TAX UPADESH

⚡ QUICK ANSWER No income tax when you buy gold. Tax comes when you sell it at a profit. Jewellery, coins, bars, digital gold, gold mutual funds: long-term after 24 months . Gold ETF and listed SGB: long-term after 12 months . Long-term gain: 12.5% (no indexation). Short-term gain: your slab rate . SGB: from 1 April 2026, redemption is tax-free only for the original subscriber who holds till maturity. 👀 Eye-opener: the date you sell matters Most families plan the purchase muhurat and forget the sale date. Selling jewellery even a few weeks before it turns 24 months old can almost double the tax , because the gain is taxed at your slab rate instead of 12.5%. 💍 Exchanging old jewellery for new is also a sale for tax purposes. 📜 Lost the purchase bill? You may struggle to prove your cost and holding period. 🪙 Bought SGBs on the stock exchange for the tax-free maturity? That benefit has gone. 💰 Saver tip: Keep every gold bill and note the purchase da...

⚡ Quick answer: gratuity under the new Labour Codes In force: the four Labour Codes apply from 21 November 2025 ; gratuity is now under Section 53 of the Code on Social Security, 2020. Fixed-term employees: eligible after 1 year of service under the contract (regular employees: still 5 years, except death/disablement). 50% wage rule: if excluded allowances (HRA, conveyance etc.) cross 50% of total pay, the excess is added to "wages" — so gratuity can go up. Formula: last-drawn wages × 15/26 × completed years (more than 6 months counts as a full year). Tax: non-government employees get gratuity tax-free up to ₹20 lakh (lifetime); government employees fully exempt. 👀 Eye-opener: your gratuity may be bigger than your HR sheet shows Many salary structures keep basic pay at 30–40% of CTC. Under the Labour Codes, that trick no longer shrinks gratuity. As per the Labour Ministry's FAQs, the last-drawn wages under the new definition apply to your entire...

  ⚡ Quick answer: Advance tax due date 15 December 2026 By 15 December 2026 , at least 75% of your estimated tax for Tax Year 2026-27 must be paid as advance tax. Applies if your tax for the year, after TDS/TCS, is ₹10,000 or more (section 404, Income-tax Act, 2025). Shortfall = 3% interest on the gap (section 425, old 234C). Paying under 90% by 31 March adds 1% a month (section 424, old 234B). Presumptive business/professionals (section 58) pay 100% by 15 March 2027 instead. Resident seniors (60+) with no business/professional income are exempt (section 403(3)). 👀 Eye-opener: "But my employer deducts TDS…" Salary TDS usually covers only salary. FD interest, rent, capital gains, freelance fees or dividends can leave a gap above ₹10,000, and the law charges interest on that gap even if you pay every rupee with your return. Hidden risk: interest under sections 424 and 425 is automatic. It is calculated and added when you file, whether or not you knew ...

⚡ Quick answer: Form 124 (old Form 12BB) for Tax Year 2026-27 Form 12BB is now Form 124 (Rule 205, Income-tax Rules 2026, under section 392 of the Income-tax Act 2025). You give it to your employer , not the tax portal, so HRA, LTA, home-loan interest and investments reduce your salary TDS. New: landlord PAN if rent is over ₹1 lakh a year plus your relationship with the landlord . HRA at 50% of salary now covers 8 cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad (old regime). No fixed legal date: your employer's proof cut-off (often Dec–Feb) is your real deadline. 👀 Eye-opener: miss the cut-off, pay now, wait for refund If you don't submit Form 124, your employer must deduct TDS without your deductions. The extra tax is usually recovered from your January–March salaries . You can still claim in your ITR, but your money stays locked until the refund comes. Hidden risk: paying rent to a parent or spouse? The form now asks...

⚡ Quick answer: GST on post-sale discounts from 1 Nov 2026 From 1 November 2026 , a discount given after the sale can reduce GST even if it was not agreed in advance or linked to specific invoices. Two conditions remain: the supplier issues a GST credit note (Section 34) and the buyer reverses the matching ITC . Inverted duty refunds can now get 90% provisional refund . The ₹1,000 minimum refund limit no longer applies to IGST-paid exports. 👀 Eye-opener: the GST you may have paid on money you never received Year-end rebates and dealer schemes are usually decided after the sale, so they failed the "agreed before supply" test. Many suppliers issued only a commercial credit note and paid GST on the full invoice value. On a ₹10 lakh rebate at 18%, that is ₹1.8 lakh of GST on income the supplier never kept. 🚩 Hidden risk: if the buyer rejects your credit note or does not reverse ITC, your tax cut can be questioned. 💰 Saver tip: For rebates you gi...

⚡ Quick answer: Q2 TDS return due date Due date: 31 October 2026 for the July–September 2026 quarter (Tax Year 2026-27). New forms: Form 138 (salary, old 24Q), Form 140 (other resident payments, old 26Q), Form 144 (non-residents, old 27Q), Form 143 (TCS, old 27EQ). Late fee: ₹200 per day (section 427), capped at the TDS in the statement. Form 131 (old Form 16A) to deductees by 15 November 2026 . 👀 Eye-opener: the 1-month trap Many deductors still think “late is fine, just pay ₹200 a day”. Not any more. Penalty window shrank: the no-penalty cushion is now one month from the due date (it was one year until March 2025). Miss it and a penalty of ₹10,000 to ₹1,00,000 can apply (section 461). Hidden cost: your vendors and staff see no TDS credit in Form 26AS/AIS until you file. Expect calls, held payments and strained relationships. Weekend alert: 31 October 2026 is a Saturday . Don't leave it to the last evening. 💰 Saver tip: Fix PAN mismatches befor...