Are There Any Tax Benefits on Business Loans in India. A business loan in India comes with various tax exemptions and benefits under the Income Tax Act, 1961. Entrepreneurs who have secured any form of business credit can enjoy tax benefits and reduce the overall tax burden favourably.
When a business services a loan, they repay the loan amount in monthly instalments or EMIs, which comprise of two main components. And are usually decided by the lender based on the creditworthiness of the borrower.
EMI amount = Principal component + Interest component
Under the ITA, however, only the interest component of the EMI amount will be deducted as tax, not the principal bit.
Moreover, to avail the business loan tax benefits, the total business income or revenue should not include any expenditure on –
- Employee bonus
- Office space rent
- Office supply
- Maintenance cost
- Staff salary
- Business advertisements
Taxable income
Any sum of money used to service the business debt does not comprise the total revenue, income, or profit for the company. And consequently, not included in the total taxable income of a business.
Gross or the total income of a business, typically constitutes the amount used to pay the interest on a loan. Because the company pays the interest amount over and above the borrowed amount; the expenditure is included in the total taxable income.
Further, borrowers only need to pay tax on the net business income earned in a financial year. As a result, the principal component, which does not comprise the total revenue earned by the business, is usually excluded from the total taxable income.
Tax calculation
Any business entity can calculate the taxable income with the formula below:
Taxable income = Gross revenue/income – tax-deductible business expenses
Borrowers can write off any payment made towards the interest cost as a business expense and avail the tax exemptions. Mainly because the interest amount on the EMI is essentially the extra money you spend to avail the credit facility from a lender. So, the amount is taxable.
Company owners can, therefore, use a business loan EMI calculator to compute the tax liability on the availed loan, for both fixed and variable interest rates. They need to subtract the fixed principal component from the total EMI amount to calculate the interest component, which will constitute the total taxable income.
Businesses should also maintain updated, accurate records of the loan to ensure they can furnish essential documents and claim the tax benefits conveniently.
Key takeaways
- All forms of business loans are tax-deductible under the Income Tax Act, 1961
- Tax exemption only available on the interest component of the EMI amount
- Tax benefits on business loans can lower the overall tax burden
- Tax exemptions are not available on the entire EMI amount
- The principal component of the EMI amount is excluded from the taxable income
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