How to File own Personal Income Tax Return Online

With the financial year ending season going on and last few days remaining until 31 March 2020, tax payers, assesses, tax professionals and consultants are getting busier day by day with the huge number of returns piling up on their office desk.

As per current tax laws, belated returns for A.Y. 2019-20 and revised returns without interest and penalty for late filing for A.Y. 2019-20 cannot be filed after 31st March, 2020.

Filing of income tax returns is recommended to everyone because of its various benefits such as you can get future loans processed easily, easy VISA processing, benefits while choosing life/health insurance, easy refund of tax deducted by employers/payers, you get to verify your salary with what company shows to the government and most importantly you fulfill your duties as a good citizen of the country.

Individuals below 60 years & HUFs having income more than Rs.2.5 lakhs , senior citizens above 60 years having income of Rs. 3 Lakhs or more and individuals aged 80 years or more having income of  Rs. 5 lakh or more are covered in taxable assessee category and are required to file their income tax returns annually.

Due date for filing of income tax return for assesses who are not required to get their books of accounts audited is 31 July. Non-filing or incorrect filing of return of Income may result in penalty and prosecution

Before we get started, you should have the following documents at hand to pace up the process:

1. PAN

2. Aadhaar

3. Bank account details

4. Form 16

5. Investments details

6. Last year’s tax returns

7. Bank statements

8. TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) certificates

9. Profit and Loss (P&L) Account Statement, Balance Sheet and Audit Reports, if applicable

Log on to e-filing portal at https://Incometaxindlaefiling.gov.in to file your income tax return. For login of a registered user, User ID is Permanent Account number (PAN) and password already set on registration and date of birth/incorporation is required to be entered along with captcha code.

If not already linked, Aadhar number should be linked with PAN by entering 12 digit Aadhar number and receiving OTP on the mobile number linked with Aadhar.

Different ITR forms are applicable for different types of assesses and such applicable return form should be selected carefully before filing:

Form	Description
ITR 1	For Individuals being a Resident (other than Not Ordinarily Resident) having Total Income upto Rs.50 lakhs, having Income from Salaries, One House Property, Other Sources (Interest etc.), and Agricultural Income upto Rs.5 thousand(Not for an Individual who is either Director in a company or has invested in Unlisted Equity Shares)
ITR 2	For Individuals and HUFs not having income from profits and gains of business or profession
ITR 3	For individuals and HUFs having income from profits and gains of business or profession
ITR 4	For Individuals, HUFs and Firms (other than LLP) being a Resident having Total Income upto Rs.50 lakhs and having income from Business and Profession which is computed under sections 44AD, 44ADA or 44AE (Not for an Individual who is either Director in a company or has invested in Unlisted Equity Shares)
ITR 5	For persons other than:- (i) Individual, (ii) HUF, (iii) Company and (iv) Person filing Form ITR-7
ITR 6	For Companies other than companies claiming exemption under section 11
ITR 7	For persons including companies required to furnish return under sections 139(4A) or 139(4B) or 139(4C) or 139(4D)

Fill in your personal details such as address, residential status, income under various heads, deductions claimed, TDS, TCS, advance tax, tax payment details etc. If amount of tax payable along with interest is due, details of challan or payment must be entered after tax has been paid.

For salaried employees Rent receipts for claiming HRA, Form 16, Pay slips are required.

For rental income from house property, Address of the house property, details of the co-owners including their share in the mentioned property and PAN details, certificate for home loan interest, date when the construction was completed, in case under construction property was purchased and name of the tenant and the rental income, in case the property is rented.

For Reporting of capital gains, stock trading statement from Demat account is required along with purchase details if there are capital gains from selling the shares. In case a house or property is sold, you must sought sale price, purchase price, details of registration and capital gain details. Details of mutual fund statement, sale and purchase of equity mutual funds, debt funds, ELSS and SIP.

The income from interest is reported under other sources. In case of interest accumulated in savings account, bank account statements are required. Interest income from tax saving bonds and corporate bonds must also be reported. The details of income earned from post office deposit must be reported.

The details of bank accounts need to be entered and if there is any tax refund available at the time of filing return, the same shall be credited to those bank accounts, so make sure its filled correctly.

You can claim extra deductions if you forgot to claim them while giving details to employer. Similarly, you can also claim deductions under section 80C, 80D, 80G etc. on investment in LIC, PPF etc, medical insurance for self or family or donations made to charitable institutions covered under the sections.

Deduction of up to Rs.10,000 is allowed on interest earned on savings accounts under section 80TTA and in case of senior citizen, deduction upto Rs 50,000/- is allowed under section 80TTB. However, interest earned on bank deposits form part of your taxable income and is taxable as per applicable slab rates.

Check Form 26AS before filing as it shows the amount of tax deducted from your salary and deposited with the IT department by your employer. You should ensure that the tax deducted from your income as per your Form 16 matches with the amount in Form 26AS failing which you may get an intimation from the IT department.

If you have deposited large amounts of cash in your bank account or have entered into high value transactions, please consider the same while filing your income tax return.

Now the facility of EVC has been introduced to e verify return using mobile OTP or net banking details and ITR V can be generated online and there is no need to generate ITR V and send by post to CPC, Bangalore after e-verification.

Less than 1% of the Income Tax Returns are selected for further scrutiny/investigation by the department. So, enjoy hassle free and easy return filing process introduced by the department and become a law abiding citizen in numerous ways throughout your life.

For further details and guidance on ITR filing or free tax return preparation service you can mail on return.assistant@gmail.com

(Republished with Changes)