Joint Home Loan Taxation: Husband or Wife? Who can claim tax benefits in a joint home loan? Taking a home loan jointly helps in increasing the borrowing capacity of a married couple. But when it comes to claiming tax benefits, there is a catch.

According to experts, the tax benefits joint-owners of a property can claim depend on the ratio at which both of them are servicing the home loan.

To claim such benefit, both of them also need to be joint owners as well as co-borrowers servicing the home loan.

In simple words, the person who is paying the EMI is eligible to claim tax benefits. 

Lets understand Joint Home Loan Taxation with a few scenarios:

Scenario 1: Husband and wife are joint owners of the property and co-borrowers also but only husband is paying the EMI from his account.

Here, the husband can claim the tax benefit in this ITR.

Scenario 2: Husband and wife are joint owners of the property and are co-borrowers also but only wife is paying EMIs from her account.

Here, the wife can claim the tax benefit in this ITR.

Also Read: What is Rule of 72, the formula to double your money? 

Scenario 3: Husband and wife are joint owners of the property and are co-borrowers also but both are paying EMIs from their accounts in a fixed proportion.

Here, both can claim tax benefits in the ratio at which they are servicing the home loan.

Note: Maximum tax benefits allowed per person are:

– Up to Rs 1.5 lakh under Section 80C for Home Loan principal payment

– Up to Rs 2 lakh for home loan interest payment

Also Read: Can joint owner of a flat get Section 54F benefit after selling another property?

Joint Home Loan Taxation: What the law says

Section 26 of Income Tax Act also says that joint owners shall be treated as owner of their share in the property and taxed separately for such share.

“Where property consisting of buildings or buildings and lands appurtenant thereto is owned by two or more persons and their respective shares are definite and ascertainable, such persons shall not in respect of such property be assessed as an association of persons, but the share of each such person in the income from the property as computed in accordance with sections 22 to 25 shall be included in his total income,” Section 26 of the Income Tax Act says.

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