The Income-tax Act, 1961 mandates all Individuals, Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) and businesses e filing income tax return to disclose the annual income, expenses, deductions, investments, taxes paid, etc., of a taxpayer. The returns must be filed timely to ensure compliance with the regulations.
We have listed below the necessary steps if you want to start e filing income tax return that needs to be followed to successfully complete the documentation process.
Register on the e-filing Portal
The taxpayers must be registered on the e-filing portal under the income tax department to avail the e-services. For registration as a taxpayer, you need to add all the basic and mandatory information such as name, date of birth, address and PAN number.
Select your Appropriate Form
The taxpayers must select the e-filing form applicable to them based on their quantum of income and profession. Individuals earning salary income or income from house property and capital gains or income up to INR 50 lakhs must fill out ITR -1 form. On the other hand, individuals and HUFs having capital gains income must fill in ITR-2. Companies and business owners must fill in the pending forms as suitable to their income levels.
Select the Way to e-file
Forms ITR-1 and ITR-4 are available for online filing. The pending forms can be filled in by uploading an offline file containing the information on the portal. The offline file can be generated via the offline utility, which you can download from the portal.
Fill the Form
All the necessary information pertaining to income, expenses, applicable deductions, taxes paid etc., as applicable, must be entered accurately. Documents such as 26AS and form 16 will provide the requisite information for filing the return.
Upload and Validate
For the online forms, after filing in all the mandatory fields, the taxpayers can validate the return. After validating the offline return form in the utility, the taxpayer can log in to the income tax India e-filing portal and upload the return file in XML format.
Verification of Return
The income tax return is required to be verified before being submitted to the department. Verification can be done electronically by way of Aadhar OTP, digital signature or offline. The offline method allows you to get the signed acknowledgement of filing i.e. ITRV, to the central processing center within 120 days over mail.
Essentials of e filing income tax return
As a responsible citizen, it is essential that all taxpayers having income exceeding the basic exemption limit file their returns timely and accurately. A filed income tax return can be considered as a valid proof of income to the revenue department. Do go through the above steps to guide you to fill the returns diligently!