Benefits women get on home loans!

To encourage women’s investment in real estate, many banks and NBFCs offer home loans with lower interest rates for women. Women typically get a discount of 5 to 10 basis points i.e. (0.05 to 0.10%) on the interest rate as compared to men. This varies by bank and depends on credit score, but even a small discount can save significant interest over the long term.

If you take a loan in your name from Satate Bank of India, the starting rate of interest would be 9.15%. But SBI gives 0.05 per cent waiver to women. For women, interest rates start from 9.10 per cent. Similarly, in the Central Bank’s Grih Lakshmi scheme, the home loan interest rate for women is 8.35% to 9.25%, while the rate for others is 8.5% to 9.5%.

For example, If you take Rs 1 crore loan in your name from Central Bank, the EMI would be Rs 93,213. You would pay Rs 1.23 crore in interest over 20 years.
If you take the loan in your wife’s name, the interest rate drops to 9.10%, the EMI would be Rs 91,587 and you would pay Rs 1.19 crore in interest.
You would be able to save almost Rs 2,000 per month on EMI. You also save nearly Rs 4 lakh in interest over 20 years.

Before taking a home loan, ask the bank about the interest rate discount for loans in a woman’s name. The Banks also give discount if woman is a co-borrower. Another benefit of having your wife as a co-borrower is that:

Combining your incomes increases your loan eligibility, allowing you to borrow more for your dream home.

One significant expense associated with buying a house is stamp duty, which you pay when you purchase the property.

Many state governments offer stamp duty concessions for women who buy a house in their name. They will get it even when they are joint owners of a property.

In Delhi, the stamp duty for women homebuyers is 4%, while for men it is 6% of the property value.
Similarly, in Haryana, the stamp duty for men is 7% and for women it is 5%.
Suppose you buy a property worth Rs 1 crore in Delhi. Then, you would have to pay a stamp duty of Rs 6 lakh.

However, if yoou buy the property in wife’s name, you would only have to pay Rs 4 lakh as stamp duty. You would save Rs 2 lakh, which is a significant amount.

A home loan not only helps you realize your dream of owning a home, but you also save on taxes

Under Section 80C of Income Tax Act, you can get a deduction of up to Rs 1.5 lakh  on the principal repayment of a home loan. Additionally, there is a deduction of up to Rs 2 lakh on home loan interest payments under Section 24(b).

These amounts are deducted from your income, which reduces your tax liability.

To promote home ownership among women, the Government of India has announced various schemes. Women also get interest subsidies. One of these is the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban. It has a Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme option which called CLSS.

Under this scheme, economically weaker sections, lower income groups i.e. (LIG), and middle income groups i.e. (MIG) get subsidies. Such people who take a loan to buy or build a house can get an interest subsidy of up to Rs 2.67 lakh.

Lower interest rates and stamp duty concessions are two benefits that women get over men.

Benefits such as tax breaks on home loan principal and interest and also interest subsidies are available to both women and men.

If you buy a house in your wife’s name, you can save about Rs 6 lakh.

Banks and builders also offer special deals for women on occasions like Women’s Day. You should also find out about these offers.