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Ramalingam

Ramalingam Kalirajan  |11136 Answers  |Ask -

Mutual Funds, Financial Planning Expert - Answered on Apr 08, 2026

Ramalingam Kalirajan has over 23 years of experience in mutual funds and financial planning.
He has an MBA in finance from the University of Madras and is a certified financial planner.
He is the director and chief financial planner at Holistic Investment, a Chennai-based firm that offers financial planning and wealth management advice.... more
Rammohan Question by Rammohan on Apr 08, 2026Hindi
Money

Hello Mihir : I wanted to ask about capital gain tax for the below scenario. I purchased a flat in 2021 with loan from ICICI that still has a balance of around 75 lakhs to be paid off. The property price on agreement was Rs. 1.25 Crores, while the original loan amount was around 100 lakhs. I plan to sell this property this year after 5 years of purchasing this property and may be able to get total 160 lakhs as an estimate. a) I plan to repay the loan of Rs.75 lakhs from this sale and close the loan a/c . Will I need to pay Capital gain tax If I to buy a shop for commercial use or use the money to build a house in a plot I own? If yes what are the alternatives to avoid please suggest.

Ans: You are planning correctly by reviewing tax impact before selling the property. Since the flat was purchased in 2021 and sold after 5 years, the gain will be treated as long-term capital gain.

» Loan repayment and tax impact

Repaying the outstanding loan of about Rs 75 lakhs does not reduce capital gain tax. Tax is calculated only on the difference between sale value and indexed purchase cost plus expenses.

» Buying a commercial shop

If you invest the sale proceeds in a commercial shop, you cannot claim capital gain exemption. Tax will be payable.

» Constructing a house on your own plot

If you construct a residential house on your existing plot:

– You can claim exemption under capital gain rules
– Construction must complete within 3 years from sale date
– This is the most suitable tax-saving option in your case

» Other alternative

You may also invest the capital gain amount in capital gain bonds within 6 months to reduce tax liability.

» Finally

Closing the loan gives no tax benefit. Buying a commercial property gives no exemption. Constructing a residential house can help you save capital gain tax effectively.

Best Regards,

K. Ramalingam, MBA, CFP,

Chief Financial Planner,

www.holisticinvestment.in

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramalingamcfp/
DISCLAIMER: The content of this post by the expert is the personal view of the rediffGURU. Users are advised to pursue the information provided by the rediffGURU only as a source of information to be as a point of reference and to rely on their own judgement when making a decision.
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I have booked a under construction flat in May 2022 for 2.80 crs inclusive of GST and stamp duty likely possession in December 2023, Flat is in joint name with my wife on 50:50 basis. I have availed joint Bank loan of 2.10 crores which is partially disbursed approx 1.76 crores up to now. balance will be disbursed before possession. I will be selling by old flat in January 2024 which is in my individual name, which I purchased in July 2017 for 92.50 lacs inclusive of stamp duty, approx selling price will be 1.25 crores. This flat is also on loan of 54 lakhs outstanding .What will be the capital gain against this and can this be setoff against the new flat? Difference amount 1.25 crores(sale price) less 54 lakhs (Bank Loan) balance amount of 71 lakhs I might pay against the new bank loan of 2.10 crores which will reduce the loan to 1.39 crores. Please guide how to go to save the Capital gain tax.
Ans: Hi
You may have a long term capital gain of about Rs. 6.70 Lakhs. Suggestions to avoid paying any tax on this gain would be to pay towards the construction of the new house. This would mean that you may need to sell your house before you take possession of the new house in December 2023 and use the sale consideration to pay to the builder to the extent of approx Rs. 6.70 Lakhs to make it eligible as reinvestment in a new under construction property. This cannot be the other way round i.e. you cannot pay full amount to the builder and take possession and thereafter sell the old house.

If you need the house to stay till the possession of the new property then you could try for a rental arrangement with the buyer of your old house.

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Tax Expert - Answered on Feb 24, 2026

Asked by Anonymous - Feb 17, 2026Hindi
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Hello Mihir I wanted to ask about capital gain tax for the below scenario. I purchased a flat in 2014 with loan from HDFC that still has a balance of around 40 lacs to be paid off. The property price on agreement was Rs. 75 lakhs while the original loan amount was around 60 lakhs. I plan to sell this property and may be able to get total 90 lakh to 1Cr as an estimate. a) I plan to repay the loan of Rs.40 lakhs from this sale and close the loan a/c b) I have a second property on loan (SBI loan balance 30 lacs) wherein I will try to pre-pay Rs. 15 lakhs c) I recently purchased another property which is in construction phase due possession mid 2028. I will try to pay off 20 lakhs on the ongoing loan for this property. Will I need to pay Capital gain tax on the balance Rs.15-25 lacs with which I plan to buy a shop for commercial setup purposes? If yes what are the alternatives to avoid please suggest. For example if I do interior furniture updates in the house where I stay today, will I still be taxed
Ans: If person invest gain amount in another property within 3 years, person is not liable to pay any tax. Amount remain univested till the time of filing ITR needs to be invested in the capital gain scheme account. Further, repayment of loan will not reduce/will not give benefit for tax on sale of house property. Also investment is shop will not be give any benefit. Any cost incurred for interior and furniture is personal asset and it can not be added even in cost of current house.

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Nayagam P

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Career Counsellor - Answered on Apr 19, 2026

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Sir,My son got 144 in BITS and 86percentile in Jee, what will be the best availabilty/option for engineering institute for CS, Mechanical & Electrical
Ans: Rachna Madam, with a BITSAT score of 144, admission to the CSE, Electrical, or Mechanical branches at all three BITS campuses is effectively not possible. Recent official cutoffs have been much higher—for example, Hyderabad closed at CSE 284/319/270, EEE 251/262/239, and Mechanical 218/192/214 in 2023/2024/2025, respectively, with Goa and Pilani cutoffs even higher.

Through JoSAA, with an 86 percentile in JEE Main, admission to CSE in NITs/IIITs is generally unlikely, and getting Mechanical or Electrical in mainstream NITs is also difficult under the open category. Chances improve mainly with home-state quota, reserved categories, female-only seats, or in lower-demand GFTIs and self-financed institutes accepting JEE Main scores.

Please check JoSAA’s official opening and closing rank archives year-wise before filling choices. Your son can focus on mid-tier or newer NITs and IIITs and state-level colleges and should also consider 4-5 reputed private universities as backup options instead of relying solely on BITS or JoSAA. ALL the BEST for Your Son's Prosperous Future!

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Sir, My son has appeared in Class X ICSE Exam and results are awaited. So far , he has been an average performer academically. I believe he is capable and he can do great if he puts in the hard work. His performance in subjects like History/Geography etc has always been better than in Maths/science. I personally never wanted to force him to choose any stream for higher studies. He also is not sure about it. While discussing I suggested him to go for Commerce or humanities stream and then for MBA from a reputed institution. However, he is more concerned about job opportunities and wanted to go for science. Hence, after a lot of discussion, we have got him admitted in Science stream in Delhi and also got him enrolled in Allen for JEE Coaching. We thought if he adapts well and gets going, then may be he can achieve good result. Otherwise, we may decide to change stream after Class XII. What is your opinion? Request for your suggestion please
Ans: Shyam Sir, I have thoroughly reviewed your son’s background. You haven’t mentioned whether he is continuing with the ISC board or has enrolled in the CBSE board with Allen-JEE coaching for this 11th/12th Grade. Firstly, I recommend a psychometric test for your son to gain a rough idea of the most suitable career options for him.

Secondly, job opportunities exist across domains, but to be competitive, your son must have passion and interest in his chosen field and continuously upgrade both technical and soft skills relevant to that domain.

Thirdly, besides understanding suitable career options through the psychometric test, ask him what types of problems he is interested in solving in the future.

Fourthly, since you mentioned his performance is better in History and Geography than in Science and Maths, Allen-JEE coaching would be suitable only if he is truly interested in Maths and Science. If not, his performance may fall short of expectations, leading to demotivation.

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