Here's how those big foreign expenses affect your taxes

Say you're planning a vacation abroad with your family. Your spouse, whose income isn't large enough to be taxed, books a ₹5-lakh overseas tour package using her bank account. You all have a great time and return refreshed.

- Aprajita Sharma

A few months later your wife receives a notice from the Income Tax Department for not disclosing high-value transactions and not filing an income tax return (ITR). This comes as a surprise because your wife doesn't pay income tax.

So what happened?

Well, if you conduct a high-value foreign transaction, it doesn't matter that you don't pay income tax. According to the seventh proviso to Section 139(1) of the Income Tax Act, even if your income is tax-exempt, you still need to file an ITR if you spend more than ₹2 lakh on foreign travel for yourself or anyone else.