Are you creating black money unwittingly?

Not declaring interest income from household savings or an expensive watch could land you in trouble

Your wife has saved Rs 1 lakh from household expenses over the past few years. She invests that money in a post office savings or a chit fund and earns a decent interest income annually. If the interest income is not declared while filing income tax returns by you or your wife, it is black money. The tax department can penalise you for this. There are several such instances when households end up creating and not declaring their income or assets because they do not realise these items are taxable. Another example: Wearing a watch that costs above Rs 50,000 needs to be declared, as it comes under wealth tax.

Accumulation of black money can also take place when a taxpayer does not declare things unknowingly. Experts say transactions done outside the banking system or income  not disclosed to the tax authority qualifies. “These days, it’s very common to receive expensive gifts from friends and family, especially those living abroad. Not declaring these can land you in trouble,” says Mayur Shah, executive director (tax and regulatory services) at Ernst & Young. According to Tax law, if a person receives a gift valued above Rs 50,000, he or she needs to pay tax on it. The value of such items is clubbed with one’s income and taxed according to the slab.

However, there are exceptions. For example, presents received on wedding. “While they need to be declared, you don’t need to pay tax,” said Rajesh Srinivasan, partner, Deloitte Haskins & Sells. However, if you were to sell these gifts and earn income, there would be a tax on it.

Those offering professional services, such as doctors and lawyers, need to be extra careful. If a gift is paid as part of remuneration for their services, it needs to be clubbed with income, irrespective of the value. “If the tax department takes a view that there has been under-reporting, the penalty can be the amount of tax one is liable for or three times this value,” says Vineet Agarwal, partner - tax at KPMG.

According to Agarwal, the most common income that people don’t mention while filing tax are returns on fixed deposits (FD) and interest earned in the a savings bank account. Tax payers tend to believe because the bank has deducted tax at source (TDS) for FDs, their liability is over. What they don’t realise is that banks only deduct a TDS of 10 per cent at source. Similarly, the interest earned on savings bank account goes unreported. Experts say many are also not aware that a second property attracts tax, even if it is not on rent. This means even if your second house is unoccupied and there’s no rental income from it, the person still needs to find the prevalent rent in the area, take it as a notional income and pay tax on it. If the house is in the name of a  spouse who is not earning, the notional rent is clubbed with the husband’s income.