"No Time To Spare": Government Asks Taxpayers To Honour July 31 Deadline
The central government is not considering giving exemptions to those who fail to file their income tax return (ITR) before the deadline of July 31. "Dear taxpayers, Do remember to file your ITR if you haven't filed yet. The due date to file ITR for AY 2022-23 is July 31, 2022. No time to spare #FileNow. Pl visit: http://incometax.gov.in," the Income Tax Department said on its official Twitter handle.
Why Should You File Income Tax Returns On Time?
Having a clean track record in Income Tax Returns makes it easier to get loans. There are other benefits of filing income tax returns on time, such as avoiding penalties, legal action, easy loan approval, carrying forward losses and quicker visas for international travel.
What Happens If You Miss The Deadline?
A Local circles survey on July 21 said about 54 per cent of individual income taxpayers are yet to file their return. The penalty, too, is stiff this year for those who fail to honour the time limit for filing the ITR.
A delay in filing ITR can lead to a penalty of Rs 10,000. Through ITR, a person is supposed to submit to the Income Tax Department of India information about the income and the taxes to be paid on it during the year.
If an individual's income exceeds the exempted limit, s/he must file tax returns. Under the new tax regime, the exemption limit is set at Rs 2.5 lakh.
Under the old regime, the exemption limit is Rs 2.5 lakh for those under the age of 60; Rs 3 lakh for those between the ages of 60 and 80 (senior citizens); and Rs 5 lakh for those above the age of 80 (super senior citizens).
While the new regime has done away with several exemptions, the tax slabs point to much lower rates than the old regime.
The Income Tax (I-T) is levied based on a slab system, which means the rates vary as per the income levels. The tax rate changes as the income increases.
Seven Types Of Forms
The Income Tax Department has prescribed seven types of ITR forms, whose applicability will depend on the nature and amount of income and the type of taxpayer.
ITR 1 or Sahaj: This income tax return form is for individuals whose total income in a financial year is below Rs 50 lakh. This includes the following: Income from salary/ pension, gains from one house property (this excludes cases where loss is brought forward from the previous financial year), income from other sources (winning a lottery and race house is excluded), and income from agriculture activities does not exceed Rs 5,000.
ITR 2: This is for individuals and Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) whose total income in a financial year from the following sources exceeds Rs 50 lakh.
ITR 3: This form can be used by individuals or HUF whose source of income is generated from business or profession.
ITR 4: Individuals, HUFs and partnerships firms (other than LLPs) and residents of India are eligible to file for returns under ITR 4 if their income includes business earnings as per the presumptive income scheme under Section 44 AD/44 AE, professional earning as per the presumptive income scheme under Section 44 ADA and income from salary/pension not exceeding Rs 50 lakh.
ITR 5: It caters to the following taxpayers - firms, limited liability partnerships (LLPs), Association of Persons (AOPs), Body of Individuals (BOIs), Artificial Juridical Person (AJP), the estate of deceased, the estate of insolvent, business trust and investment fund
ITR 6: This form caters to companies that claim tax exemption under Section 11. This section is for income earned from property held for charitable trusts and religious institutes. The important thing to note here is that this ITS can be filed electronically only.
ITR 7: This is to be used by individuals and companies that are required to file tax returns under the following sections: 139 (4A), 139 (4B), 139 (4C), 139 (4D), 139 (4E) and 139 (4F).
What Are The Changes In ITR Rules From This Year?
The government has, since last year, been giving conditional relief to senior citizens above the age of 75, exemption from filing the ITR.
This exemption has been given due to section 194P, introduced in Union Budget 2021.
According to section 194P, senior citizens are not required to file ITR if they fulfil the following criteria: If they are living in India and 75 years old or more during the previous year.
The Budget also introduced a 24-month window from the end of the assessment year to file a revised ITR in case an assessee missed reporting an income or discovered an error in the first tax return filed.
There is also an opportunity to pay unpaid taxes for two years.
Income Tax Notice For These High-Value Transactions
The Income Tax Department monitors high-value cash transactions beyond a specific limit. If you fail to mention such transactions in your Income Tax Returns (ITR) filing, you are likely to get a notice.
Filing income tax returns is no longer the hassle it used to be. Gone are the long queues and endless anxiety of meeting the tax-filing deadline.
With the online filing, also called e-filing, it is convenient to file returns from the confines of your home or office and at very short notice.