New Delhi: Filing of Income Tax Return (ITR) is the annual ritual that individuals and other category of taxpayers must complete at the end of a financial year. This year's income tax return will be filed for the Assessment Year 2021-22 or FY 2020-21 and the deadline for the same has been set for December 31, 2021. The ITR this year is applicable for income earned between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021.
While the majority of the people might have already filed their Income Tax Return, it is possible that a lot of us are yet to file it. And if you are a salaried employee, working from home, you must check Income tax rules for e-filling of ITR on new portal. Also, it is very important to focus on other incomes beyond Form 16. Sujit Bangar, Founder of TaxBuddy.com in an exclusive chat with Reema Sharma of Zee Media said, "Salaried employee rely on Form 16 only for tax deduction. They must look into investments and tax saving expenses beyond Form 16. For example, if LTC Cash Voucher exemption is not reflected in Form 16, you can still claim it while filing ITR. Don’t miss out on other income like interest on bank deposits or taxable portion of maturity proceeds."
It is also very important to decide on the particular tax regime that the salaried individual wishes to follow --New or old.
| Existing Tax Regime | New Tax Regime u/s 115BAC | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Income Tax Slab | Income Tax Rate | Income Tax Slab | Income Tax Rate |
| Up to Rs 2,50,000 | Nil | Up to Rs 2,50,000 | Nil |
| Rs 2,50,001 - Rs 5,00,000 | 5% above Rs 2,50,000 | Rs 2,50,001 - Rs 5,00,000 | 5% above Rs 2,50,000 |
| Rs 5,00,001 - Rs 10,00,000 | Rs 12,500 + 20% above Rs 5,00,000 | Rs 5,00,001 - Rs 7,50,000 | Rs 12,500 + 10% above Rs 5,00,000 |
| Above Rs 10,00,000 | Rs 1,12,500 + 30% above Rs 10,00,000 | Rs 7,50,001 - Rs 10,00,000 | Rs 37,500 + 15% above Rs 7,50,000 |
| Rs 10,00,001 - Rs 12,50,000 | Rs 75,000 + 20% above Rs 10,00,000 | ||
| Rs 12,50,001 - Rs 15,00,000 | Rs 1,25,000 + 25% above Rs 12,50,000 | ||
| Above Rs 15,00,000 | Rs 1,87,500 + 30% above Rs 15,00,000 | ||
Bangar says, "It doesn’t matter which tax regime your employer has considered in form 16. You can change it while filing ITR. If you have received, arrears for earlier year, don’t forget to claim benefit of deduction u/s 89 of I-T Act."
Lately, a lot of ITR Filers have complained of the glitch on the new income tax portal. Commenting on the same, Bangar explains, "There have been many issues in new income tax portal. Lately and fortunately, most of these issues are sorted out. All types of ITR like ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-3 , ITR-4 are being filed over new income tax portal. Although in some cases users are not intimation after processing even if refund is credited. Few cases face problems in bank account validation and even e-verification process gets stuck sometimes."
Now that the deadline of the filing of ITR is just over a month away, you could file it all by yourself to avoid any last minute rush. However, before filing your ITR, firstly ensure that your PAN and AADHAR are linked. It helps in bank validation for faster refunds and in e-verification for quick processing. Secondly, keep all documents related to income earned and investments made ready with you. Thirdly, work out how much tax you have already saved from all tax saving investments and tax saving expenses. This will help work out any tax payable. Get this tax paid at earliest before filing. Fourthly, select correct ITR form. For example if you are freelancer, you should select ITR-4 and if you are salaried, you should select ITR-1. Ensure all relevant fields are filled properly.
Lastly, ensure e verification immediately after filing ITR. Keep tracking mail for any communication from I-T department till you get your refund.
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