Like Indian Railways, HUDCO is also going to come up with tax free bonds starting on the 27th January and they offer a slightly higher rate, just a little bit higher than the Indian Railways tax free bonds.

While Indian Railways offered 8.15% for the 10 year series  and 8.30% for 15 years, HUDCO is going to offer 8.22% for the 10 year series and 8.35% for the 15 year series.

There is a difference in rating as well and HUDCO is rated Fitch AA+ by Fitch and CARE AA+ by CARE which is a notch lower than the Indian Railway issue.

The minimum investment needed is Rs. 10,000 and you can invest in multiples of Rs. 1,000 after that.  The bonds will list on both NSE and BSE and the bond issue size is Rs. 4,684.72 crores.

This issue also has what's being called the step down feature which means that the higher interest rate that the retail investors get is only applicable as long as they hold the bonds. If they sell the bonds on the stock exchange then the person who buys it from them will not get the higher rate but will instead get the rate decided for the other categories.

Now, let's take a look at some questions that came up on yesterday's post and are relevant here as well.

Can NRIs invest in the HUDCO tax free bonds? 

Yes, NRIs can also apply to this offer and can either buy it in the retail category or the other category.

Are these tax free bond issues better than fixed deposits?

I have done fairly detailed (perhaps a bit too detailed) calculations to compare the returns between a SBI fixed deposit and a tax free bond and that shows that bond returns are better than the fixed deposits. You can look at the post to see the detailed numbers.

Who falls under the retail category?

Individuals and NRIs who are going to invest less than Rs. 5 lakhs will fall under the retail category.

How will the shares be allotted – first come first serve or proportional allotment to everyone?

I couldn't locate this information but MoneyVriksh left a comment yesterday stating that it will be first come first serve. I think it makes sense to apply early since there is a chance of over-subscription.

What is tax free: Is the principal tax free or the interest tax free?

This is not like the 80CCF infrastructure bonds that are open right now so don't confuse these bonds with them. This is truly tax free in the sense that the interest you receive from these bonds will not be taxed.

The infrastructure bonds are called tax saving bonds but are not tax free. They save tax because when you invest in them then you can reduce the amount of investment (up to a maximum of Rs. 20,000) from your income and lower your tax incidence. But the interest income on them is taxable, so they are not tax free.

As far as the principal being tax free is concerned – the principal is always tax free. That's your money anyway and tax is charged only on the income by the way of interest or capital gains.

This is all I can think of to write about the HUDCO tax free bonds but if you have any more questions then please leave a comment.

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2. NHAI Tax Free Bond Application Form Download Link
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4. Tax Free Bonds Calendar 2012
5. NHAI Tax Free Bonds