AVFINPAL- Your Financial Pal

As the tax season is just about to begin, we are starting off with the series of a regular update on taxation matters. We understand the complexities a layman have to face when it comes to computing and filing the return of income. But worry not we have got you covered so let's start with the very base of it all. Why do you need to file a return of income and is it important to file a return of income?  So, that being said and that being done let's get started.  1. Avoid IT Scrutiny or Tax Notices:   One of the major reasons as to why we might end up with a notice from the income tax department is non-filing of our income tax return. So, in order to avoid such instances, one needs to file a proper income tax return with the department on a timely basis. An individual whose gross income (before any deductions) is above the basic exemption limit (Rs.2,50,000 in case of Resident Individual below 60 years of age, Rs.3,00,000 in case of individuals ov...

In a big relief to home buyers, to boost the real estate sector and making housing affordable to middle and neo-middle class. The finance minister at the GST council meeting held on 24th February 2019  slashed the tax rates chargeable to under construction housing property and ready to move in flats where a certificate of completion has not been issued to 5 percent from the existing rate of 12 percent. Though, the real impact of this change may not be as fruitful as it seems to be. The council has also decided to cut the rates on affordable housing for those property costing 45 lakhs or less to 1 percent without Input tax credit from the existing 8 percent. The Council has also expanded the ambit of definition of affordable housing in twin win. The affordable housing segment in metro cities namely Delhi NCR , Mumbai MMR, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru will include properties with a carpet area up to 60 sq meters and costing up to...

Personal finance is something that bothers all of us every day, every week, every month and every year. Financial Literacy as a concept has never been given its proper importance in India. Primarily, because wealth creation in India had always been a synonym of real estate. As there were not many investment options available in the past. So, the best practice had always been to channelize the money into gold or real estate. But this is not true in today's rapidly growing and changing world. Personal finance is no more limited to just one or two factors. Personal finance has everything to do with managing your money and saving and investing. It covers budgeting, banking, insurance, mortgages, investments, retirement planning, tax planning and estate planning. It often refers to the entire industry that provides financial services to individuals and households and advises them about financial and investment opportunities. Personal Finance has gone beyond just wealth creat...

Almost Every mutual fund comes under two versions- Direct plans and regular plans. The main difference between the two is that regular plans have a distribution commission and direct plans don't. But is that the only difference? And does that really matter to an investor? well, yes it does matter. To elaborate this, let us see how direct plans are better than regular mutual fund plans. 1. Higher returns  The returns of any direct mutual fund are always higher than the regular version of the same mutual fund.  One of the key factors which influence a mutual fund investment decision is the return. The return of a mutual fund is usually calculated on 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years basis to represent the traditional investment horizon. The returns in case of direct mutual funds are always higher than their regular counterparts. Here are a few examples.                          ...

How do you envisage your retired life? Relaxing at some exotic location with your loved ones, cruising around the world, following all your dreams and passion which you once left behind to make a better living. On the flip side, it can be horrifying where you are dependent on your kids, living a life where you have to think twice even before spending on the basic necessities. Well, I am sure no one works a major part of the existence just to survive for the rest of their lives. We all wish for a lavish and relaxed post-retirement life. But do we all even do something for it? Even if many of us do think of about it. we lack the proper direction. Well, the best way to fulfill all your post-retirement goal is to start saving for it from today itself. In fact not just save you need to start Investing for it. Obviously, what the fun of seeing your money resting in a savings account, will you are working your soul off. Its time you put your money at work too. In this article, I will b...

With increasing, financial literacy levels in India, the number of investors looking to explore the options of investment are also increasing. While people are now starting to recognize the need to fulfill their financial goals and the power of saving and investing, there is still something that bothers the potential investors. That this is choosing the right instrument or the best-suited avenue for investment . The problem isn't the lack of knowledge about the right instrument. the problem is choosing the right one out of so many options that are available. Well, worry not we have got your back. Here are our top 10 suggested investments that can lend you a great profit over the long term. Note: These recommendations are in general. These may be may or may not suit you based on your age, goals and your overall financial appetite. So, That's been said and that's been done. Let's look at the options. Direct Equity: This investment consists of investin...

Whenever we find our self in a financial crunch the first thing that comes to our mind is to start saving more or rather try to start saving more. I am sure you must have been in this situation many a time in your life till now but does this really helped you? were you able to save some extra money and come out of that crunch? Well, aren't these are the times you wished you had made some investments before? Now, if you’re already trying to manage a budget and pay down debt, you might wonder why you have to add another financial task of investing to your to-do list. But this one might be the most important of all. Investing is essential to good money management because it ensures both present and future financial security. Not only do you end up with more money in the bank, but you also end up with another income stream. Investing is the only way to achieve both growing wealth and passive income. What is investing? Simply, Speaking investment is anything that puts money in yo...

India’s Monetary Policy Committee on 7th February 2019 decided to cut its benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25 percent in response to lower-than-expected retail inflation the MPC has made several other changes as well to boost the economy and allow it to tackle its various other issues. Before moving forward let us have an overview of the MPC and some of its tools. What is MPC? The Parliament passed the Finance Bill 2016 to make amendments to the RBI Act, 1934. It paved the way for the formation of the  MPC or Monetary Policy Committee. Let’s start with a brief background. The Reserve Bank of India had appointed an expert committee in the year 2014 to reform the monetary policy framework in India. It was led by Urjit Patel (Deputy Governor of RBI at that time) The two major recommendations of the Urjit Patel committee were: The primary objective of the RBI should be to maintain inflation within a specific target (inflation targeting). It should abandon the pra...

One of the main concerns for any type of investing is market volatility. Volatility measures the degree to which prices change over time. Another way to think of volatility is in terms of price swings. The greater and more frequently an investment's price swings, the higher is its volatility. Investments with high volatility have a high degree of risk because their prices are unstable. It is important to note that short-term volatility is not necessarily indicative of a long-term trend. Security can be highly volatile on a daily basis but show long-term patterns of growth or stability. Some investments may maintain purchasing power over time but can fluctuate wildly in the short term. The advantage of long-term investing is found in the relationship between volatility and time. Investments held for longer periods tend to exhibit lower volatility than those held for shorter periods. The longer you invest, the more likely you will be able to weather low market periods. Assets wit...

Finance Minister Piyush Goyal presented the most awaited union budget in Lok Sabha on Friday, 1 st February 2019. Goyal was appointed as the interim finance minister on January 23   with Arun Jaitely undergoing medical treatment in United States. Here is a look at some of the major tax changes proposed in the budget. Income Tax slabs will remain the same for FY 2019-20. Yes, there is no change in the slab rates for the financial year 2019-20. Tax Rebate Limit under 87A has been increased from Rs. 3.5 lakhs to Rs. 5 lakhs for taxpayers. The maximum limit of the tax rebate is also increased to Rs.12,500 from the present limit of Rs. 2,500. Hence The benefit of this rebate is available only to the middle and lower middle class assesses only and assesses having taxable income more than 5 Lakhsmay not have much of the benefit from this. How will it be implemented? Let us understand this with a simple example of Mr. A has a total taxable income of Rs 5 Lakhs and Mr. B ha...

The mutual fund industry has barely recovered from the industry shaking IL&FS crises and now it might have to take big blow again as the media industry giant Zee entertainment enterprises fell on its market value with a huge margin. On Friday 25th Jan 2019: breaking its two-session winning run, shares of Zee Entertainment cracked 30.92 percent to Rs 229.70 on the NSE on Friday, logging its worst-ever fall. Its subsidiary company Dish TV also had a similar fate and observed a fall of around 34 percent in its share. So, what made a giant industry leader skipping its heat beats? The reason why Zee had such a massive fall, is a report from the wire news agency which claims that a link has emerged between the Essel group which the parent company of Zee entertainment and another company named ‘Dream Line Manpower solutions’ being probed by the SFIO(serious Fraud investigation office) for suspect demonetization deposits. Though the case hasn’t been confirmed and has been traded as a conj...