If you wish to rent a 3BHK comfortable, furnished flat in south Delhi today, you would have to pay rent in the region of Rs 80,000 per month. That’s when you need to be careful, because as per a new regulation, you would be required to deduct TDS at 5 percent from your rent before handing it over to the landlord.

On June 9, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) notified amended rules on payment of TDS on rent above Rs 50,000 per month. The Finance Act, 2017 inserted a new provision, Section 194B in the Income Tax Act which said that individuals and HUFs paying rent of Rs 50,000 or more per month must deduct 5% tax at source.

This notification takes retrospective effect from June 1.

If your landlord does not have PAN or does not furnish his PAN then TDS deductible is 20%, subject to a maximum limit of the amount of rent payable for the month of March or last month of tenancy as the case may be.

—India Legal Bureau