Do You Keep Gold At Home? Know The Holding Limits In India To Avoid Tax Scrutiny
Gold is a favourite for Indians. Even as the precious metal touches sky-high prices, it retains its popularity as an investment avenue or for gifting purposes. However, with the upcoming income tax return filing deadlines, how much gold can you safely keep without worrying about the authorities?
India doesn’t have a strict limit on overall gold ownership or even on how much gold jewellery you can keep at home. However, there are certain limits beyond which you might have to explain the income source used to purchase the gold.
Storage Limits for Physical Gold
India enforces different limits for the storage of physical gold. While there is no official norm, any jewellery possession found beyond these levels demands the tax authorities pay closer attention to the goods and the individual’s income. The different limits are:
- Married Woman – Allowed to hold up to 500 gms of gold ornaments, jewellery
- Unmarried Woman – Eligible to hold up to 250 gms of gold jewellery
- Man (married/unmarried) – Permitted to possess up to 100 gms of gold ornaments, jewellery
What Happens If You Cross These Limits?
While these limits are not stringent, they serve the purpose of ensuring that gold ownership remains transparent and unaccounted wealth stays limited.
If you do have gold jewellery beyond these limits, be sure to save the income proofs to support your purchase. These can be in the form of invoices, inheritance records, receipts, etc.
Therefore, it is important that you disclose your gold possessions as part of your domestic assets in your ITR filing, if your overall income exceeds Rs 50 lakh.
Gold received as gift in the form of jewellery, bullion, ETF or mutual funds, is taxable only if its exceeds Rs 50,000. However, gifts received from family members or friends in the occasion of your marriage or any gold received from inheritance as part of the will remains exempted from tax.