Why In-time Income Tax Filing is Too Important for Taxpayers?

The time for filing the Income Tax Returns is gaining pace as the month of July is approaching near. The deadline for the same is July 31, 2019. The tax authorities are all done with their tasks till now, as a part of which they have released all the essential utilities and has now left everything in the court of taxpayers. As ITR filing is not a cup of tea obviously and is a daunting and tiresome task, people don't seem to be on board with the same till yet.

Procrastination, Late filing, Errors and Omissions are some of the common terms that hook up with these processes and the authorities have provided provisions for all of them. The returns filed after the due date is termed as belated returns and the due date of filing a revised or belated tax return for the tax year 2018-19, is March 31, 2020.

In-time filing of tax is very important to be in good books of government and to shun the late fee or interest applicable on late filing of ITR forms. As if an individual get late in filing the ITR then the interest is levied for each month of delay starting from the due date of return filing at the rate of 1 per cent per month along with a late filing fee of Rs 5,000, when return is filed on or before December 31. The late filing fee became 10,000 when the return is filed post-December 31.

Notably, the late filing fee cannot be more than Rs 1,000 when the total income of an individual is within the limit of Rs 5 lakhs.

Accurate filing is equally important as an in-time filing is. Every year the tax department notifies latest tax return forms to showcase alterations introduced in tax provisions and norms. This year tax return forms have been notified immediately after the completion of the tax year in order to provide ample time to the taxpayer to collect and file all the required details in ITR on time.

New tax return forms for the tax year 2018-19 needs extra revelations like mentioning the conditions for conclusion of residential status in country; for the non-resident individuals, additional reporting of the number of days stayed in India, residence country and the identification number of the respective taxpayer.

When an individual is a director of a company, he/she shall furnish details like Director Identification Number (DIN), name and Permanent Account Number (PAN) of the company, whether the shares of the company are listed or not, in the tax return form.

Increased reporting in Foreign Asset Reporting (FAR) schedule is brought in, concerning the depository accounts, custodial accounts, insurance details and equity & debt interest.

We must be well aware of the conditions under which income tax retun filing online via Gen IT software becomes mandatory. Firstly, when the income exceeds the maximum exemption limit which is Rs 2.50 lakh for general category, Rs 3 lakh for senior citizens of 60 years or above and Rs 5 lakh for senior citizes of 80 years or above, it becomes mandatory to file a tax return. The exemption limit for various categories of individuals is well specified under the Income Tax Act, 1961 (IT Act).

Secondly, when an individual arouses a loss from the business/profession or under the head capital gain and wants to carry forward such loss to the next years to set it off against future years’ income, it becomes mandatory to file ITR on or before the due date.

Also when the total income of an individual is inferior to the maximum exemption limit, but tax has been deducted at source (TDS), it becomes mandatory to file ITR forms online for AY 2019-20 to claim the refund. This situation is common in senior citizens and non-resident Indians. Form 26AS - an annual statement of income and tax deducted thereon, ensures identification of such situations to shun loss of tax refund.

The inventions and up-gradations in the technology along with high-end processing systems facilitates the tax department to easily monitor transactions carried out by an individual in different ways. Therefore it has become highly important to accurately and timely report the income, making relevant disclosures to avert notices or scrutiny on later dates and to avoid last-minute pressure and agony.

Income tax software automates the return filing, calculates tax and thus leaves no chances for errors i.e. The Gen IT free online income tax return filing helps you in the following compliance as per the government norms & regulation. As developed by decade-old SAG Infotech Pvt Ltd already known for Gen IT software.