Things to keep in mind before filling your ITR

Income Tax

The pressure of filling income tax return (ITR) builds upon every individual who is doing it for the first time. Along with the first-timers the changing norms in ITR every year hampers a lot of people to submit their tax returns. Anupama Mehra, of Elets News Network (ENN), guides you through some of the key points to remember while filling your ITR.

Income Tax

  1. ITR varies for different categories of taxpayers

For individuals, Hindu undivided families (HUFs), an association of persons, body of individuals, etc. whose accounts are not required to be audited, the last date of filing ITR for the financial year (FY) 2018-19 is July 31, 2019.

However, the deadline doesn’t imply for other categories such as a company, an individual or other entities whose accounts are required to be audited (like proprietorship, firm, etc.) or a working partner of a firm. The last date of filling the ITR for them would be September 30 of the relevant assessment year.

The Assessment year (AY) is the year following the FY in which the income you have earned is assessed. This is the year in which you will have to file your income tax returns for the previous financial year.

  1. ITR based on slab

The income tax slabs applicable for the FY18-19 (assessment the year 2019-20)  will be applicable for FY 19-20 as well as once the Parliament passes the budget proposals.

The basic exemption limit depends on the age of an individual as well as their residential status. As per the age, the resident individual taxpayers are divided into the categories:

  • Resident individuals below the age of 60 years
  • Resident senior citizens of age between 60 years and above but should be below 80 years
  • Resident super senior citizens of above 80 years of age
General Public
(Below 60 Years of Age)
Senior Citizens
(60 to 80 Years of Age)
Very Senior Citizens
(More than 80 Years of Age)
Income Tax Slab Tax Income Tax Slab Tax Income Tax Slab Tax
Up to Rs. 2.5 Lakhs Nil Up to Rs. 3 Lakhs Nil Up to Rs. 5 Lakhs Nil
Rs. 2.5 – 5 Lakhs 5% Rs. 3 – 5 Lakhs 5% Rs. 5 – 10 Lakhs 20%
Rs. 5 – 10 Lakhs 20% Rs. 5 – 10 Lakhs 20% Above Rs. 10 Lakhs 30%
Above Rs. 10 Lakhs 30% Above Rs. 10 Lakhs 30%
  1. Documents Required

The following are the documents that you should keep ready so that the tax filing process becomes a lot easier.

  • PAN card
  • Aadhaar card
  • Bank account details
  • Form 16 for salaried individuals
  • Home loan interest certificate
  • Investment proofs
  • Insurance premium payment receipts

4. Form 16

Form 16 is a certificate issued by an employer and it contains the information you need to prepare and file your income tax return.

Employers must issue it every year on or before 15 June of the next year, immediately after the financial year in which the tax is deducted.

The latest Form 16 is designed in such a way that it can directly be used to report all the information to be entered in the new ITR-1 form. It will contain information on the deductions you have claimed, the salary earned, and exemptions availed.

Form 16 is divided into two components – Part A and Part B. In case you lose your Form 16, you can request a duplicate from your employer.

 Form 16A

This component of Form 16 is very important which every taxpayer must keep in mind while filling his/her ITR. If the taxpayer has earned income other than salaries like interest, commission, rent and so on. Details of tax deducted on such incomes are available in Form 16A which is issued to the taxpayer by the party which has made those payments.

It is also important to note that if you have changed your job in one FY, every employer will issue a separate Part A of Form 16, for the period of employment.

Some of the components of Part A are:

  1. Name and address of the employer
  2. Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number (TAN) & Permanent Account Number  (PAN) of employer
  3. PAN of the employee
  4. Summary of tax deducted & deposited quarterly, which is certified by the employer

Form 16 B

Part B of Form 16 is an annexure to Part A. If you change your job in one financial year, then it is for you to decide if you would want Part B of the Form from both the employers or from the last employer.

Some of the components of Part B notified newly for the FY 2019-20 are:

  • Detailed breakup of the salary
  • Detailed breakup of the exempted allowances under section 10
  • Deductions allowed under the income tax act (under chapter VIA)

Specific fields are notified for deductions mentioned below:

  • Deduction for the  life insurance premium paid, contribution to PPF, etc., under section 80C
  • Deduction for the contribution to pension funds under section 80CCC
  • Deduction for the employee’s contribution to a pension scheme under section 80CCD(1)
  • Deduction for the taxpayer’s self contribution to a notified pension scheme under section 80CCD(1B)
  • Deduction for the employer’s contribution to a pension scheme under section 80CCD(2)
  • Deduction for the health insurance premium paid under section 80D
  • Deduction for the interest paid on loan is taken for higher education under section 80E
  • Deduction for the donations made under section 80G
  • Deduction for the interest income on savings account under section 80TTA

If You Miss The Deadline

The last date to file your  ITR for the financial year 2018-19 or the assessment year 2019-20 is July 31, 2019, unless it is extended by the government.

If you have missed the deadline for filing the ITR, don’t worry you will be allowed to do so, it is named as belated ITR. To file the belated ITR for the FY 2018-19 is March 31, 2020.  You should avoid filing it late as it will lead to notice from the tax department. Only after the notice from the I-T department, you will be allowed to fill the form with late fee levied.

 

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