From Salman Khan to Virat Kohli: Why are more celebs buying agricultural land in India? Check tax benefits

Agricultural land offers celebrities more than open spaces and peaceful weekend breaks. It combines farming opportunities, investment potential, privacy and a connection with nature. For wealthy buyers, these benefits can make farmland attractive alongside homes and other investments.

Several well-known names own farms or rural properties across India. Salman Khan’s Arpita Farms in Panvel covers 150 acres near Mumbai. The estate includes paddy fields, horse stables and large green spaces. Late Dharmendra’s 100-acre Maharashtra estate features vegetables, fruit orchards and sustainable farming arrangements.

Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma reportedly purchased 5.1 acres of agricultural land in Alibaug. Their purchase, near Aaphale village and Nagveshwar Temple, cost ₹37.86 crore.

Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter, Suhana Khan, also owns agricultural and farmhouse land parcels in Alibaug. Amitabh Bachchan has invested in land in Alibaug and Ayodhya.

For some celebrities, farming provides a closer link with their roots. Nawazuddin Siddiqui purchased 13.75 acres in Budhana, his ancestral hometown in Uttar Pradesh.

Others have focused on growing food and improving their land. Prakash Raj grows grains and trees, practises sustainable farming and sells homegrown produce.

R Madhavan’s Tamil Nadu farm focuses on coconuts and restoring barren land. His efforts also encourage local birds and support the surrounding environment.

Jackie Shroff’s 44,000-square-foot property between Mumbai and Pune includes organic gardening and a fish pond. Aamir Khan owns a rustic two-acre property in Panchgani. Varun Dhawan has also acquired a rural farm property for nature-focused work.

Tax benefits are a reason agricultural land appeals to wealthy celebrities in India. The attraction goes beyond peaceful weekends, organic vegetables or large private gardens.

Agricultural income and certain land sales receive different tax treatment from many other investments. For buyers managing substantial wealth, these advantages can make farmland attractive.

The first major benefit concerns income earned directly from farming. Under Section 10(1), agricultural income is exempt from central income tax.

This includes income from agricultural operations, such as growing crops and maintaining orchards. Wealthy owners can therefore earn genuine farming income without the usual central income tax.

For celebrities with several income sources, this creates an attractive additional source of income. Their farms can produce vegetables, fruits or other agricultural products.

The tax advantage concerns agricultural earnings, rather than their acting fees or other professional income. Simply purchasing farmland does not turn unrelated earnings into agricultural income.

The second major attraction involves profits from selling certain rural agricultural land. Qualifying rural farmland is not treated as a capital asset. Its sale profits can, therefore, remain outside capital gains tax. This gives eligible farmland a significant advantage over investments attracting tax when sold.

However, the rural classification depends on population and distance from urban municipalities. The benefit, therefore, concerns qualifying land, rather than every property described as agricultural.

For wealthy buyers, the appeal lies in the potential for land appreciation and favourable tax treatment. A valuable asset can grow while offering benefits when eventually sold.

Section 54B provides another route to tax relief involving agricultural land. It allows qualifying capital gains to receive relief through purchasing new agricultural land.

This makes reinvestment an important part of the financial attraction. The relief has conditions and should not be confused with an automatic exemption.

Sounak Mukhopadhyay covers trending news, sports and entertainment for LiveMint. His reporting focuses on fast-moving stories, box office performance, digital culture and major cricket developments. He combines real-time updates with clear context for everyday readers. <br><br> Sounak brings newsroom experience across breaking news, explainers and long-form features. He has a strong emphasis on accuracy, verification and responsible storytelling. His work tracks audience behaviour, celebrity influence and the business of sport and cinema. He helps readers understand why a story matters beyond the headline. <br><br> Sounak has contributed to widely read digital publications. He continues to build a body of journalism shaped by consistency, speed and editorial clarity. He is particularly interested in the intersection of media, popular culture and public conversation in contemporary India. <br><br> At LiveMint, he writes daily coverage as well as analytical pieces that interpret numbers, trends and cultural moments in accessible language. His approach prioritises factual depth, balanced framing and reader trust. The reporting aligns with modern newsroom standards of transparency and credibility. <br><br> Outside daily reporting, he explores storytelling across formats including podcasts, filmmaking and narrative non-fiction. Through his journalism, Sounak aims to document the rhythms of modern entertainment and sports while maintaining rigorous editorial integrity. <br><br> Sounak continues to develop audience-focused journalism that connects speed with substance in a rapidly-changing information environment. His work seeks clarity, trust and lasting public value in every story he reports.

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