I am a senior citizen and I did not incur capital gains in FY 2019-20. Can I file ITR-1?

I am a senior citizen with a demat account and income from pension and interests. For the financial year 2019-20, I have not earned any capital gains or loss. I have only received income from pension and interests and dividends. Can I file ITR-1?

Homi Mistry Partner, Deloitte India replies: It is possible for you to file ITR-1 for 2019-20 provided your taxable income - income from pension and interest-does not exceed Rs 50 lakh. The other two requirements are you qualify as a Resident and Ordinary Resident of India and you are not a director in a company nor have invested in unlisted equity shares.

What will be the implication of capital gains arising out of the transfer of a residential property where the exemption has been claimed by investing in an under construction property? The under construction property remains incomplete even after three years from the transfer date. Now, I wish to transfer this incomplete property to someone else. Will this also attract capital gains tax?

Archit Gupta, CEO, ClearTax replies, "Section 54 mandates the completion of construction of house property within three years for claiming capital gains exemption. The capital gains exemption gets revoked due to non-completion of construction and gets taxed in the financial year in which the three year period expires. The transfer of under-construction property results in the transfer of the capital asset for the taxpayer. Though the construction of the property is incomplete, the taxpayer has rights of an owner in the property. The sale of the under-construction property transfers the ownership rights to another person. The transfer is accordingly taxable under ‘capital gains’. For the purpose of calculation of capital gains, the entire amount invested in the property will constitute the purchase cost. The date of purchase is the date of investment in the under-construction property. The calculation of the period of holding will be from the date of purchase. As period of holding is above two years, gains from the sale will be long-term capital gains."