Sell a residential house and reinvest the long-term capital gains into another residential property — Section 54 of the Income Tax Act lets you shelter those gains from tax entirely, up to ₹10 crore. This exemption is available to individuals and HUFs under both the old and new tax regimes. The conditions are specific, the timelines are strict, and one missed requirement disqualifies the entire claim. Here's everything that matters: who qualifies, what the limits are, how the exemption is calculated, and what happens when things don't go to plan.
When you sell a house and use the long-term capital gains to buy another residential property, Section 54 removes the tax on those gains — up to ₹10 crore. It's not automatic and it's not unlimited, but for most sellers, the exemption covers the entire gain if the reinvestment is planned correctly.
Only long-term capital gains qualify. Short-term gains — from property held 24 months or less — get no relief under this section.
Only individuals and HUFs can claim this exemption. Companies, LLPs, partnership firms, and other entities are excluded — full stop.
Conditions that must all be satisfied:
For compulsory acquisition cases, these timelines run from the date compensation is received, not the acquisition date itself.
Miss any single condition and the exemption is disallowed entirely. There's no partial compliance.
The exempt amount is whichever is lower: the long-term capital gain, or the amount actually invested in the new property. The ₹10 crore ceiling applies as a hard upper limit on top of that.
Two illustrative cases:
Worked examples with the ₹10 crore ceiling:
The formula: take the lower of LTCG or new property cost, then cap at ₹10 crore. Whatever remains above the exempt amount is taxable as LTCG.
Budget 2023 introduced a ceiling on how much capital gain can be sheltered under both Section 54 and Section 54F. Before this change, there was no upper limit — the entire gain was exempt as long as the reinvestment conditions were met.
*Section 54F exemption is also subject to proportionate calculation limits.
For high-value properties in metro cities where gains can exceed ₹10 crore, the portion above the cap remains fully taxable — reinvesting more doesn't help.
Selling the newly purchased or constructed property within 3 years from the date of acquisition triggers a reversal. The capital gain that was exempt at the time of the original sale becomes taxable in the year of the new sale.
The cost of the new house gets adjusted before computing the gain on that subsequent sale:
Worked example — Mr. Z:
Mr. Z sold a house in June 2015. Capital gain: ₹25 lakhs. He bought a new house in October 2015 for ₹40 lakhs. In January 2017, he sold that new house for ₹55 lakhs.
FY 2015-16 (year of first sale):
FY 2016-17 (year of new house sale — within 3 years):
The earlier exemption doesn't vanish — it simply shifts to become part of the gain calculation on the second sale.
If you've sold the property but haven't yet bought or built the new house before your ITR filing date, you can still claim the exemption — by depositing the capital gains into a Capital Gains Account Scheme (CGAS) account at a notified bank.
The amount already spent on purchase or construction, combined with whatever sits in the CGAS, counts toward the exemption claim. Both together need to meet the reinvestment conditions.
Public sector banks have historically offered this facility. More recently, the government notified that private sector banks and small finance banks can also accept CGAS deposits. That said, individual bank readiness varies — not every notified bank has activated the facility yet, so confirm before walking in. Deposits via UPI, BHIM, NEFT, RTGS, debit cards, and credit cards are now accepted under the scheme.
One thing many taxpayers miss: depositing into CGAS buys time, not a permanent exemption. Any amount not deployed for the specified purpose within the applicable period — 2 years for purchase, 3 years for construction — gets treated as taxable capital gains in the year that window closes.
The key practical difference: Section 54F demands you invest the entire sale proceeds for full exemption — not just the gain. Section 54 only requires the gain itself to be reinvested. For large transactions, that distinction changes the cash planning entirely.
Proportionate exemption and Section 54EC: If the new property costs less than the total capital gain, only the invested amount is exempt. The remaining taxable gain can be further reduced by investing in Section 54EC bonds within 6 months of the original sale — up to ₹50 lakhs per financial year. Using both sections together can shelter a larger portion of the gain.
Property must be in the seller's name: The new residential house must be purchased in the name of the seller. Buying in a spouse's or child's name doesn't satisfy the condition, and the exemption won't be allowed.
Builder delay protection: If the builder doesn't hand over possession within 3 years due to delays on their end, the exemption isn't automatically lost — provided the investment was made on schedule and the construction was underway. This protection exists on paper, but assessments in delayed-possession cases do attract scrutiny. Keep your allotment letter, all payment receipts, and any written correspondence with the builder. Those documents are the difference between a clean assessment and a prolonged dispute.
Yes — and it's one of the more useful parts of this section that often gets overlooked. The new property can be purchased up to 1 year before the sale of the original house, and the exemption still applies. So buying first and selling within 12 months doesn't cost you the claim. Keep both transaction documents organized — the date gap between purchase and sale is exactly what the assessing officer will check.
No. The option to reinvest across two residential properties — available when the capital gain is ₹2 crore or less — can only be used once. It doesn't reset in future years. If you used it in a 2018 transaction, you can't use it again even if the 2025 gain also falls under ₹2 crore. This makes the timing of that decision genuinely important — it's worth using it in the right transaction, not just the first one where you qualify.
Only the amount actually put into the new property is exempt — the rest stays taxable. If your LTCG is ₹1 crore and you invest ₹70 lakhs in a new house, ₹70 lakhs is exempt and ₹30 lakhs is taxable. That remaining ₹30 lakhs can potentially be reduced further by investing in Section 54EC bonds within 6 months of the sale. Running both routes together often covers more of the gain than either section alone. Calculate the combination before filing.
The deposited amount that isn't used for the qualifying reinvestment by the prescribed deadline — 2 years for purchase, 3 years for construction — becomes taxable capital gains in the year that period expires. It's treated as income in that year, at the applicable LTCG rate. Many taxpayers assume the deposit itself secures the exemption permanently. It doesn't. Mark the utilization deadline clearly from the day you open the CGAS account.
Yes — unlike many other deductions that disappear under the new regime, Section 54 remains available under both old and new regimes. If you're in the new regime and you sell a residential house, you can still claim the capital gains exemption by reinvesting in another residential property on schedule. The ₹10 crore ceiling and all other conditions apply equally regardless of which regime you've opted into.
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