances in IT and financial sectors, a recovering rupee, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's comments on long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax.
Indian benchmark stock indices, Sensex and Nifty, closed lower due to profit-taking, a spike in wholesale price-based inflation, and firm crude oil prices, despite some support from easing intraday crude oil prices and rupee appreciation.
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries
'Since the category has a limited track record, assess the fund manager's experience across equity and debt market cycles rather than relying only on past returns.'
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions
Most Indian investors start their investment journey with the wrong question. They ask, "Which fund will give the highest return?" instead of "How do I structure my investments so that I pay less tax, manage risk effectively, and still compound wealth over time?"
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries.
The tax treatment of equity savings funds makes them appealing, especially to investors in higher income-tax brackets.
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries
'The original provision will be restored. AMT is meant only for those claiming deductions, not for firms earning regular income like capital gains,' a senior government official said.
"Taxpayers with income from shares, mutual funds, crypto, ESOPs, or derivatives often incorrectly use ITR-1 instead of ITR-2 or ITR-3."
Until now, salaried individuals having income under the head LTCG were required to file Form ITR-2.
With duties at 15%, GST at 3%, and making charges running as high as 20% -- the gap between a smart purchase and a careless one can easily be Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000 on every Rs 1 lakh invested. And most of that gap is entirely avoidable. Ramalingam Kalirajan explains the math.
The Indian government is set to accelerate reforms, including measures to enhance foreign direct investment, speed up divestment, and boost asset monetisation, to maintain economic growth despite rising fuel and fertiliser import costs driven by the West Asia crisis.
The Income Tax department has enabled online filing for ITR-1 (Sahaj) and ITR-4 (Sugam) for the Assessment Year 2026-27, allowing small and medium taxpayers to file returns for income earned in the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Why would a country that requires close to $90 billion in net foreign capital annually to create jobs, build productive capacity, and sustain rapid growth permit $30 billion of capital to flow abroad, thereby contributing to pressure on the rupee? asks Debashis Basu.
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions.
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions.
'Once the market decides it wants to go up, it goes up -- no amount of bad news can really hold it back.'
Among its 27 recommendations for the Union Budget is this: It has suggested that equity investments held for more than one year and up to three years should be taxed at 12.5 per cent on gains exceeding 2 lakh in a financial year.
'You set up your SIPs and you do not touch them. Not during COVID, not during a war scare, not when your neighbour tells you the market is finished. You let the noise pass over you.' 'The beauty of this approach is that it does not require courage or conviction in the moment. It just requires inertia -- keep the SIP running and do not look at your portfolio too often.'
The government's move to tweak the long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax regime proposed in the Finance Bill 2024 and re-introduce the indexation benefit is likely to boost the investments and spur housing sales in the country, industry executives believe. "By enabling taxpayers to choose the lower tax burden between the new and old schemes, the amendment is poised to drive investment and enhance sales across housing segments," said Niranjan Hiranandani, chairman of the Hiranandani Group. In Budget 2024, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed an overhaul in the capital gains tax regime, including lowering the LTCG tax to 12.5 per cent from 20 per cent.
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries
Investors should view the increase in the LTCG tax rate in conjunction with the increase in capital gains exemption from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.25 lakh, which will provide some relief.
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions.
The government on Tuesday sought to address a significant concern stemming from the 2024-25 Budget announcement by introducing flexibility in the computation of long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax on unlisted assets, including properties. For any assets, such as land or buildings, acquired before July 23, taxpayers can choose between the new and old regimes, opting for whichever results in a lower tax liability. Under the new LTCG regime, the tax rate is set at 12.5 per cent without the benefit of indexation.
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions.
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
Passive funds have resumed gaining ground in the mutual fund (MF) industry after a slowdown in 2024, with their share of assets under management (AUM) reaching an all-time high in 2025. The surge has been driven largely by robust inflows into gold and silver exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries
Most think tax-saving deductions exist only in the old regime. But the New one quietly retains 40+ ways to ease your tax load
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
Adani Ports, NTPC, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, HCL Technologies and Sun Pharma were among the other big gainers. However, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank were amonh the major laggards.
