A home loan in India can cut your taxable income on two fronts: interest up to Rs 2 lakh a year under Section 24(b) for a self-occupied house, and principal repayment within the Rs 1.5 lakh limit under Section 80C. These deductions sit almost entirely inside the old tax regime, so the regime you pick decides whether you get them at all. The extra first-time-buyer reliefs under Sections 80EE and 80EEA are tied to old loan-sanction windows that have now closed.
Quick answer: Under the old tax regime you can deduct home loan interest up to Rs 2 lakh a year (Section 24(b), self-occupied) and principal repayment plus stamp duty within the overall Rs 1.5 lakh Section 80C cap. Section 80EEA gave an extra Rs 1.5 lakh, but only for loans sanctioned between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2022, so it is not available on a fresh loan. The default new regime allows none of these for a self-occupied house.
A housing loan EMI has two parts, interest and principal, which the Income-tax Act 1961 treats under separate provisions. A third set of sections once added a top-up for first-time buyers.
The single biggest catch sits across all of them: they are old-regime benefits. The new regime under Section 115BAC is now the default, and it switches off the Section 24(b) self-occupied interest deduction, all of Section 80C, and Sections 80EE/80EEA. Choose your regime each year with this trade-off in mind.
This guide states the position under the Income-tax Act 1961, which fully governs financial year 2025-26 (assessment year 2026-27). The new Income-tax Act 2025 takes effect from 1 April 2026 and applies to income from tax year 2026-27 onward (incometax.gov.in); it re-enacts these home loan deductions under renumbered sections, so check current section numbers when you file for that year.
Section 24(b) lets you deduct interest on money borrowed to buy, build, repair or reconstruct a house, under the head Income from House Property.
The principal portion of your EMI is deductible under Section 80C, which the Income Tax Department lists with a “combined Rs 1.5 lakh limit” covering insurance, provident fund, tuition fees and loan principal (incometax.gov.in).
These sections gave first-time buyers interest relief over and above Section 24(b). Both are now shut for fresh loans because they are tied to fixed sanction windows.
If you already hold a loan sanctioned inside either window, you can keep claiming the deduction until the loan is repaid, subject to the conditions.
Worked example
Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak takes a self-occupied home loan and, in FY 2025-26 under the old regime, pays Rs 2.4 lakh interest and Rs 1.1 lakh principal, with Rs 60,000 stamp duty and registration in the same year. He deducts Rs 2 lakh of interest under Section 24(b) (the rest is lost as it exceeds the cap). His principal of Rs 1.1 lakh plus Rs 60,000 stamp duty totals Rs 1.7 lakh, but Section 80C caps it at Rs 1.5 lakh. His daughter Kashvi Pathak, on a fresh loan, asks about Section 80EEA and learns it is closed because her loan was sanctioned after 31 March 2022.
RTI is a narrow but useful tool here, and only for public-sector lenders. A private bank or NBFC is not a public authority, so the RTI Act 2005 does not reach it. But if your home loan is with a public-sector bank or a government housing-finance body, you can file an RTI to obtain records the branch is slow to share: your loan account statement, the interest certificate, the date your loan was sanctioned (which decides 80EE/80EEA eligibility), or the status of a closure or no-dues request.
Draft a clean, specific request with the AI RTI Drafter. If the public-sector lender stays silent past 30 days or refuses without reason, escalate using the First Appeal Builder.
No. The new regime under Section 115BAC, now the default, disallows the Section 24(b) interest deduction for a self-occupied house and all Section 80C deductions, including loan principal. Interest on a let-out property is treated differently, but the self-occupied and 80C reliefs are old-regime only.
Up to Rs 2 lakh a year for a self-occupied house. If construction is not completed within 5 years of the loan, the limit drops to Rs 30,000. For a let-out property the full interest is deductible, but the resulting loss set-off against other income is capped at Rs 2 lakh a year under Section 71.
No. Loan principal repayment shares the single Rs 1.5 lakh Section 80C cap with PPF, ELSS, insurance, EPF, tuition fees and the rest. It is not an additional Rs 1.5 lakh.
No. Section 80EEA applies only to loans sanctioned between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2022. That window has closed, so a loan taken today is not eligible. If your loan was sanctioned inside the window, you can keep claiming it until repayment.
Yes, under Section 80C, but only in the year you actually pay them and only within the overall Rs 1.5 lakh limit.
Only if your lender is a public authority, such as a public-sector bank or government housing-finance body. Private banks and NBFCs are outside the RTI Act 2005, so RTI cannot be used against them.