income tax return (ITR) e-filing on Income Tax Portal: The process of filing Income Tax Returns (ITR) for the financial year 2023-24 (assessment year 2024-25) has started on the e-filing income tax portal. Commonly used ITR forms were made available on April 1 to facilitate quick and convenient filing of tax returns.
Though ITR forms are accessible, it is still advised that salaried individual The filing of returns has been postponed till June 15, according to an ET report by Preeti Motiani.The reason behind this recommendation is that their Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Form 26AS These are generally fully updated by May 31, and salaried individuals can get their TDS Certificate Within 15 days from this date.
Although some data may start appearing in AIS and Form 26AS before May 31, information for the last quarter of the previous financial year is usually updated by May 31.
Read this also | Income Tax Rules FY 2024-25: New vs Old Tax Regime – 6 Rules Salaried Individuals Should Know
Taxpayers filing returns based on incomplete data may face penalties if their income is underreported due to lack of information. Therefore, it is prudent to wait till June 15. Salaried individuals have time till July 31, 2024, to file their income tax returns for the financial year 2023-24 (assessment year 2024-25).
Banks and other financial institutions are required to submit Statement of Financial Transactions (SFT) annually to the Income Tax Department. SFTs provide the Income Tax Department with information on various transactions carried out by taxpayers during the financial year.
These details include income from shares, mutual funds, dividends, interest from savings bank accounts, fixed deposits, public provident fund accounts, credit card bill payments, and more. The AIS accessible to taxpayers is updated after these institutions file their SFTs.
Read this also | New vs old tax regime: How can an income of even Rs 10 lakh be tax-free under the old tax regime?
AIS provides a comprehensive record of an individual's financial transactions, regardless of whether tax has been deducted or not. This includes details such as total salary income, taxes deducted and deposited, and interest earned from savings bank accounts, even if no tax has been deducted on the interest.
As far as tax deduction at source (TDS) on income is concerned, tax deductors, which can be companies or banks, have time till May 31 to file returns. TDS Returns For the last quarter of the financial year. Though tax is deducted and deposited on a monthly basis, TDS returns are filed on a quarterly basis as per the Income Tax laws.
Once the tax deductor files the TDS return, the tax deposited against the respective PAN will be reflected in Form 26AS, which acts as a tax passbook, indicating the total taxes deducted/collected against the PAN. Form 26AS also covers Tax Collected at Source (TCS) deductions on foreign travel or foreign remittances.
Abhishek Soni, CEO, Tax2Win.in, an income tax return filing platform, explains, “The tax deductor is required to file TDS/TCS returns by May 31 for tax deducted in the last quarter of the financial year (between January and March). Also, banks and other financial institutions are required to file SFTs by May 31 to update data in the AIS. Hence, unless the TDS/TCS returns and SFTs are filed, the information available on the income tax portal through AIS and Form 26AS is incomplete.”
Also check this | Income Tax Calculator 2024-25: Which is better old or new regime? Check salary wise, exemption and deduction calculation
Filing of income tax return using incomplete information from AIS may result in the individual receiving an income tax notice for understatement of income due to reliance on this incomplete data.
As per the Income Tax rules, the deductor has to provide the TDS/TCS certificate after filing the TDS/TCS return. The deadline for issuing the TDS certificate is 15 days from the date of filing the TDS return. Therefore, your employer should provide you Form 16 (TDS Certificate) before June 15.
Additionally, if banks, mutual funds or companies have deducted taxes during FY 2023-24 (which ended on March 31, 2024), they must issue Form 16A (TDS certificate) to individuals by this date. Although TDS returns can be filed before the deadline, and TDS certificates can be issued before June 15, in most cases, certificates are usually issued by this date.
Taxpayers should verify that the deductions shown in Form 16/Form 16A are in accordance with the information given in AIS and Form 26AS. Any discrepancy may lead to difficulties for the taxpayer.
Soni says, “The Income Tax Department may send a tax notice if the information available to them through the AIS/Form 26AS of a person does not match with the information given by that person in his income tax return. The tax department will allow tax credit on the information shown in Form 26AS/AIS.”
Read this also | Planning to invest in NPS? Top 5 reasons why you should consider National Pension System
It is important to note that Form 16 (TDS Certificate) simplifies the process of filing tax returns for salaried individuals. The TDS Certificate consists of two parts: Part A and Part B. Part A displays the taxes deducted during the financial year, while Part B shows the total salary income paid by the employer and the tax deducted from this salary. Any deductions claimed by employees (under the old or new tax regime) will also be reflected in Form 16.
Filing incorrect income in your income tax return can have serious consequences. The assessing officer may classify it as misreporting or underreporting of income, which can result in a penalty ranging from 50% to 200% of the tax payable on the underreported amount. These penalties are imposed under section 270A of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
Also check this | SCSS Calculator: Earn interest income over Rs 10 lakh from Senior Citizen Savings Scheme; From interest rate to tax benefits – Top 10 facts
According to Soni, “If the income is under-declared due to misreporting of income, the penalty will be 200% of the tax payable on such misreported income. However, if the income is under-reported due to any other reason (such as failure to report income in the ITR), the penalty will be 50% of the tax payable on the under-reported income.”
Therefore, it is important to ensure that the income stated in the ITR is accurate. If a person finds out that he has filed his ITR based on incorrect income information, he has the option to file a revised ITR by December 31, 2024. Nevertheless, it is always advisable to file the original ITR using accurate and complete income information.
In cases where no TDS has been deducted from your income, no TCS has been charged to you, and you have complete information about the total income earned from various sources during the financial year 2023-24 (assessment year 2024-25), then you can file your ITR without waiting till June 15.
Though ITR forms are accessible, it is still advised that salaried individual The filing of returns has been postponed till June 15, according to an ET report by Preeti Motiani.The reason behind this recommendation is that their Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Form 26AS These are generally fully updated by May 31, and salaried individuals can get their TDS Certificate Within 15 days from this date.
Although some data may start appearing in AIS and Form 26AS before May 31, information for the last quarter of the previous financial year is usually updated by May 31.
Read this also | Income Tax Rules FY 2024-25: New vs Old Tax Regime – 6 Rules Salaried Individuals Should Know
Taxpayers filing returns based on incomplete data may face penalties if their income is underreported due to lack of information. Therefore, it is prudent to wait till June 15. Salaried individuals have time till July 31, 2024, to file their income tax returns for the financial year 2023-24 (assessment year 2024-25).
Banks and other financial institutions are required to submit Statement of Financial Transactions (SFT) annually to the Income Tax Department. SFTs provide the Income Tax Department with information on various transactions carried out by taxpayers during the financial year.
These details include income from shares, mutual funds, dividends, interest from savings bank accounts, fixed deposits, public provident fund accounts, credit card bill payments, and more. The AIS accessible to taxpayers is updated after these institutions file their SFTs.
Read this also | New vs old tax regime: How can an income of even Rs 10 lakh be tax-free under the old tax regime?
AIS provides a comprehensive record of an individual's financial transactions, regardless of whether tax has been deducted or not. This includes details such as total salary income, taxes deducted and deposited, and interest earned from savings bank accounts, even if no tax has been deducted on the interest.
As far as tax deduction at source (TDS) on income is concerned, tax deductors, which can be companies or banks, have time till May 31 to file returns. TDS Returns For the last quarter of the financial year. Though tax is deducted and deposited on a monthly basis, TDS returns are filed on a quarterly basis as per the Income Tax laws.
Once the tax deductor files the TDS return, the tax deposited against the respective PAN will be reflected in Form 26AS, which acts as a tax passbook, indicating the total taxes deducted/collected against the PAN. Form 26AS also covers Tax Collected at Source (TCS) deductions on foreign travel or foreign remittances.
Abhishek Soni, CEO, Tax2Win.in, an income tax return filing platform, explains, “The tax deductor is required to file TDS/TCS returns by May 31 for tax deducted in the last quarter of the financial year (between January and March). Also, banks and other financial institutions are required to file SFTs by May 31 to update data in the AIS. Hence, unless the TDS/TCS returns and SFTs are filed, the information available on the income tax portal through AIS and Form 26AS is incomplete.”
Also check this | Income Tax Calculator 2024-25: Which is better old or new regime? Check salary wise, exemption and deduction calculation
Filing of income tax return using incomplete information from AIS may result in the individual receiving an income tax notice for understatement of income due to reliance on this incomplete data.
As per the Income Tax rules, the deductor has to provide the TDS/TCS certificate after filing the TDS/TCS return. The deadline for issuing the TDS certificate is 15 days from the date of filing the TDS return. Therefore, your employer should provide you Form 16 (TDS Certificate) before June 15.
Additionally, if banks, mutual funds or companies have deducted taxes during FY 2023-24 (which ended on March 31, 2024), they must issue Form 16A (TDS certificate) to individuals by this date. Although TDS returns can be filed before the deadline, and TDS certificates can be issued before June 15, in most cases, certificates are usually issued by this date.
Taxpayers should verify that the deductions shown in Form 16/Form 16A are in accordance with the information given in AIS and Form 26AS. Any discrepancy may lead to difficulties for the taxpayer.
Soni says, “The Income Tax Department may send a tax notice if the information available to them through the AIS/Form 26AS of a person does not match with the information given by that person in his income tax return. The tax department will allow tax credit on the information shown in Form 26AS/AIS.”
Read this also | Planning to invest in NPS? Top 5 reasons why you should consider National Pension System
It is important to note that Form 16 (TDS Certificate) simplifies the process of filing tax returns for salaried individuals. The TDS Certificate consists of two parts: Part A and Part B. Part A displays the taxes deducted during the financial year, while Part B shows the total salary income paid by the employer and the tax deducted from this salary. Any deductions claimed by employees (under the old or new tax regime) will also be reflected in Form 16.
Filing incorrect income in your income tax return can have serious consequences. The assessing officer may classify it as misreporting or underreporting of income, which can result in a penalty ranging from 50% to 200% of the tax payable on the underreported amount. These penalties are imposed under section 270A of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
Also check this | SCSS Calculator: Earn interest income over Rs 10 lakh from Senior Citizen Savings Scheme; From interest rate to tax benefits – Top 10 facts
According to Soni, “If the income is under-declared due to misreporting of income, the penalty will be 200% of the tax payable on such misreported income. However, if the income is under-reported due to any other reason (such as failure to report income in the ITR), the penalty will be 50% of the tax payable on the under-reported income.”
Therefore, it is important to ensure that the income stated in the ITR is accurate. If a person finds out that he has filed his ITR based on incorrect income information, he has the option to file a revised ITR by December 31, 2024. Nevertheless, it is always advisable to file the original ITR using accurate and complete income information.
In cases where no TDS has been deducted from your income, no TCS has been charged to you, and you have complete information about the total income earned from various sources during the financial year 2023-24 (assessment year 2024-25), then you can file your ITR without waiting till June 15.