Income tax returns or ITR are the tax forms used to declare the details of your income to the Income Tax Department to assess the amount you need to pay as income tax in a financial year.

Every Indian citizen whose gross total income exceeds the taxable limit must file an ITR.

The income tax return is required to be filed if the income of the assessee goes above the threshold limit that is set by the income tax department For the Assessment Year 2019-2020 (as per the Income Tax Act), the assessee earns gross annual income (before deductions u/s 80C to 80U) more than:
– Rs. 2.5 Lakhs – For individuals below 60 years
– Rs. 3 Lakhs – For individuals above 60 years but below 80 years
– Rs. 5 Lakhs – For individuals above 80 years.

Yes, in case of Income Tax Return filing, it is mandatory for every source of income you have to maintain proof of earning as specified under the Income-tax Act 1961.

All the business entities (Company, LLP, Firm) must file ITR even if their total income or tax payable is zero. In case of an individual, when income exceeds the basic exemption limit, it is recommended to file ITR to avoid scrutiny from the Income Tax Department. Also, if your tax liabilities is zero and have filed the ITR before, it is necessary to be filed. The same can be provided as a proof of income whenever required.

Yes, filing ITR in case of loss would be in your interest itself. With online ITR filing, you can carry forward the losses to a certain upcoming financial year to set off losses against the future profits.

No, the income tax is paid during the financial year in which the income is earned. While filing ITR, if the tax liability is more than the already paid advance tax, the due amount must be paid with interest, if applicable.

You can make the payment directly to the Government on the official website of the IT Department. You may pay through net banking, along with Challan 280.

In case you fail to file the return on a due date, there is a provision to file return up to a certain date, however with a late filing fee and reduced benefits, the belated return can be filed before the end of Assessment Year for the concerned financial year.

Late filing fee will be levied based on the date of filing belated return. The late fee for filing depends on the period of filing:
– For return filed after due date but till December – late filing fees of Rs. 5,000 will be charged
– For return filed after 31st December – late filing fees of Rs. 10,000 will be charged
However, for small taxpayers with an income up to Rs. 5 Lakh, the fees are limited to Rs. 1,000 only.

To revise the filed ITR, the deadline is 1 year from the end of the next financial year.

Form 26 AS is consolidated tax statement (Form 26AS) is used as a proof of tax deducted/collected on your behalf and the tax directly paid by you along with your income tax return.

Income tax returns are completely paperless filing procedures now. You need not submit any physical or scan copies along with your returns. However, you should retain these documents so that you can produce those when demanded by tax authorities.

Amounts paid as advance tax and withheld in the form of TDS or collected in the form of TCS will take the character of your tax due only on completion of self-assessment of your income. This self-assessment is intimated to the department by way of filing of a return. Only then does the government acquire rights over the prepaid taxes as its own revenue. Filing of return is critical for this process and, hence, has been made mandatory. Failure will attract a levy of penalty.

No. Return is to be filed only if you have taxable income.

Yes, you need to file. There is a difference between filing income tax return and deducting TDS. You file a tax return as a proof of the payment of all the taxes due. The IT return would also help you while applying for a visa or a loan.

You can claim for refund of your excess tax amount while filing your IT Return. Your refund will be credited into your specified bank account via ECS transfer. Please check that no mistakes are made while mentioning your bank details (IFSC code, account number etc) on the ITR form.

Depending on the category you fall into, there are seven Income Tax Return (ITR) forms for you to choose from for filing your return. Out of these, five are meant for individual taxpayers, depending on their income level, sources of income and other rules. Selecting the correct ITR form is critical, as filing a wrong ITR form is considered an invalid return.

Yes. The deadline set by employers for submitting investment declaration to avail of deductions under section 80C, 80D, 80E and so on usually falls in January and February. However, despite multiple reminders from employers, many tend to skip submission of proofs for tax-saver investments. As a result, a higher amount of tax is deducted from the salary during the last three months of the financial year. If you missed submitting the proofs, you can enter the details in your tax return form and claim the deductions and tax refund.

It’s possible that some of us forget to disclose certain incomes, even if unintentionally, in the rush to file our tax returns. This is the case particularly with salaried individuals who rely on their Forms 16, which does not contain details of capital gains made, fixed or savings deposit interest income, for instance. If the income tax department detects this missing income, you could end up with a notice.

Yes. Simply because it won’t be considered complete until you verify the returns within 120 days of having filed it. And, many forget to do so even though the electronic process can be completed in a matter of minutes. You can also download the ITR-V, or acknowledgement form and send it physically to the tax department’s CPC in Bengaluru.

It is best to take the online route. The physical process is more laborious – you have to download, print and sign the hard copy before sending it to Income Tax CPC, Bengaluru, by post. On the other hand, e-verification takes just a few minutes. You can use Aadhaar-OTP or your internet banking account, your pre-validated bank or demat account to generate an electronic verification code (EVC) to complete the process.