Mumbai, July 10: It is that time of the year again where taxpayers have to gear up to file their income tax returns. Individuals must file income tax returns for FY 2018-19 declaring the income earned during this period by July 31, 2019. In India, the financial year begins on April 1 and ends on March 31. In a bid to help taxpayers, the Income Tax Department had released an e-filing software for all ITR forms on its official website incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in. Taxpayers should know that before starting with the filing of Income Tax Returns (ITR), it is very important to keep a few essential documents like Aadhaar,  Permanent Account Number (PAN), Bank details and other investment related documents ready to avoid last minute hassle.

After keeping the required documents ready, file tax returns completely online by following these steps:

Register Yourself at Income Tax Department’s e-filing Portal

  1. Taxpayers must register themselves at Income Tax Department's e-filing portal at incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in.

  2. Keep your PAN Card/ Aadhaar card ready because you will require it during the registration process which will serve as the user ID.

  3. The mobile number and email address of the taxpayer is also required. The registration process is quite simple. Your PAN no will be your user id.

 Quick e-file ITR

  1. Taxpayers need to click on 'Quick e-File ITR' on the left-hand side menu

  2. Select the applicable Income Tax Return (ITR) form. Taxpayers need to select the relevant form and the assessment year, for which the return has to be filed. The ITR forms, which needs to file based on your income criteria are as follows:

  • ITR-1: It is the Income Tax Return Form for salaried individuals (i.e. salary/pension/family pension and interest income).

  • ITR-2: It is a form for those earning capital gains. ITR 2A for those owning more than one house but no capital gains.

  • ITR 3, 4 and 4S: This is a form for professionals and business owners.

Documents needed to file ITR

Taxpayers need to keep bank statement, Form-16 and other investment related documents in handy. Before you start filing the IT return, you should have important documents including PAN card, Aadhaar card, Bank account details, Form 16 and your investments details.

Confirmation Message

Once the details are submitted, a message confirming successful e-filing will be seen on your screen. The acknowledgement form – ITR-Verification is generated. The form can be downloaded for future reference.. The submitted form is also emailed to your registered email id.

On successful submission, ITR-V would be displayed. Click on the link and download the ITR-V. If ITR is uploaded with DSC, the Return Filing process is complete.

Verification Process

Taxpayers are advised to check the information they have filled before selecting the final submission to avoid any mistakes. The IT department asks you whether you want to digitally sign your return. If you choose ‘Yes’, the individual needs to upload the signature, which needs to be pre-registered at the official IT department website.

However, if you do not have the digital signature, you can verify your return either electronically using Aadhaar OTP or Electronic Verification Code Method or by sending it to Income Tax Department’s office in Bangalore by ordinary or speed post. It must be noted that the tax filing process is incomplete and ITR is invalid unless your ITR V is verified.

e-verification Process

Taxpayers can e-verify the return through several methods including  Netbanking, Bank ATM, Aadhaar OTP,  Bank Account Number, Demat Account Number, Registered Mobile Number & E-mail id. The process of e-verification eliminates the need to send a physical copy of the ITR-5 acknowledgement to CPC, Bengaluru in Karnataka.

Change in Rules For filing IT Returns in Budget 2019

In her Budget Speech on July 5, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman maintained a status quo on income tax slabs and announced few changes concerning the income tax assessees. The government announced "interchangeability of PAN and Aadhaar". This means taxpayers who do not have PAN will be able to file income tax returns by quoting their Aadhaar number. Quoting of Aadhaar number will also be accepted instead of PAN under the Income Tax Act.

Individuals must file the income tax returns (ITR) for the financial year ending March 31 by July 31 of the same year. It must be noted that if your total income is more than Rs 2.5 lakh (Rs. 3 lakh for senior citizens above 60 years of age and Rs 5 lakh for senior citizens above 80 years) then it is mandatory to file your returns.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 10, 2019 01:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).