49 terms
A
Advance tax
Income tax paid in instalments during the year, once the bill is ₹10,000 or more.
Annuity
A pension bought from an insurer. NPS uses part of the corpus for one.
ASBA
A public-issue bid where the bank blocks the money instead of taking it on day one.
C
CAGR
The steady yearly growth rate between a starting value and an ending value.
Capital gains
Profit on a sale of a capital asset. The rate depends on the asset and the holding period.
Cess
Four percent of tax plus surcharge, charged after the rebate.
CIBIL score
A credit score from 300 to 900, with one free report a year.
Credit score
A 300 to 900 summary of your credit report. CIBIL’s score is one of them.
D
Demat
The electronic account that holds your shares, including shares allotted in an IPO.
E
EEE and EET
Two labels for where tax sits: tax-free at the end, or taxed when you take the money.
ELSS
An equity fund with a 3-year lock. Tax saving only in the old regime.
EMI
The fixed monthly payment on a loan, mixing interest and principal.
EPF
The provident fund you and your employer pay into, with its own withdrawal and tax rules.
Expense ratio
The fund’s yearly running cost, taken out of the assets before you see the return.
F
Fixed deposit
A lump sum parked at a bank’s rate. The interest is taxed as you earn it.
Form 16
The salary TDS certificate. Next year the same job is done by Form No. 130.
G
Gold ETF
Exchange-traded units that track gold, held in a demat account under SEBI’s mutual-fund rules.
Gratuity
A lump sum at the end of a job. The tax-free line for most people is ₹20 lakh.
Gross total income
Income from all heads, before the chapter of deductions such as section 123.
H
Hallmarking
The BIS purity mark and HUID on gold jewellery, mandatory in the districts the order covers.
HRA
House rent allowance. The old regime exempts the least of three amounts.
I
Indexation
A Cost Inflation Index uplift. Now a choice only for certain property.
IPO
A company’s first sale of shares to the public, bid through your demat account.
ITR
The income-tax return you file for a financial year.
L
LTCG
Long-term capital gains, taxed at 12.5% once the holding period is over.
M
Mutual fund
A pool of money you own as units. Tax depends on the fund and the holding period.
N
NAV
The price of one mutual-fund unit on a given day.
New tax regime
Section 202. Lower slabs, a ₹75,000 standard deduction, and few other deductions.
NPS
The National Pension System. Tax depends on who contributes and how you exit.
O
Old tax regime
The regime that still allows HRA, section 123 and home-loan interest.
P
PPF
A 15-year government scheme. The rate for the current quarter is 7.1%.
R
Rebate
A cut in the tax itself. Section 156 is the one people still call 87A.
Recurring deposit
A fixed monthly deposit. Post office interest is taxable, and the rate is notified each quarter.
Reducing balance
Interest is charged on the unpaid balance. Early EMIs are mostly interest.
Repo rate
The RBI policy rate. A home loan sits above it, at the rate in your sanction letter.
S
Section 87A rebate
Now section 156. It can wipe tax up to ₹12 lakh in the new regime, with marginal relief.
SIP
A fixed mutual-fund investment on a set date each month.
Small savings scheme
A government savings account. The interest rate is notified for each quarter.
Sovereign Gold Bond
A Reserve Bank gold bond that pays 2.5% interest. Fresh issues have not opened since February 2024.
Standard deduction
₹75,000 in the new regime and ₹50,000 in the old regime, for salary.
STCG
Short-term capital gains. Listed equity is 20%. Most other assets use your slab.
Surcharge
Extra tax above ₹50 lakh of income, with a cap on special-rate gains.
T
Tax slab
A band of income taxed at one rate. Each band is taxed on its own slice.
Taxable income
The income left after deductions, which is the figure the slabs use.
TDS
Tax deducted by the payer. It is adjusted when you file your return.
Tier I NPS
The NPS pension account. Withdrawals and the tax deductions sit here.
Tier II NPS
An optional NPS account you can withdraw from. It is not the pension account.
U
UAN
The number that ties your provident fund and your online claim to one login.
X
XIRR
The annual return for cash flows that happen on different dates.