You will need various documents, such as Form 16, 26AS, AIS/TIS, bank statements, investment documents, rent receipts, et cetera to file your ITR.
New Delhi: Filing Income Tax Return (ITR) on your own may seem complex, especially if you are doing it for the first time. However, the recent revisions on the e-filing website have made it easy for anyone to file ITR without the help of any tax professional.
The entire ITR filing process has been made really easy, especially for salaried employees who do not have any other source of income apart from their salary. Following are five things you should prepare yourself for ITR filing on your own this year (AY 2023-24)
Make Sure You Have All Necessary Documents
You will need various documents, such as Form 16, 26AS, AIS/TIS, bank statements, investment documents, rent receipts, et cetera to file your ITR. Therefore, you should ensure that you have all the documents handy, either physically or soft copies, before starting to file ITR returns.
Self-filers should obtain the relevant TDS certificates from the tax deductor and verify the relevant details. For instance, salaried taxpayers may verify the details of Form 16 with their monthly payslips. In case of any discrepancy, the deductee may request the deductor to furnish a new TDS certificate by way of furnishing a revised TDS return,” said Dr Suresh Surana, Founder, RSM India, as reported by the Financial Express,
“Apart from the same, the taxpayers may download Annual Information Summary (AIS), Tax Information Summary (TIS) and Form 26AS from the Income tax portal and confirm the details with bank passbooks, etc and ensuring all the transactions are taken into consideration in the return,” he adds.
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Understand Your Sources of Income
You need to make sure you have a clear understanding of all your income sources, such as salary, house rentals, business income, capital gain income et cetera. This will help you fill out the correct forms and claim all the deductions you are eligible for.
Choose The Correct ITR Form
“Different ITR forms exist for different types of income and taxpayers. Make sure you choose the correct ITR form based on your income sources and the category of taxpayer you belong to,” according to Abhishek Soni, co-founder and CEO of Tax2win, a Fisdom company.
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Compute Your Taxable Income
You should use Income Tax Calculator to compute your taxable income before filing ITR.
“Use your income and deduction details to compute your taxable income as per the income tax law provisions for the year. This will help you determine the amount of tax you owe or the amount of refund you are eligible for,” says Soni.
Taxpayers should also ensure that the payment of self-assessment tax is duly made along with the relevant interest as filing of tax return without payment of self-assessment tax would lead to such return being treated as defective, as per Dr Surana.
Claim Deductions and Exemptions
While filing ITR, taxpayers should also ensure that they are claiming all the deductions and exemptions they are eligible for, such as those available under Section 80C, Section 80D, et cetera.
“This will help reduce your taxable income and lower your tax liability. Also, you should consider credit for TDS, TCS, advance tax, or any self-assessment tax paid by you,” says Soni.
Further, with effect from AY 2023-24, the new tax regime under Section 115BAC of the Income Tax Act would be the default tax regime. “Accordingly, if the taxpayers intend to opt for the old tax regime, they may be required to comply with certain provisions such filing of prescribed form (similar to erstwhile Form 10IE) as may be notified by the CBDT,” says Dr Surana.
