Money Saving Tips

SBI Cuts Interest Rates on Fixed Deposit https://www.fundstiger.com/sbi-fd-interest-rates/ State Bank of India (SBI), in view of the falling interest rate scenario and surplus liquidity, has announced a reduction in fixed deposit interest rates across all maturities. In a press release, the bank stated that the new rates will be effective from August 1, 2019. SBI has cut rates on retail term deposits below Rs 2 crore and on bulk term deposits above Rs 2 crore. For time deposits with longer tenors, there is a reduction up to 20 basis points (bps) in the retail segment and 35 bps in the bulk segment. Interest rates have been slashed by 50-75 bps for time deposits with shorter tenors, i.e., up to 179 days. The SBI has cut deposit rates by 5-75 basis points across tenures. Shorter-tenure deposits have seen a higher quantum of cut than longer deposits. The country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has revised its fixed deposit (FD) rates across all tenors. The bank has shar...

Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) https://www.fundstiger.com/sip-investment/ Systematic Investment Plan, commonly referred to as an SIP, allows you to invest regularly a fixed sum in your favorite mutual fund scheme/s. In SIP, a fixed amount is deducted from your savings account every month and directed towards the mutual fund you choose to invest in. The popularity of SIPs or Systematic Investment Plans has gone up in the last few years. Many individuals discovered the charm of SIP and mutual funds. However, many investors, including those who have already made SIP investments in mutual funds, are often confused about SIPs. An SIP and mutual fund schemes are not synonyms. An SIP is a mere tool that helps you to invest regularly in a mutual fund schemes, mostly in equity mutual fund schemes. An SIP helps you to stagger your investments in equity mutual fund schemes over a period. Most mutual fund advisors do not recommend investing a lumpsum in equity mutual funds. They believe ...

Post Office Deposits Income Tax Benefits https://www.fundstiger.com/post-office-deposits-income-tax/ A post office offers various deposit schemes to investors. These are also known as small savings schemes. The USP of these schemes is their sovereign guarantee, i.e., it is backed by the government. Some of these schemes also offer tax-saving benefits under section 80C of the Income-tax Act. Post offices offer several saving schemes across different time periods with different interest rates. One such saving scheme offered by India Post is time deposit or fixed deposit. The Post Office Time Deposit (POTD) is similar to bank fixed deposits (FDs), also known as term deposits. The USP of POTD is that it is backed by the government. The interest rate offered on these schemes is reviewed quarterly by the government. Recurring Deposit Account (RD), Public Provident Fund (PPF), Kisan Vikas Patra, Monthly Income Scheme Account (MIS), Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana are some of the other well-kno...

How to Correct Mistakes in ITR? https://www.fundstiger.com/itr-filing-mistakes/ While filing our income tax return (ITR) we take the utmost care not to make any mistakes. However, at times it may happen that we make a mistake while filing our ITR at the last minute. These could include mentioning the incorrect bank account number, forgetting to declare interest income, or claiming the wrong deduction. However, don’t worry if you have made a mistake in your ITR as the current income tax laws allow you to correct it. If you have discovered the mistake after filing your income tax return, then you can rectify your mistake as allowed under the current tax laws. Section 139(5) of the Income-Tax Act allows taxpayers to rectify their mistake by filing a revised income tax return. So, if you have made a mistake in your ITR, here is how you can file a revised return. What is a Revised Return? Revised return allows you to rectify the error or omission of facts made at the time of fil...

What is Debt Counseling? https://www.fundstiger.com/debt-counseling/ A counseling service offered to address those debts that are beyond a person’s debt paying ability is called debt counseling. This facility could help one come out of serious debts by ensuring the right budgeting and repayment plan on right time and at the right place. Debt counseling agencies not only provide their clients with wise advice, but also negotiate with creditors on their behalf, in order to work out a reasonable payment plan and thereby help you to come out of the debt web It serves three purposes: First, it examines the ways to solve current financial problems. Second, by educating about the costs of misusing a credit, it improves financial management. Third, it encourages the distressed people to access the formal financial system. What are the Different Forms of Credit Counseling? It will give you the information and advice you need to take control of your financial future. Aside from t...

PSB 59Mins Loan approval up-to ₹5 Crore https://www.fundstiger.com/psb-59-minutes-loan/ Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can now secure in principle approval of loans up to Rs 5 crore in just 59 minutes under the ‘PSB Loans in 59 Minutes’ scheme. To facilitate easy access, five of the country’s largest state-owned banks – State Bank of India, Union Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Corporation Bank, Andhra bank – have joined hands to offer loan of up to Rs 5 crore to MSMEs on their platforms. To meet the growing need of micro and small enterprises, five public sector banks have decided to extend in-principle approval of loan up to ₹5 crore under the “PSB Loans in 59 Minutes” scheme. The loans will be approved by State Bank of India, Union Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Corporation Bank, and Andhra Bank on the  http://psbloansin59minutes.com . According to the latest figures, more than 50,706 proposals have got in-principle approvals and 27,893...

Report Other Income in Tax Returns https://www.fundstiger.com/other-income-tax-returns/ When you file your income tax return (ITR), Form 16 issued by your employer may not be the only document you need. The income from selling capital assets, house property and interest on deposits needs to be disclosed in your ITR form. Concealing or misreporting income from these sources is a sure-shot invitation to a tax notice. Tax authorities are tightening the noose around tax offenders. Taxpayers should know that most residual incomes are taxable and they can no longer get away by misreporting them. A lot of income from investments is tax free but has to be declared. For instance, savings bank interest is tax free to ₹10,000 but must be reported under the ‘income from from other sources’ schedule. Even tax exempt investments such as interest from PPF and bonds at time of maturity should be declared under schedule EI (exempt income). Irrespective of the amount gained or lost, one must dis...

Pre-Filled ITR Form https://www.fundstiger.com/pre-filled-itr/ The introduction of pre-filled returns is yet another milestone in this direction. In order to make the tax compliance process more convenient, pre-filled income tax returns (ITR) will be provided to individual taxpayers by the Income Tax Department. The ITR form, downloaded from the e-filing account of individuals, would now contain pre-filled details of salary income, house property income, capital gains from securities, bank interests, dividends, etc. and tax deductions. Information regarding these incomes will be collected from concerned sources such as banks, stock exchanges, mutual funds, EPFO, State Registration Departments etc. PAN will be used to pick the details from Form 26AS, the TDS return filed by payers and also the previous year’s ITR. According to the latest update, the department has started providing pre-filled XML file which contains details such as employer details, allowances, deductions, dividen...

Provident Fund (PF) Accounts https://www.fundstiger.com/provident-fund/ Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) or PF account, Public Provident Fund (PPF) account and General Provident Fund (GPF) account are three major provident fund accounts available in the country. In these provident fund accounts, a subscriber invests a part of his/her salary for a certain period of time and avail amount on maturity. Interest rates on these schemes are revised according to notifications issued from time to time. While EPF and GPF are compulsory retirement saving options, Public Provident Fund (PPF) account is an investment avenue with income tax benefits. What Are the Different Types of PFs? There are mainly three different types of PFs, which exist amongst the various financial instruments that are a part of this realm of services. These include the following: The General Provident Fund  is a type of PF which is maintained by governmental bodies, including local authorities, the Railways an...

Facts about PPF Account https://www.fundstiger.com/ppf-facts/ PPF (Public Provident Fund) has remained one of the popular investment alternatives, especially for risk-averse investors who are satisfied with moderate but guaranteed returns. Amidst the rising popularity of other investment platforms like mutual funds, PPF is most trusted because of sovereign guarantee from the government on the principal invested and interest earned. Public Provident Fund (PPF) which allows us to save money on which no tax is levied. The government has retained the 8% interest rate on the popular PPF or Public Provident Fund (PPF) for the January to March quarter, making it an attractive investment for conservative investors. Apart from tax benefits, the PPF also helps build a sizeable corpus for long-term goals like retirement. In terms of income tax implications, the PPF has an EEE or ‘exempt, exempt, exempt’ status, meaning that it provides subscribers with deduction benefit up to ₹ 1.5 lakh und...