|
To start with, all the
taxpayers who have earned income above Rs 5 lakh in 2013-14, are required to
file their income tax return in the assessment year (AY) 2013-14. The
government has made many amendments to the Income Tax Act 1961, in the Budget
2013-14. While filing the return, you have to keep in mind the changes. Then,
you have to understand the form that you have to fill. The salaried
individuals, who are required to file their returns latest by July 31, have
to fill what is known as ITR-1 (though there are certain exceptions to this
which have been discussed later). If you fail to file returns within the due
date and any taxes are payable by you after considering tax deducted at
source (TDS) by your employer, advance taxes or other credits, you will be
charged a penal interest at the rate of one per cent per month for the delay
in filing the returns.
All the same, salaried individuals earning less than Rs 5 lakh
and having saving bank interest income of less than Rs 10,000 in a year need
not file their tax return. This too though comes with a rider. The exemption
from filing return is available only if the employer has deducted the entire
tax liability through TDS and deposited it with the government. If salaried
employees have changed jobs during the year, they will not be exempt from
filing the tax return even if they fulfill the condition.
All individuals having income above Rs 5 lakh have to
mandatorily file I-T returns electr
onically. ITR-1, known as Sahaj form, has
to be filled by individuals who have income from salary or pension, receive
income from one house property or have income from sources other than
winnings from lottery and race horses. However, if an individual has income
by way of interest on, say, public provident fund or any other such
government-issued bond or securities, or dividend, leave travel concession
among others, which exceeds Rs 5,000, she will have to file ITR-2. Also, if
you have a loss brought forward from previous year, you have to file ITR-2.
For the AY 2013-14, those having income up to Rs 2 lakh are
exempt from tax payment. Those between Rs 2-5 lakh would have to pay tax at
10 per cent and those above Rs 5 lakh but below Rs 10 lakh have to pay tax at
the rate of 20 per cent. Above Rs 10 lakh, the rate is 30 per cent.
For individuals who are above 60 years but below 80 years,
income up to Rs 2.50 lakh is exempt from tax while that between Rs 2.50 lakh
and Rs 5 lakh is taxable at the rate of 10 per cent. The other two slabs
remain the same.
Individuals above the age of eighty years don’t have to pay any
tax on income up to Rs 5 lakh while the other two slabs in their case also
remain the same as above.
On the other hand, ITR-2 has to be filed by any person who has
more than one house, has income from lottery and race horses, income from
sale of house or plot or shares (called capital gains), income from
agriculture or exempt income in excess of Rs 5,000, or income from business
or profession. Further, those individuals who claim loss under the head of
income from other sources, or claim relief of foreign tax paid under section
90, 90A or 91 abroad or those who have any asset including financial interest
in any entity located outside India, will have to file ITR-2.
The individuals need to file advance tax if their tax liability
exceeds Rs 10,000 in a financial year. The advance tax can be paid in three
installments – 30 per cent of advance tax by September 15; 60 per cent by
December 15; and 100 per cent by March 15. If you miss the installment
deadline, you can pay the tax later but with one per cent interest per month
of default.
While filing returns, keep details of your permissible
investments by your side. They are allowed as deductions under the income tax
act, thereby reducing your tax liability. These include amount paid towards
life insurance, provident fund, new pension scheme, or a maximum deduction of
Rs 25,000 towards Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme among others. The total
amount allowed as savings is Rs 1 lakh. Further, tuition fees paid for your
children, or interest on loan taken for higher education, or interest on
deposits in savings account up to Rs 10,000 is allowed for deduction too. In
case of house property, a flat deduction of 30 per cent of the amount is
permissible for repairs and such construction while interest on housing loan
up to Rs 1,50,000 for self occupied house is allowed.
Deduction in respect of medical insurance premium and
contribution to CGHS up to Rs 15,000 for self, spouse or children, for
parents up to Rs 15,000 and for severe disability up to Rs 1 lakh is allowed.
Donations to certain funds and charitable institutions are also allowed.
While the individuals have to be careful while filling their PAN
detail, there are several other points one needs to remember before
submitting the ITR-1 or ITR-2 to the department.
1. If you have more than one house and the other house is lying
vacant, don’t forget to add the notional rent of the vacant house in the
total taxable income.
2. Income from fixed deposit or savings bank account is taxable.
3. Any investment in name of your wife, husband, or minor
child will be clubbed with your taxable income and will be taxed under
section 64 of the income tax act. However, such income is exempt up to Rs
1,500 each for two children.
4. If you have received gift in cash of more than Rs 50,000
from someone who is not your relative or spouse, you have to include that in
your total taxable income under section 56 of the Act. Similarly, if you
received any immovable property as a gift, the stamp duty value of which
exceeds Rs 50,000, you have to include that too.
5. Income from short-term capital gains like sale of shares
or an equity-oriented mutual fund should be filled in the form. It is taxable
as per section 111A at a flat rate of 10 per cent. However, if it is sale of
any other asset it is taxed at the normal slab.
6. Though long-term capital gains are not taxable, they
have to be mentioned in ‘other assets’ under section 112(1). This includes
consideration received for assets sold such as house property.
7. Winnings from lottery also need to be mentioned in the
return.
8. Bank account number and MICR code has to be mentioned in
the form. In case you fill either of these wrong, you would need to submit a
cancelled cheque showing the corrections. You may also log on to the website
and make a refund re-issue request under ‘My Account’.
However, your job is not complete, whether you are filing return
online or a paper return. After filing, you have to send to Bangalore-based
central processing centre, what is called, an ITR-V by ordinary post or speed
post.
Once the central processing centre receives it, an electronic
acknowledgement to the tax return filer is sent or an acknowledgement receipt
is sent in case of paper return.
All about e-filing
What is e-payment of taxes?
E-payment of taxes is a facility provided to the taxpayers to
make income tax payments through internet, using net-banking facility.
How can I use this facility to pay income tax?
You can use the facility if —
a) You have a bank account with net-banking facility, and
b) Your bank is amongst the banks that provide the e- payment
facility.
it is mandatory to pay tax online?
It is mandatory for the following types of assesses to pay tax
online with effect from April 1,2008.
a) All the corporate assesses.
b) All assesses (other than company) to whom provisions of
section 44AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961 are applicable.
What if your bank does not have an online payment facility?
In case your bank does not have an online payment facility or is
not an authorized bank then you can make electronic payment of tax from the
account of any other person who has an account with the authorized bank
having online facility. However, the challan for making such payment must
clearly indicate your PAN.
What after I confirm the payment of tax at my bank’s site?
Your bank will process the transaction online by debiting the
bank account indicated by you and generate a printable acknowledgment
indicating the Challan Identification Number (CIN). You can verify the status
of the challan in the “Challan Status Inquiry” at NSDL-TIN website using CIN
after a week.
Do I have to attach the acknowledgment with my return?
No, it will be considered sufficient proof if you quote your
Challan Identification Number (CIN) as mentioned in your counterfoil in your
return.
How secure is e-payment?
All transmission through NSDL-TIN website is encrypted and is
with Secure Socket Layer (SSL) authentication. With respect to the banks, it d
|
No comments:
Post a Comment