Salaried Tax Return

Income Tax Return (ITR) filing is necessary for salaried persons. It should be filed even by those whose annual income is below the taxable limit. Sameer Mittal, Managing Partner, told FE Online: “The importance of filing of income tax return cannot be more emphasized in today’s time. Though the filing of income tax return is mandatory for the individuals whose income exceeds the threshold provided, but yet its preferable that the individual not falling in the above bracket to file their ITR.” Mittal said that filing ITR not just helps salaried persons in establishing themselves as honest taxpayers but also helps them in availing loans, travelling abroad and acting as a proof of income required, claiming refund etc.

ITR Filing has several benefits. The Income Tax department says on its website: “Filing of return is your duty and earns for you the dignity of consciously contributing to the development of the nation. Apart from this, your income-tax returns validate your credit worthiness before financial institutions and make it possible for you to access many financial benefits such as bank credits, etc.” In contrast, not filing the ITR inspite of having taxable income can make you liable for penalty and prosecution provisions of the Income Tax Act

Points to Remember

Who Should file ITR

In case the gross total income of an individual exceeds Rs 2,50,000 in the FY, subject to certain conditions, then he will be mandatorily required to file income tax return. The limit is Rs 3,00,000 for senior citizen (Age: Between 60 – 80 Yrs ) and Rs 5,00,000 for super senior citizens (Age: more than 80 Yrs ). Further, if an individual wants to avail any tax refund or has any assets outside India or wants to carry forward a loss under any head of income he will be required to file ITR.

Choice of Right Form

The income tax department primarily provides the following for filing Income Tax Return viz.,
(1) ITR 1- is to be filed by a salaried individual, whose total income (including salary income and income from other sources) does not exceed INR 50 lacs. Further for filing ITR 1, the individual should not have more than one house property and his income from agriculture should not exceed INR 5000.

(2) ITR 2- is to be filed by an individual if he has income from salary, more than one house property, income from capital gains and income from other sources (not having income from profits and gains of business or profession ).

(3) ITR-3- is required to be filed by an individual if the individual has income from salary, house property, income from business or profession, capital gains and income from other sources. Therefore the individual is required to be very clear about the Form applicable for him.

Tax Deducted at Source (TDS)

TDS is deducted by the employer, bank. It can be checked by the individual on the website of TRACES. The salaried individual should make sure that the complete details of TDS deducted are getting reflected in 26AS, as if the same is not getting reflected then the amount of TDS being claimed may get disallowed.

Submission of Correct Proofs

The person concerned should have genuine proofs of the amounts being claimed by him as a deduction for Eg: Rent receipt in case of claiming of HRA, health insurance premium paid, details of investments in mutual funds, home loan, life insurance etc. amount of Deductions and Investments declared to the company must have correct documentary proofs. As the claiming of deductions by furnishing wrong information might lead to a penalty ranging from 50% to 200%.

Right Investment Planning and Claiming of Deductions

An individual should be very vigilant while making investments and should understand that each section has a specific limit up to which the deduction can be claimed. Eg: If the person pays life insurance premium, deposits money in provident fund and superannuation fund, mutual fund, repays housing loan (principal amount) etc. then he can claim deduction only up to the limit of Rs1,50,000, any excess investment made under the section cannot be claimed as deduction. To claim a higher deduction from tax, he should invest in other sections. For example: Investment in the National Pension System, subject to the specified conditions, can allow him to claim additional deduction up to Rs 1,50,000.

Disclosure of Income

An individual should make proper disclosure of income while filing the ITR earned from various sources, including income from business or profession, capital gains, any prize or lottery or rental income from house property etc. Any interest from the Saving Bank Deposit, Recurring Deposit, Fixed Deposit, or income from any other source like capital gains etc. should be duly reported in the Income Tax Return. Any concealment of income or understatement of income may lead to a penalty of 50% of the tax to be paid and in case of any misreporting 200% of the tax is payable.

Filing of Return within Due Date

Non-filing of Income Tax return within the due date may attract a penalty of Rs. 5,000 or more and an interest at the rate of 1% on the outstanding amount of tax. Further, the individual may also lose the benefit of a set of losses if any.

Furnishing Updated Particulars

The personal details such as PAN no., bank account, Email ID and contact no. should be correctly mentioned. In case the details have changed over a period of time then the same should be updated, as one would receive the refund if any, in the bank account, the details of which have been furnished (so in case the previous bank account is changed, the refund amount will bounce), further all information as to the status of ITR will also be sent on the email id and phone no. provided.

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FAQ

What is the Income Tax?

It is a tax charge by the government of India on the income of every person. It is categorized as direct and indirect tax returns.

Who needs to pay Income Tax?

Under the rules of the IT ACT, individuals, a business person with whatever amount they earned is liable to file income tax returns. However, tax on income is payable if income exceeds 2.5 lakh yearly. There are a few categories that fall under taxation is, salaried employees, Self-employed, companies and corporate firms, Local authorities.

How can I check that the government has received the amount deposited by me as a tax?

There is a website named (http://www.tin-nsdl.com) this provides online services and anyone can check their status by click on the challan status inquiry.

I am agriculturist, Is my income taxable?

Generally, agriculture income is not falling under tax brackets but, if you have any other income source apart from agriculture which is taxable.

Do I have to maintain proof of my earnings?

Under the Income-Tax Act, it is mandatory to maintain proof of your earnings, you can easily fill your returns and get the benefit of it.

What is exempt income and taxable income?

An exempt income is not charged for any tax. Incomes that would be charged for tax called taxable income.