Home Loan Benefits for Women in India

Applying for a home loan is a great way to get the funds for buying your dream home. If you are a woman, apart from getting the funds, you are also entitled to enjoy other benefits on your home loan. Read on to know more about it.

Today, more and more women in India are becoming financially independent and are rightfully gaining their place as head of the family. And, they are also taking important decisions like buying a home and applying for a loan independently. This has resulted in the financial organisations offering special home loan schemes for women to help become homeowners.

Let us look at some of the special home loan benefits that women are entitled to.

Special interest rates

Today, many financial organisations believe that women are more reliable and responsible home loan borrowers, and therefore to encourage them to buy a property, they offer special home loan interest rates. The interest rates offered to women are generally a few points lesser than the existing market rate.

A lower interest rate directly translates to the EMI becoming more affordable and it is easy for women to repay the amount. While the subsidised interest rate may be 0.05% lower than the rates offered to men, it can have a significant impact in the long-run and help you save a substantial amount.

Easy eligibility criteria

Apart from getting a home loan at lower interest rate, another significant benefit that you are entitled to enjoy as a women borrower is that you can easily qualify for the loan. Typically, the lenders in India lend higher amounts to women and have a simple eligibility criteria.

For example, most lenders would have the following requirements:

• You must an Indian citizen
• You must be aged between 21 and 65 years at the time of applying for the loan
• You must be salaried employee or a self-employed professional with a steady source of income

Lower stamp duty

When you purchase a home, and apply for a home loan, you would know that the stamp duty is one of the most significant charges you must bear. It is a statutory fee levied by the government. The fee is usually a certain percentage of the registered value of the property you buy.

For women home loan borrowers, the stamp duty may be 1% to 2% lower than the charges levied for the male buyers. Although the 1% -2% discount may seem like a nominal amount, when you consider the overall loan cost, you can save a significant amount.

Tax Benefit

Apart from getting valuable savings on stamp duty and interest rate, you are also entitled to get tax benefit on the home loan. You can claim tax deduction up to Rs. 1.5 lakhs in a financial year on the repayment of the principal amount under Section 80C of the Indian Income Tax Act. Additionally, you can claim tax benefit up to Rs. 2 lakhs on repayment of the home loan interest under Section 24(b) of the IT Act.

PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana) Benefits

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is a government initiative that aims to provide affordable housing units to all citizens and financial aid through home loan interest subsidy to aspiring home buyers. As per the PMAY mandate, it is mandatory for all home loan applicants to make a woman family member the co-owner of the property. Also, the PMAY scheme gives preference to women applicants, during the housing units allocation phase.

Final Word

With so many benefits available for women, you can apply for a home loan now and take your first step towards becoming a homeowner.