CA Ashish Mittal
For those who have still not filed their return of income, it is useful to know that recently the Income Tax department has issued an order u/s 119 of the Income Tax Act 1961 dated 26 July 2018 wherein the due date for filing income tax return have been extended to 31 August 2018. This is applicable to such tax payers who were required to file return of income on or before 31 July 2018 (relating to financial year 2017-18). Given the extension it would be advisable to have a quick check on the below listed key points so as to ensure the compliance of filing return within the due date.
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Check 1: Which ITR form to fill
Selecting the right return is the first thing to be done.
In case of individual whose total income for the assessment year 2018-19 does not exceed 50 lakhs and includes:
- Income from Salary/ Pension; or
- Income from One House Property (excluding cases where loss is brought forward from previous years); or
- Income from Other Sources (excluding Winning from Lottery and Income from Race Horses)
Then ITR1 should be selected.
However, ITR 1 cannot be selected if the tax payer:
- Has any foreign assets or
- Has any agricultural income which is more than Rs. 5,000 or
- Have capital gains income or
- Have Income from business or profession.
In such cases other ITR forms need to be selected.
Check 2: Salaried employees- Check your Form 16
Form 16 is a certificate issued by an employer evidencing the TDS which is deducted from the salary and deposited with tax authorities. For every salaried employees, form 16 is a document which will help in providing all the details for filing the return of income, provided there is no other additional income or deduction to be claimed. In form 16, among other details, you will be able to locate following information which will be useful for filing ITR:
1. Taxable Salary
2. Breakup of Section 80C Deductions
3. Aggregate of all other Deductions (Gross & Deductible Amount)
4. TDS (Tax Deducted at Source)
5. Tax Payable or Refund Due
While filing he return, the above details can be picked up from Form 16 and needs to be manually entered in the ITR form, although the tax details are directly picked up by the portal. Further the details of both exempt and taxable allowances have to be entered separately in Form ITR 1.
Check 3: TDS and Form 26AS
Post entering the details of Salary income, the next aspect to be covered is tax details. Generally, TDS will be deducted by various sources i.e. by your employer or bank (in case of interest income). If they all issue Form 16 (employer) or TDS certificates, then you have to ensure that they tally with the Form 26AS statement. Please note that Form 26AS can be downloaded from the TRACES site. The tax department’s e-filing site also provides a link.
The tax payers are required to check whether the TDS details as appearing in form 16/ 16A is correctly appearing in the online ITR 1 (in case of offline utility, the TDS details are to be manually entered).
Check 4: Declaring other Income (i.e. Income from house property and Other Sources)
Major task was understanding the filing the details from Form 16. Post entering that, the tax payer should insert the details of other income like income from house property and income from other sources. For income from house property, the details of annual value, municipal taxes and interest on borrowed capital can be directly inserted. This will give up the taxable income from house property.
Now inserting the income in the residuary head of income i.e. income from other sources. All income other than income from salary, house property, business and profession or capital gains is covered under ‘income from other sources’. Typical incomes under this head include interest on bank or other deposits, taxable dividends, income from securities by way of interest etc.
Check 5: e-verification of return of income
On uploading the return, the next step is to verify the return. Unless the returns are verified timely, the return becomes invalid. To verify the return, one of the following methods can be adopted:
1. Offline verifying- Print the acknowledgement and sign at the designated place and dispatch the same to CPC at the address mentioned in the acknowledgement within the stipulated time ie. within 120 days of filing the returns.
2. Online verifying- One can e-verify the return by generating OTP through Aadhaar linked with PAN or through net banking. For Aadhaar-linked verification, one has to first link aadhar number with PAN. Once the validation is done, then post uploading the return of income, you will be asked how you want to verify your return. The following options will appear:
- I already have an EVC to e-verify my return.
- I do not have an EVC and would like to generate EVC to e-Verify my return.
- I would like to generate Aadhaar OTP to e-Verify my return.
Select the third option of generating Aadhaar OTP. A One-Time Password will be sent to the mobile number registered on your Aadhaar. Enter the OTP you received on your registered mobile number on the page and click submit. Thus, the return is e-verified.
In case your PAN card and Aadhaar details don’t match or you are still not registered under UIDAI, you still have the option of verifying using your net banking account. Following are the steps to verify the return
One can log into net banking account and click on the income tax e-filing tab. Subsequently you will be redirected straight to the income tax portal. After logging into the income tax portal, click on the option “View Returns/ Forms” to see e-filed tax returns. Then select the option “Click here to view your returns pending for e-verification” and then click on “e-verify”. Thus, the return is e-verified.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are solely for informational purpose. It does not constitute professional advice or a formal recommendation. While due care has been taken in preparing this document, the existence of mistakes and omissions herein is not ruled out. There will be no liabilities on the author for any loss or damage of any kind arising out of any inaccurate or incomplete information in this document nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Author Bio
I am pensioner and owner of flat in Coop. Housing Society in Pune and now building is demolished by builder/ developer for redevelopment. I am receiving Rs.20000/- p.m. rent compensation from Builder. Whether I should show it in other income under Sec 56 and claim deduction under Sec 57. Or should I claim only 30% of Rent received for deduction like HRA.