What benefits do women enjoy in taking a home loan in India?

The situation of women in India has improved over the past few years, and now, women are becoming financially independent. Therefore, to further give a boost to women empowerment, there are many states in India that are offering several benefits to women that are looking to buy properties. They are providing low interest home loan to encourage more women to borrow loans. Besides a lower interest rate, the women in India also get a plenty of other benefits if they’re looking to get a home loan in Delhi or any other major metro city in the country.

Let us take a look at some of the benefits women in India enjoy with regards to the home loan

Low interest rates: When taking a home loan, one of the most important things to consider is the rate of interest. And women in India enjoy a lower interest rate on the home loan. They usually get an interest rate concession between 0.10% to 0.30%. While that may not seem like much of a concession, it is actually a substantial one, because the tenure of a home loan is long – somewhere between 15 to 30 years. Over such a long time and at a high principal, you end up saving quite a lot of money.

Reduced stamp duty: The overall cost of the property can be significantly increased by including stamp duty. Stamp duty is the tax that the government levies on you when you’re buying or transferring a property. Therefore, in order to empower women, many state governments nowadays are levying a lower stamp duty on properties that are owned by women. This will encourage more women to buy properties and will increase the share of women in the realty sector. Usually, the concession that is offered is between 1% to 2%. This means that if you’re buying a house worth 1 crore, you could end up saving anywhere between 1 lakh to 2 lakhs.

While other states offer standard reduction in the stamp duty charges, Jharkhand has gone a step further and has reduced the stamp duty charge for women to Rs 1/- only!

Benefits in taxation
If women want to buy a house, they can avail several tax benefits. Buying a home under a woman’s name means a deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh on the principal amount and Rs 2 lakh on interest repayment every financial year for the self-occupied house.

If, however, the house is jointly owned then both the husband and the wife can claim tax deduction individually under the income tax act. Also, one must keep in mind that the deduction in tax would also depend upon the share of ownership in the property between the husband and the wife.
An important thing to keep in mind though, is that the tax benefits can only be availed if the woman has an independent income source. Also, applying for a joint home loan would not only bring you several benefits but it will also improve your chances of getting the desired loan amount.