Save Tax with UCO Bank

The UCO Bank offers a wide range of products and services which include some tax saving products as well given that saving tax is one of the important aspects of financial planning. You should avoid rushing into investments at the fag end of a financial year and instead plan well in advance to have a clear picture about the upper limit of various sections of the IT Act, investment in PPF, principal repayment on home loans, deduction on interest earned on savings account and five-year deposit schemes among others.

Save Tax with UCO Bank:

Tax benefits are offered on products such as tax saver deposits, educational loans, Public Provident Fund and home loans among others. The tax saving instruments offered by UCO Bank come under sections 80C and 80E of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The tax benefits offered under various sections of the IT Act, 1961 are as follows:

Under Section 80C:

• UCO Tax Saver Fixed Deposits:

The UCO Bank offers Tax Saver Deposit Scheme - 2006, a fixed deposit scheme is eligible for tax benefits under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. If the deposit is under a joint account, only the first account holder will get the tax benefit under Section 80C of the IT Act. You can claim deduction for up to Rs.1.5 lakh. It is important to note that the interest income earned under this scheme can be taxed under the IT Act.

The Tax Saver Deposit Scheme - 2006 has a lock-in period of 5 years. Any individual or HUF can open this account. The minimum amount of deposit is Rs.100 while the maximum is Rs.1.5 lakh. The UCO Bank offers an interest rate of 7.25% for this scheme. Senior citizens can avail of an additional interest of 0.5% at 7.75%. Ex-staff of UCO Bank can avail of an interest rate of 7.75% under this scheme. Nomination facility is available for this scheme. You cannot, however, take any loans against your tax saver fixed deposit.

• UCO Home Loans:

You can avail of tax deduction on a self-occupied property only and claim exemption on the principal repayment of your home loan (on residential property only) for up to Rs.1,50,000 under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. Senior citizens can claim up to Rs.2 lakh for the same. You can also claim deduction on the interest paid on your self-occupied home for up to Rs.2 lakh (Rs.3 lakh for senior citizens) under Section 24 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The UCO Bank offers home loans for both construction and renovation purposes. You can avail up to Rs.25 lakhs and Rs.7.5 lakhs for renovation of homes in metro and rural areas respectively.

• UCO Public Provident Fund Schemes:

You can invest in public provident fund scheme whether you are self-employed or salaried. The returns offered by public provident funds are usually higher than returns on fixed deposits, especially given the advantage of tax-free returns offered by the former. You can avail of deduction up to Rs.1,50,000 on your Public Provident Fund under Section 80C of Income Tax Act, 1961. It is important to note that the interest on your PPF account is not liable to tax under Section 10(11) of the IT Act. The interest on your PPF account is determined by the central government. If money is deposited into your PPF account by your spouse, you cannot claim tax benefits (deduction) on it but your spouse can. Also, no deductions can be claimed by you in case you deposit money into the accounts of your parents.

Under Section 80E:

• UCO Educational Loans:

The UBO Bank offers educational loans for higher studies, vocational learning besides a premier loan scheme. You can avail of deductions on interest for education loans under Section 80E of the IT Act. The maximum loan amounts available for the premier loan scheme and vocational training is Rs.30 lakhs (base rate + 1%) and Rs.1.5 lakhs p.a (base rate +2.50% p.a) respectively.

The tax-saving financial instruments listed above from UCO Bank can be availed either by visiting any of your nearest UCO Bank branches or by logging onto online platforms.