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Section 80EE Income Tax Deduction for Interest on Home Loan

By Mohammed S Chokhawala

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Updated on: Jul 16th, 2024

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3 min read

Section 80EE allows income tax benefits on the interest portion of the residential house property loan availed from any financial institution. As per this section, you can claim a deduction of up to Rs 50,000 per financial year. You can continue to claim this deduction until you have fully repaid the loan.

Taxpayers can claim 80EE only if they had serviced a home loan between 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017. 

Note: It is suggested in Budget 2023 that when calculating capital gains from the sale of a residential property, the cost of acquisition should not include any home loan interest claimed as an income tax deduction by the seller throughout the holding term.

Features of the 80EE Deduction

Eligibility criteria: The deduction under this section is available only to individuals. This means that you cannot claim the benefit under this section if you are a HUF, AOP, a company, or any other taxpayer.

Amount limit: The deduction is up to Rs 50,000. It is over and above the Rs 2 lakh limit under Section 24 of the Income Tax Act. 
Read more about the deduction of Rs 2 lakh on interest on a home loan here.

Other conditions: To claim this deduction, you should not own any other house property on the date of the sanction of a loan from a financial institution.

Note: This deduction can be claimed only if the taxpayer opts for the old tax regime.

Conditions to be met for Claiming Deduction

  • Value of the house should be Rs 50 lakh or less
  • Loan taken for the house must be Rs 35 lakh or less
  • The loan must be sanctioned by a financial institution or a housing finance company
  • The loan must be sanctioned between 01.04.2016 to 31.03.2017
  • As of the date of the sanction of the loan, no other house property must be owned by you.

Things to Remember

Section 80EE came into effect in the financial year 2013-14. It was available for only two years, FY 2013-14 and FY 2014-15. The deduction allowed earlier was limited to a maximum of Rs 1 lakh in total and was available for only two financial years. 

However, this section has been reintroduced, effective from FY 2016-17 (AY 2017-18). Now the deduction is allowed for up to Rs 50,000 per year until the loan is repaid.

The section does not specify if you need to be a resident to claim this benefit. Therefore it can be concluded that both resident and non-resident Indians can claim this deduction.

The section also does not specify if this house should be self-occupied to claim the deduction. So, borrowers living in rented houses can also claim this deduction.

Moreover, individuals can claim the deduction for house purchases jointly or singly. If a person jointly owns the house with a spouse and they both are paying the instalments of the loan, then both of them can claim this deduction.

Under the new tax regime, the deduction allowed under Section 80EE is not allowed.

Section 80EE and Section 24

If you can satisfy the conditions of both Section 24 and Section 80EE of the Income Tax Act, be quick to claim the benefits. 

  • First, exhaust your deductible limit under Section 24, Rs 2 lakh.
  • Then go on to claim the additional benefits under Section 80EE.

Therefore, this deduction is in addition to the Rs 2 lakh limit allowed under Section 24.

Section 80EE and Section 80EEA

The Union Budget 2019 has introduced a new Section 80EEA to extend the tax benefits of the interest deduction up to Rs 1,50,000 for housing loans taken for affordable housing during the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2022. The individual taxpayer should be a first-home buyer and should not be entitled to a deduction under Section 80EE.

The difference between Section 80EE & section 80EEA can be understood with the help of the below table:

Basis of difference

Section 80EE

Section 80EEA

Loan sanction period*

01-04-2016 to 31-03-2017

01-04-2019 to 31-03-2022

Deduction allowed on interest paid

Rs. 50,000

Rs.1,50,000

Loan amount limit

Rs. 35,00,000

No limit

Value of the house

Rs. 50,00,000

(Actual Value)

Rs. 45,00,000

(Stamp duty value)

*Deduction is allowed only if the loan was borrowed during the said periods.

Related Articles:
Section 80EEA- Deduction for interest paid on home loan
Section 80EEB - Electric Vehicle Tax Exemption, Benefits and Deduction
Home Loan Tax Benefit

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I claim Section 80EE benefits if the home loan is taken now?

Rebate under Section 80EE is available only to those individual borrowers whose loan was sanctioned between 1 April 2016 and 31 March 2017. However, if you borrowed the loan from 1st April 2019 to 31st March 2022, you can claim deduction of up to Rs. 1,50,000 under section 80EEA for the interest paid thereon only under the old tax regime.

However, one can claim the deduction upto Rs. 2,00,000 under section 24 under House Property income.

If another residential house property is purchased in the subsequent year of purchase of the first house, can deduction under Section 80EE be continued to be claimed?

As per the law, the deduction under Section 80EE is allowed to purchase residential house property for the first time. They should not possess any other house on the date of loan sanction from the financial institution. Hence, if another house is purchased subsequently, deduction under Section 80EE can be continued to be claimed on the first house. 

Can the borrower claim deduction under Section 80EE if he is not residing in the house for which benefit is availed?

For claiming deduction under Section 80EE, it is not required to reside in the same property on which the benefit is availed. The borrower can claim the deduction even if he stays in a rented house.

What is the difference between Section 80EE and Section 24(b) of the Income Tax Act?

Under Section 24(b), a deduction of Rs 2 lakh is allowed for self-occupied property, and the entire interest is deductible for let out property. 
However, under Section 80EE, an additional deduction of Rs 50,000 is allowed only after exhausting the limit of Section 24(b). It can be availed by individuals buying the house for the first time and loans sanctioned by financial institutions between 1 April 2016 and 31 March 2017.

Can an assessee avail tax benefit under Section 80EE along with Section 80EEA at the same time?

No. An individual taxpayer can avail either the deduction provided under Section 80EE or Section 80EEA as per the respective eligibility criteria. There is a condition within which the housing loan must be availed. It doesn’t overlap; hence, it can't be claimed at the same time.  

Is the deduction under section 80EE allowed over & above the deduction limit of Rs. 2,00,000 that is provided under Section 24(b)?

Yes. Deduction of Rs.50,000 can be availed along with the deduction that is allowed under Section 24(b) of Rs. 2,00,000.

Can deduction under Section 80EE be claimed if opted for the new tax regime?

No, deduction under Section 80EE cannot be claimed if the taxpayer opts for the new tax regime.

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About the Author

I'm a chartered accountant, well-versed in the ins and outs of income tax, GST, and keeping the books balanced. Numbers are my thing, I can sift through financial statements and tax codes with the best of them. But there's another side to me – a side that thrives on words, not figures. Read more

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Quick Summary

Section 80EE of the Income Tax Act allows a deduction of up to Rs 50,000 per financial year on the interest portion of a residential house property loan. The deduction is only available to individuals who meet specific criteria and have taken a home loan between 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017. It can be claimed until the loan is fully repaid.

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