Hyderabad : Many people think that tax returns are a very difficult task. A little anxiety is natural. It used to be a rather complex process. But, now the tax department has taken many steps to make it easy for tax payers to file their returns. With this, with a little awareness, anyone can file returns on their own. All one has to do is to keep all the required documents ready.
Form-16 is the main requirement for filing income tax returns. This includes your income, eligible deductions, investments etc. Keep proof of your last year's salary, Form 26AS with you. These will help you calculate your total income accurately. Form 16 will have already been given to you by your employer. This is the proof of your earned income in the last financial year. This will come in handy whenever you want to borrow in the future.
Income other than your salary is in Form 16A. The companies you invest in provide this. The details of how much tax has been deducted on your total income will be known in Form 26AS. If you go to the e-filing website and download Form 26AS, you will know your total income and applicable tax details. Understand the slabs. Know about the income tax slabs applicable to you.
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It is important to determine which column your income bracket falls into. At present there are two types of tax systems in our country. Exemptions allowed under the old tax regime are available. In the new tax regime, tax is payable as per the applicable slab without any exemptions. First find out which one is beneficial for you. A calculator for this is available on the Income Tax Portal.
In terms of exemptions, the main exemption allowed by the law is Section 80C. EPF, VPF, PPF, Various types of investments and expenses like life insurance premium, ELSS, home loan principal, children's tuition fees come under this section. Do not forget that the maximum limit of all these combined is only Rs 1,50,000. Premium paid for health insurance policy can be claimed under Section 80D.
About Rs 50,000 paid to NPS is tax exempt under Section 80CCD (1B). Donations can be claimed under Section 80G. Exemptions can be availed to reduce the tax burden. Only investments made up to March 31, 2023 can be claimed for exemptions. How much is TDS? Compare the Form 16 provided by your employer with the information in your Form 26AS. Double check the tax deduction at source (TDS) amount.
Tax returns can be filed only if there are no discrepancies. If there is any discrepancy, bring it to the attention of your management immediately and ask for rectification. The IT Department has made videos and chatbots available to guide everyone. Now some companies are helping to file returns online as well. There is a risk of cheating as some people take and misuse all your financial details. Be careful about such people.
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The last date for filing the returns for the previous financial year 2022-23 (Assessment Year 2023-24) is July 31. It is better to submit the returns before this date. Waiting till the last minute will only lead to trouble. If the returns are to be submitted after the due date, a delinquency fee ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 is applicable depending on the income. In the correct document, depending on the source of income the correct return form should be selected.
ITR-1 is applicable to all those whose income is less than Rs 50 lakh including salary, household income, interest etc. Those with short-term and long-term capital gains should opt for ITR-2. Details of which form is applicable to you will be available in the Income Tax Portal. New filers of returns have to first register on Income Tax portal based on PAN. E-mail, phone number, bank account details and address should be mentioned at this time. Only then you can file returns.
