New Delhi, Aug. 16 -- -Name withheld on request

At the outset, as you are selling shares and not a residential house, the exemption for reinvestment in residential property would be covered under section 54F (section 86 of the Income Tax Act, 2025). As you rightly pointed out, the exemption under section 54F is not available in case you own more than one residential house as on the date of the sale of shares.

Typically, taxpayers gift one of the properties to a relative before the date of the sale of the asset for which the exemption is sought to be claimed. If the property is impressed with the character of property belonging to the family (in other words thrown into the hotchpotch of the HUF as property of the family), the income aris...