6 Key Financial Changes That Will Impact Your Wallet This July!

July 2024 is buzzing with the news of the 53rd GST Council Meeting. The meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, addressed tax rate updates. This month will also witness income tax filing deadlines, which are among the crucial financial updates. 

Let’s roll on to the Key financial updates that can impact your wallet. 

6 Key Financial Changes That Will Impact Your Wallet

1. Union Budget 

The month of June saw the formation of the government by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which was led by the BJP, i.e., the Bhartiya Janta Party. The finance minister will announce the union budget for 2024 in July. These announcements will address changes in income tax, medical expense deductions, tax rebates, and pension benefits. 

Let’s consider the increase in tax rebates. Under the new tax regime, the Indian government raised the rebate from 5 Lakh to 7 Lakh last year. This month, we can expect an increase in the basic exemption limits under the tax regimes. 

The healthcare industry will see a major change in GST return filing, with more tax deductions on medical expenses. The increasing medical costs have resulted in taxpayers expecting a hike in deductions. These deductions might be seen in health insurance premium payments and medical expenses. 

Under section 80D, taxpayers are liable to claim deductions up to 25000 per year for self and family on each health insurance premium. For senior citizens, the limit increases to 50000. The Section 80D benefits can be leveraged only under the old income tax regime. 

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) wishes a tax-free cap to be increased by 12% of basic salary. It will also be applied on allowances, if any, applied from 10% for employees working in the private sector. 

July will also see a separate tax deduction bucket for life insurance premiums as section 80C is overflowing with other tax-saving opportunities. Investors want taxation rules to be relaxed on mutual debt funds and thus need tax-free status on annuity income. 

2. Tax Filing Deadlines 

For the 2024-25 assessment year, July 31 is the last date for tax filing in India. Instead of waiting until July 31 to file taxes, it is better to initiate the process sooner. Waiting for closer due dates can lead to glitches, causing unfiled GST returns. Also, when the due dates are nearer, the website witnesses heavy traffic, which causes difficulties in GST return filing. Thus, filing returns earlier is advisable to avoid last-minute mistakes and rush. 

3. Joint Mutual Fund Portfolios With Sebi

On June 10, Sebi issued a circular that said it would not freeze the demat accounts and MF (mutual fund) portfolios of investors on failing to submit nominations. This decision was taken for existing investors and account holders when the market participants expressed the need for simplified compliance and convenience to the investors. 

According to the recent circular from Sebi, Investors with physical properties are eligible to receive dividend receipts, interest or redemption payments, and decreased grievances. 

Last December, Sebi extended the deadline up to June 30 for completing or updating the mutual fund’s investor nominations. However, there are possibilities that the investors who have not filled or updated the details might find their accounts being frozen in July. 

4. Citi Credit Migrate to Axis Bank Credit Cards 

By July 15, we will see Citi credit cards being migrated completely to Axis Bank credit cards. Launching new credit card variants, the Axis bank eases migration of Citi credit card users to Axis bank ensuring they get same benefits. Additionally, the migration doesn’t impact the credentials of the users. It means post migration the card number, pin, date of expiry, and CVV would remain same for Axis credit cards as on Citi cards. 

The billing cycle, payment due dates and bank statement generation dates will remain unchanged for Axis bank credit cards. Also, balance rewards across all the banking products will get consolidated under one roof. You can view them on Axis bank mobile banking app or Axis bank Edge rewards portal post migration. 

The slight change would be the interest rates. Interest statements generated after migration will be based on the rates of Axis Bank. 

5. Lounge Access Policy By Yes Bank 

YES Bank Credit Card Holders unlock complimentary domestic lounge access by paying 35000 more in one quarter. This policy is effective from July 1. The spending threshold has been raised from 10000Rs to 35000 in the calendar quarter. 

The listed quarters to meet the threshold are March 21 to June 20, June 21 to September 20, September 21 to December 20, and December 21 to March 20 for 2025. Users who successfully meet these criteria will benefit from lounge access in the following quarter. 

The credit cards cater to YES Marquee, YES SELECT, YES Reserv, YES First Preferred, Yes BYOC, Yes Bank ELITE, and YES Wellness Plus. 

6. HSBC Bank On Reward Points 

HSBC bank updated credit card holders on excluding merchant categories for reward points. Effective July 1st, the bank said certain credit card transactions will not be considered eligible for the accrual of reward points. These transactions include government payments, insurance premiums, adding amounts to e-wallets, fuel payments, taxations, utility transactions, and more. 

Wrap Up

Hopefully, you have understood how the financial updates in July can impact your wallet. Stay tuned for more updates on tax filing, e-way billing, budgets, and other financial information. Connect with us for more queries through the comment section below. 

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