Special Benefits Women Enjoy on Home Ownership & Housing Finance

International Women’s Day is not a single day event. Rather it is a reminder for equal & gender neutral world. This year, the theme for International Women’s Day 2021 is #ChoosetoChallenge Gender Stereotypes & Inequality. MyMoneyMantra wows the campaign and promotes gender equality by not only ensuring gender parity in its hiring culture but also in bringing out its marketing content including blogs, media articles and social campaigns, all highlighting financial inclusion message for women across the globe.

Whether you are a working woman or run a house, you are eligible for better Home Loan Interest Rate, and Stamp Duty & Property Tax concession. Still, a majority of women do not know about the available benefits.

Women are naturally good at saving money as they have been managing domestic budgets from centuries. Yet significant money decisions in a majority of Indian Households are carried by male counterparts for various social reasons. Low percentage of women workforce could be one of the factors for the same. Participation percentage of women workforce in India has been constantly shrinking since 2004. And the worse has just come. Year 2020 reinforced the stark gender inequality that rests across the globe as more women lost jobs and took over unpaid household work.

Financial Literacy is the hallmark for Financial Inclusion & Gender Equality. When you educate a Woman, you educate the whole family. A financially savvy women can best utilise the power of compounding and secure her future. She can inculcate money talks early in the life of kids. This is why banks and financial institutions continue to provide special privileges to women customers. What is good for gender equality is good for the economy & for the nation.

Let’s find out how a woman home owner enjoys special benefits on housing finance. You do not need to be a working woman to become a co-applicant for a Home Loan.

Benefits women in India enjoy on Home Loans:

Lower Home Loan Rates: Women applicants are encouraged to apply for Home Loans. Most lenders, banks and NBFCs, offer a discount of around 5-20 bps on Home Loan Interest Rates for primary women applicants. Thus a couple can save lakhs of rupees by locking a lower rate loan deal with a woman as a primary applicant. Relaxed norms, partial waiver of processing fee, reducing balance EMI & repayment ease are some other areas which an applicant should explore before locking a Home Loan.

More Tax benefit: Under Income Tax Act, 1961, a Home Loan borrower in India is entitled to enjoy tax deduction under section 80C and Section 24 for max up to Rs 1.5 Lakh and Rs 2 Lakh respectively on repayment of Home Loan Principal and Interest Amount. The benefit will be in proportion to the contribution of each applicant for repayment of Principal and Interest.

When a couple applies together for a loan, both partners can claim Income Tax benefits while filing the IT return. Thus the benefits can practically be doubled up for the couple, thereby leaving more in their pockets.

Stamp Duty & Property Tax Concession: Furthermore, several states such as Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand besides National Capital Delhi provide concession on stamp duty for women home owners. A woman home owner can save 0.5 to 3% on the stamp duty rate across the country. The slab rates vary state-wise, so do check the available benefit in your particular region. Some States even offer lower property tax slab on the basis of gender. However to enjoy these benefits, women should be the owner of the property.

Credit subsidy on buying house: Under government’s ‘Housing for All’ scheme, it is mandatory to book the property in the name of a woman for availing a credit linked PMAY subsidy. All these housing related benefits are designed to encourage women participation in the housing sector.

Furthermore, Home Loan Interest Rates are at decadal low mark. It is thus the best time to get keys of your dream home in 2021. This week SBI, HDFC and Kotak Mahindra Bank have further slashed Home Loan Interest Rates. So, do not forget to check special Home Loan Offers on the occasion of International Women’s Day. Grab the best Home Loan deal