India, Dec. 17 -- The year 2025 has been favourable for real estate from a taxation perspective. Simplified capital gains rules and streamlined GST have brought greater clarity for homebuyers, prompting even fence-sitters to consider making a purchase. Here's a closer look.

From April 2025 onwards, homeowners can treat two properties as self-occupied . This lets them claim nil annual value, a major relief from earlier rules that allowed only one. This means no notional rental income will be applicable on either home, even if one remains vacant.

This benefits families who have homes in different cities for use by their parents and reduces both compliance and tax liability. However, this applies only if neither of the properties are rente...