I had bought a plot ten years ago. I plan to build a house in it, for which my wife will be the co-borrower. Will my wife become the co-owner as she is the co-borrower?
Mayank Jain, Jaipur
There are two different aspects – ownership of land and borrowing for construction of a house. You cannot become a co-owner of a plot or property by simply taking a joint loan to construct a house on it. Ownership is separate from who takes the loan. If the plot is owned by you, any structure built on it automatically belongs to you. That is, unless you separately create an interest in favour of your spouse. For the sake of taking tax benefits on the loan, you should know that only those co-borrowers of the loan who are co-owners of the property can claim tax deduction benefits, to the extent of their respective shares in the loan. If the intent of co-borrowing is to claim tax benefits for both of you – you need to include your wife as the co-owner of the plot.
