Your money this week: Tax changes seen in Budget; top MF, insurance bets in 2018

Define your goals and invest accordingly | Adopting a ‘why (goals)-how (process)-what (product)’ approach would be ideal. To develop this mindset, focus on goals and understand your risk profile before selecting products.

The Union Budget is barely a couple of weeks away, and expectations are rising that Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, will announce major reliefs to taxpayers. There has been heightened expectations of sops, given the fact that the February 1, 2018 budget will be the last full budget before the country heads for general elections in 2019.

Will the budget announce changes in tax slab? Will the FM provide additional relief on investments under 80C of the Income Tax Act? Will clarification be issued on investment in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ripple?

What the FM has in mind is anybody’s guess. However, the chorus for demands has been rising. Here's what investment and personal finance experts are expecting in the Budget and how such changes would impact you.

Among the major sectors seeking relief on the tax front is insurance. Sector experts believe that there needs to be higher tax incentives to increase insurance penetration and build a safety net in the country. This includes a separate relief for insurance investment over and above Rs 1.5 lakh cap under Section 80C. In this story we tell you what to expect from the budget on the insurance front.

The run up to budget and the rumours around tax change can impact investors’ mind. One such talk is about the possibility of the Finance Minister bringing back Long Term Capital Gains (LTCG) tax. Should this happen it will have major impact on investors’ portfolio, especially those with a heavy component of equity.

Writing down one’s expectations from the Union Budget is the best thing to do for many in the month of January. It not only attracts eyeballs, but also appears to be the next in thing to do. At present, gains from investments in stocks and equity mutual funds held for over one year are termed as long term capital gains and enjoy tax-free status.

If you are nervous investor, you must be thinking what to do with your equity holding? Should you trim your portfolio in anticipation? Read what you can do in such a situation.

Mutual funds have remained a favoured investment vehicle with 2017 seeing one of the highest ever inflows into fund offerings. There are talks that the equity market will continue to remain buoyant in 2018 keeping investor interest in mutual fund alive. If you are one of those who want to increase your MF exposure or start your fund investment read to know some of the best picks for the year, both in equity and debt.

And if your are interested in investing in insurance to have adequate protection, read to know what could be some of the best insurance investments in 2018.