Section 24B of the Income Tax Act allows homeowners to claim a deduction on the interest component of their home loan EMI. For self-occupied properties, this deduction is capped at \u20b92 lakh per year-making it one of the largest individual deductions available under the old tax regime.

Self-Occupied Property Rules

  • Maximum deduction: \u20b92,00,000 per year
  • Property must be acquired or constructed within 5 years from the end of the FY in which the loan was taken
  • If construction takes longer than 5 years, deduction is restricted to \u20b930,000/year
  • Interest on pre-construction period is deductible in 5 equal instalments beginning from the year of possession

Let-Out or Deemed Let-Out Property

  • For rented properties, there is no upper limit on interest deduction under Section 24B
  • Full interest paid can be claimed, but the deductible loss from house property is capped at \u20b92 lakh/year for set-off against other income
  • Remaining loss can be carried forward for 8 years to set off against future house property income

Section 24B and the New Tax Regime

Section 24B interest deduction for self-occupied property is not available under the new tax regime. For taxpayers with large home loans (\u20b950 lakh+) paying significant interest, this makes the old regime substantially more beneficial.

Combination Strategy

Claim Section 24B (\u20b92 lakh interest) + Section 80C (\u20b91.5 lakh principal under 80C) together for total home loan deductions of \u20b93.5 lakh. At 30% tax rate, this saves approximately \u20b91,09,200 per year.

Use the SaveTaxNow Calculator to model your complete tax picture with home loan deductions.