Filing Income Tax returns online!! Easier than before!!
With less than a week left for filing your income tax returns, we at Fpguru.com would like to remind everyone to file their returns on time. 31st July is the last date for filing returns for individuals & non-audited assesses. This year e-filing has been made compulsory for individuals earning more than Rs 10 lacs or having foreign assets. Even for those not having the same e-filing is an option they can look at. With less paperwork & instant updates it’s surely is the way to go! But how do you go about it?
The first option is obviously to visit the various e-filing websites. You need to fill in the details required & for a certain fee they submit your returns. Some of them check the same as well before final submission. They are a good option if you are totally clueless about tax laws or are little hesitant filing online the first time on your own.
If however you are aware about basic tax laws & your income is mainly through salary, interest, etc you can file your returns online by yourself absolutely free!! If you are a business man or professional who again knows how to maintain your books of accounts then also you can file it yourself. However if you are under audit, you should obviously consult a Chartered Accountant. ( Audited assesses filing date is 30th September.)
If you are confident about filing your IT returns online you can follow these simple steps.
First of all register yourself on the income tax website - incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in. You will need to fill in your PAN & other personal details. Ensure you enter your active email address & contact number. Also enter password of your choice.
Once you have registered, you will see several options in front of you on. First & foremost you should check your Form 26AS. You can see that under the ‘My account’ option on the top of the page. Your Form 26 AS is your Tax Credit statement. This is where all your Tax deducted at source details is seen. Ensure the amount of TDS shown there, matches with the TDS certificates you have received from employer, bank, etc. If the same matches you can proceeds, if not you will need to inform the issuer of the certificate for rectification.
Once that is checked, you need to now file your income. On the left part of the page there will be options for filing. You may choose your option i.e. individual, HUF, etc. Depending on the source of your income you will need to select right form. If you are only salaried then it will be ITR 1, if business then ITR 4, etc. Please check which category you fall under & select appropriate form.
You can download the preparation software ( it’s an excel file) & enter data. You need to be diligent in it. If you are salaried it’s much more simple to fill in, however it does get more complicated for businessmen. Once the same is done save the file on your computer. Then you need to click on 'Submit return' link in the middle on the left hand side to upload the saved excel file to the income tax of India's server.
After uploading excel file successfully a form will pop up in your computer's window. This is in acknowledgement that you have filed your returns online successfully. Take a print out of this form and fill in the verification part which duly needs to be posted to the Income Tax office mentioned.
Take due care that if you upload the file today then the income tax department should receive the verification form duly filled and signed in the next 15 days by post. If not you will have to go through the entire procedure again.
The other option to this is ‘Digital Signature’! This is something that will make your e-filing income tax returns really paperless! Digital signature is like your electronic identity that confirms that the person who has submitted all the details is really you. There are online website which will do it for you for a fee. As per the IT Act 2000 they are legally as valid as physically signed documents in any Indian court of law.
Lastly if you have already paid more tax then your refund will come to you in a year’s time. If you have paid less then you can e-pay it again on the website. Again the option is there on the left part of the page.
So you see you can actually file your returns for free!! However we do suggest you to consult a tax return preparer if you have any doubts!! With this filing your IT returns should not be a pain but a breeze!!
This article has been written by Jai Adiani. The author is the founder of Fpguru.com
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Thanks.
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