How a will can save you lot of tax

May 07, 2014, 05.44 PM IST | Source: Moneycontrol.com

How a will can save you lot of tax Where a person is interested in the creation of a charitable
trust or the transfer of property after his demise for the benefit of the public for charitable
purposes, this, too, can easily be done through the will.

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Many tax advantages are possible only through a Will. For example, a separate income-tax file
for a Hindu undivided family can be established by transfer of property through a Will.
Similarly, bequests can be made to minor children and minor grand children through a Will in a
manner such there is no clubbing of income under the provision of Section 64(1). Transfer of
assets can be made by Will to ones wife or ones daughter-in-law without any consideration and
without attracting the clubbing provisions of Section 64 (1). Where a person is interested in the
creation of a charitable trust or the transfer of property after his demise for the benefit of the
public for charitable purposes, this, too, can easily be done through the Will. The different tax
planning aspects through Will are described below in some detail. 1. Tax saving by creating a
Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) through a Will One of the important means of tax planning
which can be adopted through a Will is the creation of a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF). Under
the provisions of Section 64(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 where a member of a Hindu family
impresses his self- acquired property with the character of a joint family property, the income
therefrom is to be clubbed with his other income. This disadvantage can be overcome by transfer
of property in favour of the coparcenery of a Hindu governed by the Mitkshara School of Hindu
Law so that a separate Hindu undivided family (HUF) comes into existence which is recognised
as an independent and separate taxable entity under the Income-tax law. For example, let us
assume that you wish to transfer certain property to your son, his wife and his children. One can
then make a Will and transfer the property to the Hindu Undivided Family of ones son,
stipulating in unequivocal terms that the property transferred would belong only to the sons
Hindu undivided family and not to individual family members. The property would then get
bequeathed to the Hindu undivided family which would be a separate tax entity. The newly-
created HUF would be able to enjoy separate exemption limit applicable to an individual
taxpayer under the Finance Act for the time being in force. 2. Tax Planning for bequests to minor
children or grand children through a Will Under the provisions of Section 64(1) if a person
makes a gift to his minor children, minor grand children (paternal side) then the income accruing
or arising to the minor children or minor grand children (other than disabled children) as the case
may be, would be clubbed with the income of the donor.
This would not, however, be the case if one were to make a bequest to ones minor children or
minor grand children through a Will. The reason is obvious. After the demise of the testator, the
assets given to the minor child would result into separate funds of the minor child, income from
which would not be clubbed once the minor attains majority. It is possible to avoid clubbing of
income of the minor by setting the funds to a trust for the minor based on the principles of a
Supreme Court decision [CIT vs. Mr. Doshi, (1995) 211 AIR 1 (SC)]. Thus, a Will can be
adopted as a proper device for transfer of property by way of bequest through a Will leading to a
lot of tax saving. 3. Tax planning for transfer of funds to ones spouse through Will During a
taxpayers life-time any gifts made to ones spouse are liable to be included in the income of the
donor under the provisions of Section 64(1). However, when bequests are made in favour of
ones spouse through a Will, obviously there is no question of clubbing of income. This can
result in a lot of tax saving. With the abolition of the estate duty this device, as well as other
modes of transfer of property through Wills can be very profitably adopted. 4. Tax Planning for
transfer to daughter-in-law by a Will Under the provisions of Sections 64(1)(vi) and (viii) of the
Income-tax Act, 1961 it is provided that where a transfer of property is made in favour of the
daughter-in-law either directly or for her benefit to the trustees of a trust, the income from the
transferred assets would be clubbed with the income of the donor. This handicap can, however,
be overcome through the Will. Thus, a bequest can be made in favour of ones daughter-in law,
so as to confer on her an absolute title, and make her a taxable entity if she is not already one,
after the testators demise. There would not be any clubbing of the income of the daughter-in-law
with the income of the executor to the estate of the deceased person after the testators death.