Section 20 — Income from house property
Old Act equivalent: Section 22 of IT Act 1961 Sub-part: C.—Income from house property
Statutory Text
(1) The annual value of property consisting of any buildings or lands appurtenant thereto, owned by the assessee shall be chargeable to income-tax under the head “Income from house property”.
(2) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall not apply to such portions of the property, as the assessee may occupy for his business or profession, the profits of which are chargeable to income-tax.
Sub-sections
Sub-section (1)
The annual value of property consisting of any buildings or lands appurtenant thereto, owned by the assessee shall be chargeable to income-tax under the head “Income from house property”.
Sub-section (2)
The provisions of sub-section (1) shall not apply to such portions of the property, as the assessee may occupy for his business or profession, the profits of which are chargeable to income-tax.
Provisos
None.
Explanations
None.
Tables
None.
Key Structure
- Applies to: Any assessee who is the owner of buildings or lands appurtenant thereto
- Charging basis: Annual value of the property
- Property type: Buildings or lands appurtenant thereto (not standalone land)
- Ownership requirement: The assessee must be the “owner” — see section 25 for deemed ownership
- Exclusion: Portions of property occupied by the assessee for his own business or profession (those profits are taxed under head D — PGBP)
- Monetary limits: None in this section
- Time limits: Tax year basis
Cross-References
- s021-annual-value — Section 21: determination of annual value (the measure of income under this head)
- s022-deductions — Section 22: deductions allowable from house property income
- s023-arrears-rent — Section 23: arrears of rent and unrealised rent received subsequently
- s024-co-owners — Section 24: property owned by co-owners
- s025-interpretation — Section 25: interpretation — who is deemed to be “owner”
- s026-income-under-head-profits-and-gains-of-business-or-professio — Section 26: income under head PGBP (for property used for own business — sub-section (2))
Amendment Notes
None noted from the extracted pages.
Practical Notes
- This is a compact charging section — the substantive computation is in sections 21 and 22.
- The sub-section (2) exclusion for business-use property is critical: if the assessee uses a building for his own business, that portion is not taxed under this head — the income (if any) falls under PGBP.
- “Lands appurtenant thereto” means only lands connected to a building — standalone agricultural or non-agricultural land is not taxable under this head.
- Ownership is the sole criterion for chargeability — the person in occupation or the person receiving rent is irrelevant if they are not the owner (see section 25 for deemed owners).