We understand that you are scrambling to file your Income Tax Return (ITR) right now! With so many documents and information necessary, filling an ITR can be a real struggle!
There is always a possibility that you might miss-out some critical information unintentionally while filling your ITR. This is a grave error and can attract notice from the Income Tax Department.
To make sure you stay fully compliant with the laws and don’t get any notices from the income tax department, I have prepared a list of some crucial points.
Let’s check them out!
Choosing the right form
There are multiple forms available for filing Income Tax Return depending on your income source, starting from ITR 1 to ITR 7. So, It’s vital to choose the right one, and if you fail to do so, you can be served the “Defective Return Notice”. E.g., If you are a salaried individual, a pensioner, have an income from one house property and have income from other sources like FD, saving accounts in bank or post office. Your aggregate income is below INR 50 lakh; you can choose “SAHAJ” or ITR-1.
Failure to include previous job salary
This is the most common mistake done by taxpayers. So it’s essential to pay attention to this. If you have switched your job recently, you must obtain Form 16, from your previous employer.
If for some reason, you are unable to obtain your Form16 from the previous employer, you can use your salary slips while filing your return.
In short, no matter what, you must include your previous salary’s information in your ITR.
Providing wrongful income information
Miss-reporting your income intentionally or unintentionally can attract notice from the Income Tax Department.
After the introduction of SFT (Statement of Financial Transaction), it is easy for the Department to trace your income. If they find any discrepancies in your actual income and the data you have submitted, you will be served a notice.
People often forget or ignore to include incomes from other sources like FD interest, saving bank account interest and investment through Systematic Transfer Plan.
Make sure you do not make these mistakes.
Provision for the clubbing of the income
There is a provision of clubbing of the income in the Income Tax Act 1961. Under this provision, the income of a minor child or a spouse can be clubbed into your annual income in some instances.
A lot of people are unaware of this information. So they fail to club these incomes while filing their ITR. This is the direct violation of the law and results in a notice from the Income Tax Department.
To avoid this notice, you should consider taking a piece of advice from an Income Tax Expert before filing your ITR.
Checking pre-filled forms thoroughly
To simplify the process of ITR filing, Income Tax Department has launched the facility of offering pre-filled returns to the taxpayers. These forms come with specific details filled by the Department based on your previous returns and data available with the Department.
But, it’s essential to check all the details correctly as there can be some mistakes or you need to make some alteration in those details. So it’s better to check all the details thoroughly before proceeding further.
Failure to verify your return
Many taxpayer don’t know that it is mandatory to verify your return after filling it online. You have 120 days to verify your return after you file it online. Failure to do so will result in the cancellation of your ITR.
You can verify your ITR through Aaadhar OTP, Demat account OTP, Net Banking, Bank Account OTP, ATM or via physical verification.
For physical verification, you will have to sign a copy of your ITR-V and send it to the CPC Bengaluru.
Maintaining supporting Documents
While submitting your ITR online, you are not required to submit any supporting documents. But it is always advisable to keep them handy. The reason is if in any case you are served a notice for any reason, you will have to submit these documents to the Department.
These documents include:
- Bank Statements
- Interest certificates from bank and post office
- Investment proofs
- Capital Gain statements
- Home loan repayment details
- Form 16
- Form 16A
- Proof of investments
- Any other supporting documents
Closing Remarks
Filling an ITR is a complex process. Failing to submit even a single piece of information can lead to the cancellation of return and a notice from the Tax Department.
So, it’s better to hire Income Tax Experts to handle your ITR filing process. With their extensive experience, they will help you optimize your tax and keep you fully compliant with the law.
Probal Consulting Group is a leading Taxation and Accounting firm that helps individuals, MSMEs and other businesses manage their accounting, taxation and other regulatory compliance in an affordable manner.
