Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting Union Budget 2021 said that ‘Housing for All’ and affordable housing are priority areas for the central government.
FM allocated Rs 54,581 crore to Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in the Budget 2021. The government also extended the additional tax deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh home loan interest to March 31, 2022.
In the July 2019 Budget, the government provided an additional deduction of interest, amounting to Rs 1.5 lakh, for loan taken to purchase an affordable house.
Sitharaman proposed to extend the eligibility of this deduction by one more year, to March 31, 2022. The additional deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh shall therefore be available for loans taken up till March 31, 2022, for the purchase of an affordable house.
Further, to keep up the supply of affordable houses, FM proposed that affordable housing projects can avail a tax holiday for one more year – till March 31, 2022.
To promote supply of Affordable Rental Housing for migrant workers, Sitharaman proposed to allow tax exemption for notified Affordable Rental Housing Projects.
