To avoid penalties from the Income Tax department and save taxes, it is important to plan your calendar keeping in mind all financial deadlines. Besides the usual income tax return (ITR) filing and tax saving deadlines, there are a few other important cut-off dates relating to shares, PAN card, home loan, etc which you should not miss to avoid trouble.
Here is a compilation of all such key dates that you need to keep in mind while making a financial plan for the new year 2019.
Tax saving deadlines:
If you want to save taxes and claim any reimbursements from your employer for financial year 2018-19, you have time only till 31 March. The salaried class needs to submit investment proofs for various investments like PPF, NSC, tax saving fixed deposits, ULIP, life insurance policy, NPS, etc under Section 80C. You can also claim tax benefit on medical insurance premium, house rent allowance (HRA), income from house property, etc.
In case you have not planned these tax-saving investments in advance, then you will have to act quickly now.
Although you can also claim these deductions later on also while filing income tax returns (ITR) but your employer will deduct TDS if you fail to submit the relevant investment or expense proof on time. Check the deadline to submit documents with your office’s accounts department as the dates vary between mid-January to end of March.
Also, do not forget to claim any reimbursements relating to travel, house rent, phone, internet and medical bills or other expenses that you may be entitled to as an employee.
You also need to keep a track of leave travel allowance (LTA) exemption. For tax benefit, you can claim it for two journeys in a block of four years, in between 2018 and 2021.
Also, remember to submit all the required documents such as rent receipts and other tax-savings related documents to your employer before the deadline set by your employer to avoid higher TDS deduction from your salary income.
ITR deadlines:
Although the deadline to file income tax returns is now over, the Income Tax department still gives you an opportunity to file a belated ITR till 31 March by paying a fine. From financial year 2017-18, an assessee is required to file belated ITR before 31 March, 2019.
Also, just in case you want to revise your ITR for the last financial year, you have time only till 31 March for filing a revised ITR.
After the end of the current financial year, you will have to start preparing for filing ITR for FY 2018-19 as the deadline is July 31.
PAN card:
Following the Supreme Court judgement last year, it is now mandatory to link your PAN card with Aadhaar number. The ruling makes it mandatory for all those filing ITR to have an Aadhaar number and link it with their PAN card. Till October, it was reported that millions of tax payers are yet to link their PAN card with Aadhaar. If you do not do it till 31 March this year, then your PAN may be declared void by the Income Tax department.
The Income Tax department has also changed rules making it mandatory for all entities doing transactions worth at least Rs 2.5 lakh in a financial year to get a PAN card before 31 May of the next financial year. So if you fall in that bracket this year, then you will have to get a PAN card till the deadline.
Share market:
All those owning shares in paper form will have to mandatorily convert them into dematerialise form by 31 March as shares in physical certificate format will not be allowed to be sold in the market.
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana:
To avail subsidy of upto Rs 2.67 lakh on home loans under the Credit Link Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) for the Middle Income Group (MIG) under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) you have time only till March 2020. The deadline, which was 31 March 2019 earlier, has been extended for a year.
Till December 30 this year, around 3,39,713 beneficiaries have availed subsidy under the PMAY (Urban) scheme.
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