In wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Indian Government gave a much-needed breather to the taxpayers by extending the March 31st deadline for paying income taxes till June 30th. People are worried and perplexed as to what this extension means and what to do about it. There’s nothing to worry and hopefully this blog will help you clear all your doubts.
This tax date push back is completely automatic and you don’t have to do anything to claim it. You also need not worry about incurring any penalties if you file before the extended due date. However, if you’re filing your taxes early before the extended due date, it will allow you to receive your refund more promptly.
In a nutshell, the following are some of the important due date related extensions:
- Due dates for issue of notice, notification, intimation, approval order, sanction order and filing of the appeal
- Furnishing of income tax returns, statements, reports, applications, any other documents,
- The time limit for completion of the proceedings by authorities and compliances by the taxpayers has been extended to 30th June 2020. This includes investment in saving instruments or any investments for the rollover benefit of the capital gains under the Income Tax Act and various other acts.
This extension is one of the measures taken by the government to ensure that taxpayers have enough time to take care of their necessities first and then for their tax savings, during these difficult times.
Preparing for tax planning in this extended duration
Due to the Covid-19 outbreak and nation-wide lockdown, you can use this time to not just safeguard yourself from this pandemic but also safeguard your finances from any uncertainty.
Challenging times like these prove that how uncertain life can be at times. Having a robust financial plan in place, ensures the safety of your family. It is also the time when you need to keep your investments safe and get more money in hand by investing in tax savings option. Out of the many tax-saving options, life-insurance plans offer tax savings too. Depending on your long term life goals like children’s education, buying a property, retirement, etc., they have different plans ranging from term plans to savings plans to ULIPs. Trusted Life-insurance companies like ICICI Prudential Life offers tax savings of up to INR 46,800 under section 80C for their ULIP plans and up to INR 54,600 under section 80C and 80D of the income tax act for their term plans. Additionally, at a later stage when you receive the maturity amount, the same is also tax free under section 10 10(D). Added to that, all their plans now cover COVID-19 which is extremely important given the current scenario but most of all remember, a life insurance at the end of the day ensures financial security to our family.
Finally,
Now that you have an additional 2 months, don’t leave the task of investing in tax-saving instruments again for the final days of June. Most of the individuals who make the wrong investment decisions are the ones who invest during the last moment. Also, it’s important to note here, that while the taxpayers can make such investments till the quarter ending June, employers aren’t going to adjust any tax savings for the financial year 2019-20 which you haven’t provided earlier to them. They are bound by the income tax law to deduct the TDS as required, for the financial year 2019-20, based on the information they have in hand. Hence, for any investments which you’re planning to do later, you need to claim a tax refund by furnishing your income tax return.
So while you are staying safe at home, focus on your health and wellbeing of your family first. Protect their today by staying at home, protect their tomorrow by being financially prepared, kyunki Agar taiyaari sahi ho, toh jeet pakki hai.
Sir, I have made a NPS contribution on April 20 to claim relief u/s 80 C for the financial year 2020-21.
Now what is the staus of the same whether this contribution has to be taken as for FY 19-20 or FY 20-21. How it will be treated by the Income Tax Authorities. Pl Clarify. Thqs.