Beginning of the new financial year is the time to plan new investments, new savings, settle old liabilities and explore more lucrative opportunities. It’s also the time to step back a bit and reflect on your finances, so that you can be managed more effectively in the coming year. It’s important to first set your priorities for the new financial year, incorporating past learnings, experiences, and then venturing with a fresh dash of optimism. Planning in advance and strategizing well is the key to a good financial year.
Whether you are aiming at boosting savings, short-term investments, parking your funds in immovable assets, or long-term investment with the hope of higher returns, it’s crucial to do a thorough background research, prepare a roadmap, and calculate rough estimates. If you are planning to take a loan for a life turning point in 2021-2022, or want to repay all your pre-existing liabilities at the soonest, always start with an outline of the prospects and the timeframe in mind. Set foot in risky market terrains only after reading the complete terms & agreements, disclosures and all prospectus. These days EMI cards with no-cost EMI are also a good option to save expenses.
As the new financial season kicks in, infusing new hopes and a chance to start afresh leaving behind old mistakes, here are the 7 tips to welcome the new financial year:
Tax Planning
The last-minute rush for filing tax returns can be avoided simply by planning early. It not only saves the final-hour rush, but also gives you ample time to figure out better tax-saving investments and other deductions. This will give you a fair idea not only about the deductions, rebates, refunds but also a correct assessment of your finances. At the start of a new financial year, there are certain changes to tax rules. Make sure that you are acquainted with them and factor the new rules in your tax estimations.
Be proactive
Deadline extension has become a recurring pattern since the past few years, mainly because of the tendency to file at the last minute. However, delaying return filing in the hope of deadline extension, is not at all a good idea. There are penalties if you file after the due date, and in case there’s no extension there will be no penalty exemption and you will have to shell out the money. Since the date of ITR filing will be earlier this year, as compared to last year, it’s best to collect all documents like investment statements, mutual fund documents, payment slips, TDS certificate, house rent receipts as early as you can. This will save the extra stress and enable you to calculate and plan with a cool mind.
Chose the tax regime carefully
Starting this year, tax payers have the option to choose from two tax regimes. While the new tax regime comes with a lower slab rate, you won’t be able to avail over 70 deductions. It’s best to evaluate the pros & cons of both the tax regimes, seek expert assistance if necessary, and only then select the regime which would give you the most benefits. Since this requires gaining detailed insights and careful consideration, we again get back to the premise of planning early and shirk unnecessary delays.
PPF
PPF or the Public Provident Fund is the most widely used investment vehicle for the purpose of tax savings. Under PPF, a maximum investment of Rs. 1.5 Lakhs can be made to avail tax deductions as per Section 80 C of the ITR. However, PPF benefits are fully leveraged only when you invest in it at the beginning of the new financial year, as it means you will be eligible for the interest for the entire year. If you invest towards the year-end, you will lose out the interest. PPF interest rates are revised each quarter by the government.
Forms 5H/15G
TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) is deducted by the banks before they calculate the interest accrued. If your income is lower than the taxable limit and you won’t incur any tax, then submit 15H/15G forms to your banks at the beginning of the financial year. If you don’t submit these forms, there can be a TDS deduction, whose refund you will have to apply for at the time of filing ITR. In order to prevent the deduction, timely submission of these forms is important.
Assess your Insurance Plans
Any insurance, be it health, property or home, is crucial to prepare for emergency situations and to safeguard your money. At the start of a new financial year, it’s best to reassess your insurance plans and explore more options if they are providing you a better deal. Staying constantly updated about insurance offerings is essential to get the policy with maximum benefits and to save your savings. If you don’t review your insurance policies each year, you can remain stuck with an outdated policy.
Focus on improving credit score
We all require loans at some point in time, and a higher credit score makes loan sanction at a low interest rate fairly smooth process. If you have a low credit score, a new financial year is the opportunity to improve it so that your future loan prospects are not dimmed on account of past delays in repayment. If you have any pending dues, try to close them at the earliest and then look for attractive EMI card options that will take care of your financial needs and boost your credit score as well. They provide no-cost EMI options as well. EMI without credit card can be availed as well. Buying devices like laptops on EMI is getting quite common because of the money it saves.
Conclusion: As is said, sound planning is essential for any successful execution, same is true for managing your finances. At the start of a new financial year, chalk out ways, plan, revise old investments, and get adequate info before any new investments. Finserv MARKETS EMI card is a good option to make more savings this year. It provides plenty of user-benefits like no-cost EMI