## When Is Notional (Deemed) Income Charged?
House property is the one head where tax can fall on income you never actually received — notional income measured by Expected Rent (ER). The four standard situations:
| # | Circumstance | Taxability as notional income |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | More than 2 SOPs/UOPs | Any 2 (owner's choice) → NAV = Nil; the rest are deemed let-out with ER as GAV. |
| 2 | Let-out for full year, ER > Actual Rent | ER is taken as GAV (not the lower actual rent). |
| 3 | Let-out with part-year vacancy, ER > Actual Rent (shortfall NOT due to vacancy) | ER for the whole year is taken as GAV. |
| 4 | Property held as stock-in-trade, not let out | If un-let beyond 2 years after completion, ER is GAV from the 3rd year onwards. |
Reading the table: notional income arises whenever the law substitutes Expected Rent for a lower (or nil) actual figure — because there are more than 2 self-occupied houses, because actual rent falls short of ER for reasons other than vacancy, or because unsold stock has crossed its 2-year grace period.