ITR Filing for Home Loan – Know the Right Process to File Your Income Tax Returns

Availability of a home loan hinges on several pre-requisites that equip banks and lending institutions to establish a loan applicant’s credentials and subsequently safeguard themselves against bad credit. They employ stringent measures to assess an applicant’s ability to manage the loan, his/her credit habits, and financial standing among several other considerations before approving the loan. Lenders also require numerous documents for this purpose, one of them being income tax return (ITR) statements.   

What Is ITR?

Individual taxpayers and business concerns need to compulsorily file income tax returns if their income exceeds the permitted threshold. Generally, experts recommend filing for tax returns even if your earnings are below the permissible limit. ITR indicates your taxable income and includes detailed information about your finances earned through business, employment, house property rental, accrued interest on investments, sale of properties, etc. in a single fiscal year.   

Is It Mandatory to Submit ITR for Home Loans?

ITR is one of the documents requested by lenders when you seek a house loan because it helps them ascertain your income and cash flow. ITR is necessary due to the reasons provided below: 

It Denotes Your Financial Stability -

Lenders check ITR to gauge your financial capability, which is why they ask applicants to submit ITR for the past three years while processing home loan applications. It assures lenders that you possess sufficient and consistent earnings to manage the monthly installments on time as per the repayment schedule. 

It Reflects Your Ability to Handle Credit-

ITRs indicate whether you have been regular in filling your taxes or if there has been a default. The latter instance will be viewed as a red flag for probable loan defaults in EMI payments. ITR allows lenders to examine your credibility in handling a high-value housing loan.  

It Proves Your Net Worth-

At times, lenders may ask for an applicant’s net worth along with the loan application. This requires a chartered accountant to prepare your net worth statement which also implies furnishing your ITR for a home loan. Without it, one cannot arrange for the financial documents.  

ITR Helps in Auditing Financials-

In certain cases, lenders may ask for your audited financials before they begin the loan process. However, to get your financials audited by the auditor, your ITR must be filed on time with timely payment of the applicable taxes.  

Can You Get a Home Loan Without Filing ITR?

It is not mandatory to file an ITR for a home loan. If your loan requirement is not very high, lenders may not need your ITR. They can offer housing loans without asking for ITR filing if they consider you eligible for the loan based on any of the factors listed below: 

• Your CIBIL score 

• Credit records and repayment history 

• Type of occupation 

• Salary or earnings 

• Your age 

• Your previous properties and/or investments, etc. 

How Should You File ITR for Home Loans?

There are seven types of ITR forms available depending on the income level of taxpayers. ITR–1 form, also known as Sahaj form, should be filled by a resident individual whose total income in a financial year is less than Rs.50 lakh and includes either of the following: 

• Income from salary or pension 

• Earnings from one house property; excluding cases where previous year losses are carried forward  

• Monetary gains from other sources (excluding winnings from lottery and race horses) 

• Agricultural revenue under Rs.5000

You can file your returns using the ITR–1 Sahaj form by following the steps mentioned here: 

• Visit the official income tax website for filing ITR online. 

• Fill in your personal information such as name, Aadhar card details, address, etc. 

• Enter your income under respective heads like salary; and income from other sources such as fixed deposits or other investments. You can verify the salary figure from your Form 16. 

• The gross total income is computed by adding the earnings from all the sources like interest from bank accounts, fixed deposits, gifts and others. 

• Declare the exempted income, if any, such as mutual funds, ULIP, interest from PPF account and agricultural income.  

• Input deductions applicable under the Income Tax Act, 1961; including tax exemptions on home loan repayment of the principal and interest components. 

• The total concessions will be subtracted from the gross total income to arrive at the net income. The payable taxes will be based on this net income figure. 

• Enter your bank details as required. 

• Pay the required sum in case of a tax liability other than the Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) by your employer or company. 

Which ITR Should You File If You Have a Home Loan?

If you have availed of a home loan, you need to file the ITR–1 Sahaj form which applies to salaried professionals who are repaying home loans for a self-occupied property. One of the major advantages of obtaining a housing loan is the tax concessions that borrowers can easily claim under different sections of the Income Tax Act. Hence, one should be aware of the home loan tax benefits that can bring down their credit liability.  

As per the ITA provisions, borrowers can enjoy deductions on the principal and interest portions of their housing loan subject to fulfilling specific conditions. These include exemptions up to Rs.1.5 lakh on the principal repayment as well as stamp duty and registration charges under Section 80 C. You can also receive rebates up to Rs.2 lakh on the interest paid each year under Section 24. This deduction is primarily determined by the home loan interest rate that the lender offers you in accordance with your home loan eligibility and a gamut of other allied aspects. In such instances, use a Home Loan Tax Benefit Calculator to compute the rebates that could be claimed for optimal tax savings.  

Nonetheless, to begin with, planning a house loan with easy EMIs is the key to maintaining a reasonable cost of credit. Securing substantial tax relief on a favourable loan will enable you to maximise the benefits even further. There are multiple financial tools available online that one can easily access to evaluate loan viability and get clarity on the repayments until the end of one’s loan tenor. In this regard, a home loan EMI calculator proves to be an extremely handy tool for estimating your monthly EMI pay-outs and tailoring the loan to your convenience and financial situation. It helps you select the appropriate loan amount and tenor to arrive at the ideal EMI that rightly fits your pocket. 

People Who Are Not Eligible to Use the ITR-1 Form

Given below is a list of taxpayers who cannot apply for ITR using the ITR-1 Sahaj form: 

• Individuals whose income is more than Rs.50 lakh
• Those with total agricultural revenue exceeding Rs.5,000
• Individuals who hold taxable capital gains
• A person whose earnings come from a business enterprise
• If your income is supplemented by more than one house property
• Anyone who is a director of a company/firm
• If you hold investments in unlisted equity shares at any time during a financial year
• An individual who owns assets which may entail a financial interest in and from an entity outside India; or if they are residents, they could be a signing authority in any account located outside India
• Those who are residents not ordinarily resident (RNOR) and non-residents
• Persons possessing foreign assets or foreign income
• If you are assessable with respect to the earnings of another person due to which tax may be deductible in the hands of the other person

Summing Up

Whether or not you need an ITR for a home loan may depend on the documentation requirements that usually vary among lenders. Thus, when applying for a home loan, it is imperative to confirm the set of requisite documents and arrange them accordingly before you put in your loan application. This will facilitate swifter house loan approval and disbursal.

Besides, once you secure the housing loan, remember to claim the deductions that you are entitled to. Most lender websites offer free access to an income tax calculator which allows you to calculate the taxes payable for the current financial year. Normally, working out taxes can be a gruelling activity with heavy number crunching. This calculator will simplify the task by displaying accurate results in minutes.