Income Tax Return (ITR) Filing: Key Points to Note

• Posted By Amritesh
• On December 27th, 2020
• Comments: one response

Salaried Individuals need to file their Income Tax Return (ITR) by 31^st December, 2020 for the Assessment Year 2020-21 (Financial Year 2019-20). This year the return filing date has been extended due to the pandemic situation. Normally, the last date of filing return is 31^st July, 2020. The Income Tax Return filing date has now been extended to 31^st December, 2020. Individual Taxpayers need to file their returns within the deadline to avoid penalty. Now, one should be careful while filing his/her return or else it may lead to unnecessary hassles in the future. Individuals need to keep in mind certain points while filing their Income Tax Returns. Taxpayers should be very transparent when it comes to disclosing their income and sources at the time of filing their returns.

Documents Required for filing ITR

#PAN & Aadhaar ID (Also required for Logging & Verification purpose)

#Bank Accounts Statement

#TDS Details (Form 16, Form 16A, Form 26AS)

#Tax Payments Invoice

#Investment Proofs (Eligible for Tax Deductions)

#Any Financial Transaction related documents for the concerned Financial Year

Key Points to Keep in Mind while filing Income Tax Return  (ITR)

1. Keep all the required documents ready at the time of filing the return.

Individuals should keep the documents related to source of income, payment of tax, investments, tax deductions proof, home loan certificate, bank statement, Form 16, Form 26AS, etc, at the time of filing returns.

2. Download Form 26AS to verify Tax Deductions and cross check TDS mentioned in Form 16.

Form 26AS reflects all the details related to tax deductions. It contains the detail related to the certain income and the taxes deducted at source. Specific financial transactions such as investments, interest received on deposits, or details related to similar transaction is available in Form 26AS. This also allows the Taxpayers to crosscheck the details with Form 16.

3. Select the Correct Income Tax Return (ITR) Form.

Taxpayers should be careful with the selection of ITR forms.  The return should be filed using the correct ITR Form. ITR Form selection should be on the basis of Residential Status, Heads of Income, Nature of Business or Profession, etc.

Income Tax Return Form FY 2019-20 (AY 2020-21)

4. Disclosure of all the Income.

Taxpayers should report all the sources of income including bank interest earned. Even exempted income should be reported at the time of filing return. Individuals, resident & ordinarily resident, need to disclose any foreign assets or bank account held by them.

5. Pre-validation of Bank Account for Refund.

Taxpayers also need to pre-validate their Bank Account prior to filing income tax return. This is required as Income Tax Department issues refund only to pre-validated bank accounts.

6. Basic Details & E-verification.

Individuals should make sure that the basic information provided in the Form is correct and error free. Since the information may be required by the Department for further communication in the future.

Once the ITR is filed, it is very important to verify the return. The simplest way to complete the verification is via the Aadhaar OTP or by generating EVC via Net-banking.

These are some of the key points one should keep in mind at the time of filing income tax return.

Wealthtech Speaks or any of its authors are not responsible for any errors or omissions, accuracy, completeness, timeliness or for the results obtained from the use of this information. This article is for informational purpose only. Readers are advised to research further to have detailed knowledge on the topic. It is very important to do your own analysis and consult your Tax Advisor before arriving at any conclusion.