Is there any tax on liquid funds?
Taxation on Liquid Funds
Tax on Gains: Gains from liquid funds are subject to taxation. Short-term capital gains (STCG) within three years are added to your income and taxed at the applicable slab rate. Long-term capital gains (LTCG) after three years incur a flat 20% tax rate after indexation.
Since the underlying assets of a liquid fund have a maturity of up to 91 days, they do not experience a lot of volatility. Hence, the NAV of the fund remains almost steady. This makes liquid funds low-risk investments.
You can redeem anytime you want. There is no lock‐in period in liquid funds. Do liquid funds have an exit load? Yes, but only if you redeem within seven days of investing.
Liquid funds are preferred by investors to park their money for short periods of time typically 1 day to 3 months.
Liquid funds are considered to least risky among all classes of debt funds as they mostly invest in high-quality fixed-income securities that mature soon. Therefore, these funds are suitable for risk-averse investors.
Liquid funds invest in highly rated short-term debt securities such as T-Bills and commercial papers. Arbitrage funds invest across debt, equity, and equity derivatives to leverage cash and futures market arbitrage opportunities while maintaining fully hedged positions.
Stability of returns: The difference between liquid funds and debt funds in terms of the stability of returns is that liquid funds are more stable in terms of returns because of their short-term duration and therefore less linked to interest rate movements in the market.
Advantages of Liquid Funds
Liquid funds offer investors high liquidity, low risk, and potential for competitive returns. These funds invest in short-term, high-quality securities, ensuring quick redemption and minimising the risk of capital loss while offering attractive yields.
Having at least 3 months' worth of living expenses in savings will enable you to weather unexpected situations with more ease. If you are retired and taking distributions from your portfolio, we advise that you hold at least 12 months' worth of distributions in cash.
Is liquid fund better than savings account?
Interest rates offered on liquid funds is higher than those on Savings Accounts. You can access funds in your Savings Account any time you wish, whereas liquid funds are less accessible. You can get tax benefits on the interest income from Liquid Funds.
Scheme Name | Plan | 3Y |
---|---|---|
Groww Liquid Fund - Direct Plan - Growth | Direct Plan | 5.36% |
Canara Robeco Liquid Fund - Direct Plan - Growth | Direct Plan | 5.57% |
Mirae Asset Liquid Fund - Direct Plan - Growth | Direct Plan | 5.61% |
ICICI Prudential Liquid Fund - Direct Fund - Growth | Direct Plan | 5.56% |
- Bank savings accounts. Your savings account or your checking account is a no brainer. ...
- Bank Fixed Deposits and Other Deposits. ...
- Short term Debt Funds. ...
- Arbitrage Funds. ...
- Money Market Funds. ...
- Fixed Maturity Plans (FMPs) ...
- Gold ETFs. ...
- Post Office Term /TimeDeposits.
What is meant by a liquid fund? A liquid fund is a form of mutual fund that invests in securities with a residual maturity of up to a period of 91 days. Moreover, these funds do not have a lock-in period since the underlying assets are not for the long term.
There is no lock‐in period in liquid funds. You can redeem it anytime you want. Do liquid funds have an exit load? Yes, but only if you redeem within 7 days of investing.
The concept of the "safest investment" can vary depending on individual perspectives and economic contexts, but generally, cash and government bonds, particularly U.S. Treasury securities, are often considered among the safest investment options available. This is because there is minimal risk of loss.
These securities are at the bottom of the risk spectrum and therefore offer lower returns. Since liquid funds now must invest at least 20% of their assets in these low-return securities, part of the drop in returns can be attributed to the same.
- Mirae Asset Liquid Fund.
- Parag Parikh Liquid Fund.
- HDFC Liquid Fund.
- HSBC Liquid Fund.
- Motilal Oswal Liquid Fund.
- WhiteOak Capital Liquid Fund.
- Kotak Liquid Fund.
- TRUSTMF Liquid Fund.
Short term capital gain tax on the mutual fund for equity funds is 15%. But short-term capital gains for non-equity investments are taxed as per the income tax slab rate of the investor.
Scheme Name | Expense Ratio | 1Y Return |
---|---|---|
Nippon India Corporate Bond Fund #1 of 15 in Corporate Bond | 0.34% | 7.37% p.a. |
Nippon India Money Market Fund #1 of 15 in Money Market | 0.24% | 7.69% p.a. |
Mahindra Manulife Low Duration Fund #1 of 20 in Low Duration | 0.3% | 7.6% p.a. |
Can liquid funds give negative returns?
The liquid funds can go down in value. However, the likelihood of them going down in value is not that often, owing to the stringent regulations. But, if at all that happens, the magnitude of that fall could be very nominal and can recover in seven-eight days.
A stock portfolio focused on dividends can generate $1,000 per month or more in perpetual passive income, Mircea Iosif wrote on Medium. “For example, at a 4% dividend yield, you would need a portfolio worth $300,000.
Anything over that amount would exceed the FDIC coverage limits. So if you keep more than $250,000 in cash at a single bank, then you run the risk of losing some of those funds if your bank fails.
Imagine you wish to amass $3000 monthly from your investments, amounting to $36,000 annually. If you park your funds in a savings account offering a 2% annual interest rate, you'd need to inject roughly $1.8 million into the account.
Cash and cash equivalents can provide liquidity, portfolio stability and emergency funds. Cash equivalent securities include savings, checking and money market accounts, and short-term investments. A general rule of thumb is that cash and cash equivalents should comprise between 2% and 10% of your portfolio.
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