What is Income Tax Return?

It’s a prescribed form through which a person can furnish the details of his /her income earned through different sources of income and taxes paid for the relevant financial year to the Income Tax Department.

Do I have to file my income tax return?

Yes, you are required to file your income tax return if your income exceeds Rs. 2,50,000 in a Financial Year i.e. the basic exemption limit without giving effects to any type of deductions/investments.

My employer deducts and deposits TDS on my behalf. Do I need to still file my Income Tax Return?

Yes, even if your employer deducts and deposits your TDS on regular and timely basis, you are still required to file your tax return if your income exceeds Rs. 2,50,000. This helps in determining any dues or eligibility for refunds.

Is E-Filing mandatory?

E-Filing is mandatory in certain cases. For example, if your total income exceeds Rs. 5,00,000 p.a. or if you want to claim refund then you are compulsorily required to e-file your Income Tax Return. It is a much simpler process than filing a paper return and also your refunds are processed faster if your return has been E-Filed.

How can I e-file my return?

You can yourself e-file your return with us for free by using our website. It is a simple, secure, and fully automated platform for you to file your Income Tax Return. If you want an expert assisting you through this process, you can buy our ‘CA-Assisted Plans’ starting from just Rs. 299 only.

How to e-verify your income tax return using EVC?

You can yourself e-file your return with us for free by using our website. It is a simple, secure, and fully automated platform for you to file your Income Tax Return. If you want an expert assisting you through this process, you can buy our ‘CA-Assisted Plans’ starting from just Rs. 299 only.

  • Login to the Department e-filing website
  • Select e-filed Returns/Forms from My Account dropdown.
  • Click on “Click here to view your returns pending for e-verification"
  • Select the AY you want to e-verify your return for and then you can choose from the given three options available there to e-verify your return

What are Exempt Incomes and Taxable Incomes?

Exempt Incomes are not chargeable to tax as per Income Tax law i.e. they are not included in the total income for the purpose of tax calculation while Taxable Incomes are chargeable to tax under the Income Tax law.

Do I need to attach any documents along with my Income Tax Return?

No, you don’t have to attach any document along with your income tax return. You are required to submit documents only when the Income Tax Department asks you to submit.

Are there any benefits with filing the return online?

E-filing your income tax return is faster, secure and simpler than filing offline. As the returns are filed online, they are processed by the systems automatically and, therefore, the refunds are issued faster. Moreover, it is now mandatory to file your income tax return online if your income exceeds Rs. 5,00,000 in a financial year or if you want to claim the refund.

For how long should I keep my return documents with me?

Normally Income Tax Department can ask for the documents of 6 years prior to the current Financial Year. Therefore, you must maintain your documents at least for this period. However, in some special cases, Income Tax Department can also ask for documents pertaining to periods older than 6 years, so it is advisable to keep your documents as long as possible.

What is the difference between Financial Year and Assessment Year?

Financial Year is the actual financial year for which you’re filing your return and the Assessment Year will always be next year of financial year. For example, if you file return for F.Y. 2015-16, then the assessment year will be 2016-17.

What is TDS?

Full form of TDS is Tax Deducted at Source. Under Income Tax Act, there are certain payments including salary, interest etc. in which the one who makes such payment is liable to deduct tax. TDS is finally adjusted with the final tax payable at the time of computation of income tax return.

TDS deducted by my employer is not being shown on my Form 26AS. Why?

Form 26AS sometimes does not reflects some TDS entries due to various reasons like If the deductor has not filed his TDS statements or If you’ve quoted incorrect PAN number to the deductor, etc. You should contact the deductor for determining the reasons for the same.

What is Form-16?

Your employer gives you Form-16 as a certificate of total TDS deducted from salary. Details of TDS deducted and the details of salary, allowances & deductions are mentioned in Form-16.However the details of deductions mentioned are subject to the proof of deductions submitted by you to your employer. Hence real computation may change from the computation mentioned in Form-16.

I’m a pensioner receiving my income from the bank. Who will be issuing my Form 16 or pension statement to me?

The bank from which you receive your pension income will issue your Form 16.

I have incurred some personal and household expenditure. Can I claim deduction for the same?

No, you cannot claim deduction for personal expenditures while computing your income tax as per the Income Tax Laws.

What is the age for senior citizen and very senior citizen?

For the purpose of Income Tax, anyone who has attained the age of 60 years is called as Senior Citizen and if the age of any person exceeds 80 years, he’ll be called Very Senior Citizen.

What are PAN and TAN?

Full form of PAN is Permanent Account Number which is a 10 digit alpha numeric identification which is issued to each tax payer by the Income Tax Department.

Full form of TAN is Tax Deduction Number which is a 10 digit alpha numeric number allotted to those who are liable to deduct TDS by the Income Tax Department.