Capital Gains Tax query

[Guest]

Hello Forum Members,

I have a capital gains tax query for a property sold recently in Kerala. A commercial property was sold with 3 joint owners(all related family members). The buyer provided 2 cheques as payments, split with different amounts in the name of 2 owners only. For capital gains tax calculation(my understanding is 20% flat), would it be viewed by the income tax department as-

a) Each of the 3 owners received equal amounts irrespective of actual amounts received(due to equal 3rd ownership each) and pay capital gains tax accordingly

or

b) Individual tax liability based on actual amounts received by each individual. For eg Owner 3 received nothing for the sale and hence has 0 CGT liability.

Hopefully a qualified individual is able provide proper tax advice. Thanks in advance.

AI Summary

How are capital gains taxes calculated for joint property owners when sale proceeds are not equally divided? A forum member inquired about capital gains tax implications for a recently sold commercial property in Kerala, owned by three joint family members. The buyer issued two cheques to only two of the owners. The member sought clarification on whether the income tax department would assess capital gains tax based on equal distribution among the three owners or on the actual amounts received. A respondent advised that the sale consideration should be divided according to each owner's share as per the registered document. If no specific shares are documented, the amount should be divided equally among the three owners.