A Bengaluru couple bought their first flat together, put both their names on the loan, and assumed they would both get the full tax breaks that everyone talks about. At the end of the year their accountant delivered two surprises. One spouse was named on the loan but not on the sale deed, so could claim nothing, and the couple had chosen the new tax regime, under which the home loan deductions for a self occupied property simply do not apply. The lesson was not that joint ownership is a bad idea, it is that the benefits depend on getting the structure right. Buying a home jointly can double your tax breaks, but only if the deed, the loan and the tax regime line up.

The short answer. Buying a home jointly means two or more people are co-owners on the title, ideally in defined shares. If each co-owner is also a co-borrower on the loan, each can separately claim the home loan interest deduction of up to 2 lakh and the principal deduction of up to 1.5 lakh, roughly doubling the tax benefit for a couple. The trade off, and the catch, is that these deductions apply only under the old tax regime for a self occupied home, so the structure only pays off if you are on both the deed and the loan and you choose the regime that allows the deductions.

What does buying a home jointly mean?

Buying a home jointly means two or more people are recorded as co-owners of the property on the sale deed. It is common between spouses, but also between a parent and child or siblings, and the co-owners can hold the property in equal or unequal shares. The key point is that co-ownership is defined by the sale deed and the ownership share it records, not by who happens to be on the loan or who pays the bills. A couple buying a flat such as Arvind Sylva in Kodathi together should decide, before registration, whose names go on the deed and in what proportion.

Defining the share matters because it shapes both rights and, as the later sections show, tax benefits. Where the deed is silent on shares, co-owners are generally taken to hold equally, but it is far cleaner to state the intended shares expressly. Doing so avoids later disputes and lets you align the ownership with how you actually fund the purchase.

Co-owner or co-applicant: what is the difference?

A co-owner is named on the property deed, while a co-applicant, or co-borrower, is named on the loan, and for tax benefits you need to be both. As a guide to joint home loan tax benefits puts it, besides being an owner you must also be an applicant on the loan documents to claim the deductions. This is exactly where the couple in our opening scene came unstuck: a person on the loan but not on the deed, or on the deed but not on the loan, does not get the home loan tax benefit.

So the two roles must line up for each person who wants the tax advantage. Before registration and loan sanction, decide who is a co-owner and make sure the same people are co-borrowers, rather than adding someone to the loan for eligibility while leaving them off the title. Getting this alignment right at the start is far easier than trying to correct it after the deed and the loan are signed.

What tax benefits does joint ownership unlock?

Each qualifying co-owner can separately claim the home loan deductions, which roughly doubles the benefit for a couple. Each co-owner who is also a co-borrower can claim up to 2 lakh in interest under the relevant section and up to 1.5 lakh in principal, so two co-owners can together claim far more than a single owner could. The table below sets out how the numbers change between a single owner and two joint co-owners.

The doubling is real but conditional. The deductions are shared in the ratio of ownership, so each co-owner claims against their share, and the benefit only reaches its full potential when both are co-owners and co-borrowers who actually contribute. Our guide to the home loan interest deduction under Section 24(b) explains the interest side in more detail.

Why does the ownership share matter?

Because the tax benefit is allocated in the ratio of ownership, the share you record decides how the deductions split. The total interest paid on the loan is allocated to the owners in the ratio of their ownership, so a 50:50 split lets each claim half, while an unequal share shifts the benefit accordingly. If the ownership ratio and the actual loan contribution do not match, the tax benefits change too, and can be challenged if they do not reflect reality.

So the sensible approach is to align three things: the ownership share on the deed, the contribution each person makes to the down payment and the EMIs, and the tax benefit each intends to claim. When these are consistent, the deductions are straightforward to claim and defend. When they are not, a couple can find that the benefit they expected does not match what the ownership ratio allows.

One more practical point often trips couples up: a deduction is only useful to someone who has taxable income to set it against. If one co-owner has little or no taxable income, their share of the interest and principal deduction may go unused, so the benefit does not truly double. When you plan the ownership split, weigh not just who is on the deed and the loan, but who actually has the income to absorb the deduction each year.

Is the new tax regime a catch?

Yes, and it is the catch that surprises most joint buyers. The home loan deductions under the principal and interest sections, for a self occupied property, are available only under the old tax regime; under the new regime they are not available as a deduction. So a couple who structure the purchase perfectly for tax, then file under the new regime, get none of the home loan benefit on a self occupied home.

This means the tax advantage of joint ownership is not automatic, it is tied to your regime choice. If the home loan deductions are central to your plan, you need to weigh the old regime against the new one for each co-owner, since the regime that is better overall may differ from the one that maximises the housing deduction. Treat the regime decision as part of the joint ownership plan, not a separate afterthought at filing time.

There is one nuance worth knowing. The restriction bites hardest on a self occupied home; for a property that is let out, the interest deduction is treated differently and is not entirely lost under the new regime. Most first time joint buyers, though, are buying a home to live in, so the self occupied position is the one that usually applies. You can confirm the current deduction limits and conditions on the official income tax portal at incometax.gov.in before you rely on any figure in your planning.

What should a couple do when buying jointly?

Decide the structure deliberately before you register and borrow, rather than discovering the gaps at tax time. The checklist below turns joint ownership from an assumption into a set of decisions you make on purpose.

1. Decide who will be on the title and in what share, and record it in the sale deed.
2. Make sure each person who wants tax benefits is both a co-owner and a co-borrower.
3. Align the ownership share with the split of the down payment and the loan.
4. Confirm the deductions you plan to claim exist under your chosen tax regime.
5. Keep records of who paid the down payment and each EMI.
6. Consider how each co-owner's share would pass on, and plan succession.
7. Take tax advice before you finalise the ownership structure.

Working through these seven steps means the tax breaks you were promised actually materialise, and the ownership reflects what each person put in. On the succession point, our guide to nominee versus legal heir explains how a co-owner's share passes on, which is worth settling at the same time as the purchase.

Frequently asked questions

Do both joint owners get home loan tax benefits?

Only if each is both a co-owner on the deed and a co-borrower on the loan. When that is true, each can separately claim up to 2 lakh in interest and up to 1.5 lakh in principal. A person named only on the loan, or only on the deed, does not get the home loan tax benefit.

Does the ownership share affect the tax benefit?

Yes. The interest paid is allocated to the co-owners in the ratio of their ownership, so the share recorded on the deed decides how the deductions split. A 50:50 share lets each claim half; an unequal share shifts the benefit accordingly. It is best to align the ownership share with how much each person actually contributes.

Are joint home loan tax benefits available under the new regime?

No, not for a self occupied property. The principal and interest deductions on a home loan for a self occupied home are available only under the old tax regime; the new regime does not allow them as a deduction. So a couple relying on these benefits must weigh their regime choice, because the new regime removes the housing deduction.

Should a spouse be added to the property title?

Adding a spouse as a co-owner can double the home loan tax benefits if the spouse is also a co-borrower and contributes, and it clarifies ownership between the couple. But it should reflect real contribution and be recorded with a defined share. Decide the share and the loan roles together, and take tax advice before finalising the structure.

Last updated 2026-07-12. PropNewz Team.