It is mandatory to file the income tax returns within the stipulated deadline every year. The deadline for this year’s tax return filing was July 31, 2019 and the same has been extended to August 31, 2019. This extension in the deadline brings relief to the individuals who face issues in filing the tax returns for the fiscal year 2018 – 2019. The deadline for filing income tax returns for individuals and HUFs who need not get their accounts audited. It has been extended as many tax practitioners and chartered accounts had appealed to extend the deadline so that individuals get enough time.
Going by the same, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) extended the ITR filing deadline for employers. Initially, the Form 24Q, which was supposed to be filed by May 21, 2019 was extended to June 30, 2019. Later, the deadline for issuing Forum 16 was also extended from June 15, 2019 to July 31, 2019. As a result, employees who had to get their Form 16s to for tax return filing had only 21 days’ time to do it. Eventually, the government has extended the deadline to August 31, 2019.
Ensure To Do It Within The Deadline
It is essential to file a tax return within the specified deadline. Individuals who fail to file ITR returns within the deadline will be charged with a penalty of Rs. 5,000 provided the same is filed by the end of this year that is December 31, 2019. If the ITR is filed between January 1, 2020 and March 21, 2020, then a late payment fee will be Rs. 10,000. Doing so, small taxpayers with an income of less than Rs. 5 lakh will have to pay a relatively lower late payment fee of Rs. 1,000 if the ITR returns are filed after the deadline.
Given that the government has extended the deadline adding another month for individuals to file for ITR returns, there will be ample time to file for taxes without any concerns regarding the late payment fees and penalties. This year, it has become easier to fill income details in ITR-1 as individuals have to just copy and paste the same from Form 16. But this process requires a lot of details and this could be a tedious task.
Pre-filled Tax Return Filing Forms Will Be Of Help
The income tax department provides individuals with pre-filled XML files for the ITR forms to 4. Of these, the ITR-2 will not have any salary details and this form has to be filled by individuals. It is mandatory to fill the form with a detailed salary breakup including basic, HRA and other options that can be chosen from the drop-down menu.
Even the calculation of LTCG (long-term capital gains) tax on equity mutual funds and equity shares are also a complicated task this year. Besides this, individuals have to provide a few details for the sale of equity mutual funds and equity shares. These details are,
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- Folio Number
- ISIN Code
- Number of units/shares
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However, to the relief of individuals, this process was later made optional.
Tax Return Filing Tips That You Should Know
As the tax return filing deadline is nearing, individuals who are eligible to pay taxes are busy in gathering the documents and information for the purpose. While they contact their banks, employers and other sources, it is common for them to miss out on a key aspect. To make sure the income tax return is filed within the deadline without any issue, there are a few factors that have to be considered.
Firstly, it is mandatory to determine the accurate residential status as many factors depend on the same such as taxability of overseas income, relevant ITR forms and reporting requirements. Using the right form of tax return filing is important. There are four forms that are important and these are ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-3 and ITR-4 depending on the relevance.
While some forms are pre-filled, it is important to crosscheck with the utmost care to make sure that these details are accurate. This verification can be done with the help of supporting documents such as Form 16, Form 26AS and Form 16A so that there are no misreporting or non-reporting issues.