A taxpayer can record their income, expenses, tax deductions, investments, taxes, etc. on a form known as an income tax return. The Income Tax Act of 1961 makes filing an income tax return a requirement in a number of circumstances.
A form called an income tax return is used to disclose a taxpayer’s yearly income. Even in the lack of income, there may be a number of valid reasons to file an income tax return.
In order to declare his income for a fiscal year, carry forward losses, claim an income tax refund, claim tax deductions, etc., a taxpayer may desire to file their income tax return.
The ability to file an income tax return electronically (e-filing) is made available by the Income Tax Department. Before going over the procedures for filing an income tax return electronically, it is crucial for a taxpayer to maintain the records needed for data reporting and calculation.
Step 1: Income and Tax Calculation
The taxpayer must evaluate whether their income is subject to the terms of their personal income tax laws.
Income from all sources, comprising pay, side income from freelancing, and interest income, should have been included in the analysis. The taxpayer is eligible to deduct certain costs, including investments covered by section 80C that save taxes.
A taxpayer should also consider the credit for TDS, TCS, or any advance tax they may have paid.
Step 2: Form 26AS and Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) Certificates
The taxpayer must total his TDS amount based on the TDS certificates he has received for each of the four quarters of the fiscal year. The summary of TDS and tax paid throughout the course of the financial year provided by Form 26AS is helpful to the taxpayer.
Step 3: Pick the appropriate Formal Income Tax
To file his income tax return, the individual must determine the appropriate income tax form or ITR form. The person can proceed with completing the income tax return after determining the income tax form. Online and offline filing are the two available alternatives. Only ITR 1 and ITR 4 forms are accessible through the taxpayer’s login in the online mode; forms for other categories of individual taxpayers are not. For all types of income tax forms, the offline mode (creating XML and uploading) is available.
Step 4: Access the Income Tax Portal and download the ITR tool.
On the top menu bar of the website www.incometax.gov.in, select “Downloads.”
Select the assessment year and download the offline utility program of your choice, such as Microsoft Excel, Java, or JSON utility. The income tax department will no longer offer the Excel and Java utilities starting in AY 2020–21.
Step 5: Enter your information in the downloaded file.
After downloading the offline tool, enter the necessary information about your income to check whether taxes are owed or refunds are due based on the tool’s estimates. The downloaded form can be filled up with the information from the income tax challan.
Step 6: Verify the Data You’ve Entered
A few buttons are visible on the right side of the downloaded form. To confirm that all of the needed information is filled in, click the “Validate” button.
Step 7: Change the file’s format to XML
After the file has been successfully validated, click the “Generate XML” button on the right side of the file to change the file’s format to XML.
Step 8: Upload the XML file to the Income Tax Portal.
Now sign in to the income tax e-filing portal and choose the “Income Tax Return” option under the “e-File” menu.
Give all relevant information, including your PAN, assessment year, ITR form number, and submission method. Don’t forget to select the ‘Upload XML’ option from the drop-down menu under the field name ‘Submission Mode,’ as seen in the figure below.
Now, click the “Submit” button while attaching the XML file from your computer.
Pick one of the three verification methods that are available: sending a manually signed copy of ITR-V to CPC, Bengaluru, or using the Aadhaar OTP or electronic verification code (EVC).
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