Latest articles on Life Insurance, Non-life Insurance, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Small Saving Schemes and Personal Finance to help you make well-informed money decisions.
To ease and update yourself about your financial transactions, avail of online services being offered by various financial institutions.
Public Provident Fund account
If your PPF account is at a branch of the State Bank of India, you can skip multiple trips to the bank to invest your money. Just log in to your Net banking account and transfer the money to the PPF one. Of course, for this convenience, you will need to link the PPF account to the savings account in the same branch. This feature is especially handy if you have relocated to a new city and cannot access your home branch. Another time-saving advantage is that you cannot invest more than Rs 25,000 at one go at your home branch.
This means that you will have to make at least four trips to the bank if you plan to deposit Rs1 lakh, which is the revised limit, in the PPF account. Also, as the PPF is a tax-saving instrument, most investors choose to deposit money in it just before their employers ask for the tax declaration. This obviously leads to long queues at banks. Don't worry if your PPF account and savings account are in different SBI branches or even in a different bank. You can simply add the PPF account in your Net banking list of third party transfer and continue smoothly with the transaction.
Though the savings account can be in any bank, it is necessary for the PPF account to be at an SBI branch. This is why you won't be able to enjoy this benefit if your PPF account is with a post office or any other nationalised bank. If you want the convenience, you will have to transfer the account to an SBI branch. To do this, you can submit an application at the post office requesting for a transfer and also complete the necessary paperwork at the bank.
Remember, if you are investing every month in the PPF, you should try to do so before the 5th of the month. This is because the interest is compounded monthly, and if you deposit the money after this date, you will not earn any interest on your investment for that month.
Employee Provident Fund
If you have switched jobs and have applied for transfer of money from your previous Employee Provident Fund account to the new one, you can check the status of your application at epfindia.com.
This website is run by the office of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation and allows you to track your account status online. Apart from this, you can check the total amount in your account. For this, you will have to put in your PF account number and address of the office where your company's PF account is maintained. The site will ask for your mobile phone number and, within minutes, it will send a message mentioning the total amount in your account.
Cibil Score
A good credit score is essential if you want to take a loan. Firstly, it assures the lender that you are diligent about paying your dues and can be considered a 'secure' customer. Secondly, it can help you get a speedy approval for the loan and negotiate for a better rate of interest.
So, it's best if you check your credit score periodically. You can do this from the comfort of your armchair by logging in to the website of the Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd, cibil.com. However, you will have to pay Rs450 to access the credit report.
The site will ask you to key in your personal details as well as a scanned copy of your address proof. After you pay on the site (through a credit/debit card or Net banking), you will get a registration ID. To ensure authenticity, the site will ask you three questions related to your credit history. Once you clear this process, the credit score will be e-mailed to you within four days. Obviously, if the authentication process fails, you will not be able to access the report. In such a case, you need to print a copy of the payment receipt which would have been e-mailed to you.
You will also have to attach self-attested identity and address proofs and courier these to Cibil's office (Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd, Hoechst House, 6th Floor, 193 Backbay Reclamation, Nariman Point, Mumbai (400021). The credit report will reach you in 10-12 days.
Tax Status
Before paying tax, it might be a good idea to know how much has already been deducted from your accounts. The best way to check this is through Form 26 AS, an annual tax statement that lists your total tax outgo.
You can get it by registering yourself at the tax information network site of the Income Tax Department, tin-nsdl.com. Says Suresh Surana, director of RSM Astute Consulting: "Being able to access the tax statement online has made the process convenient for taxpayers. Before filing your tax return, you should check Form 26 AS as this will help you avoid a TDS mismatch."
However, this will require some physical effort on your part. You will only be able to view your tax statement online after filling up a verification form and submitting it at an income tax office. You can personally pay a one-time fee of Rs17, or have someone collect it, which will cost you Rs110.
+91 9830265867
9674567777, 9073969999
Corporate Office:
190B, Manicktala Main Road,
Kankurgachhi Crossing,
Kolkata - 700054
Branch Office:
20, Kaikhali Main Road,
Near Reliance Smart Point,
www.surojitkala.com
surojitkala@gmail.com
wealtharchitect@surojitkala.com
All Rights Reserved © 2018 www.surojitkala.com
Industry News