Section 24 of the Income Tax Act
Income-tax Act, 2025: s.22
Section 24 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 corresponds to section 22 (Deductions from income from house property) of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
Read section 22 of the 2025 Act
Correspondence checked against the ICAI tabular mapping of the two Acts and the BharatTax.co section commentary.
The decision most relied on for Section 24 is Chennai Properties & Investments Ltd. v. CIT (373 ITR 673), cited in 381 of the 701 judgments on BharatTax that turn on this section.
Leading authorities on Section 24
Income from immovable property, such as unsold flats or shops, held by an assessee as stock-in-trade in their business of acquiring and holding properties is taxable as 'business income' and not 'income from house property'. Consequently, notional annual letting value under Section 23 cannot be attributed to such stock-in-trade.
An assessee engaged in the business of hire purchase or leasing, being the lessor, is entitled to claim depreciation on assets leased out, even if the assets are registered in the name of the lessee and used by the lessee.
The expression "for the purpose of business" is wider in scope than "for the purpose of earning profits" and encompasses expenditures made for commercial expediency, business preservation, administration, and modernization.
Income derived from letting out property along with incidental use of furniture, fixtures, and common facilities is assessable as 'income from house property' and not 'business income' when the prime object is merely to let out and not to exploit the property as a business asset.
Income derived from letting out property is classified as business income only if the letting activity constitutes a business from a businessman's perspective, rather than mere exploitation of property by an owner. The company's object clause is not the sole determinative factor in this assessment.
Rental income from immovable property owned by an assessee must be assessed under the head 'Income from House Property' (Section 22), even if the assessee is engaged in the business of real estate or property development and leasing. This emphasizes the mandatory classification of income under its specific statutory head.
Income from sources not falling under any other head of income under Section 14 of the Income Tax Act is taxed under the residuary head 'income from other sources'. If income cannot be taxed under Section 45 (capital gains), it cannot be taxed at all.
The object clause in a partnership deed is not determinative of the head under which rental income is to be assessed; income from letting out shops and stalls developed by the assessee may still be classified as 'Income from House Property' rather than 'Profits and Gains of Business'.
If an assessee company's main business object is to acquire and rent out properties, the rental income derived is taxable as 'Profits and gains of business or profession', rather than 'Income from house property', as the nature of the activity constitutes a business.
Income received by an assessee from leasing or letting out assets, whether categorized as lease amount, rent, or license fee, is a mixed question of law and fact to determine if it falls under 'Profits and gains of business or profession'. No precise test exists, and the determination must consider the perspective of a businessman, the specific facts, and the true interpretation of the letting agreement.
