The due date to file Income Tax (IT) returns is July 31 for salaried persons and pensioners. As the deadline is only a few days ahead, most people prefer to entrust chartered accountants (CAs) with the task, instead of resorting to e-filing the returns by themselves.
However, people having income from salary or pension need not seek CAs to e-file their returns as completing the process in ITR-1 form involves only a few easy steps.
At the same time, you have to be ready with all details before starting the filing as disruptions are likely to occur on the Income Tax Department’s portal.
Who should file IT returns?
All individuals earning an annual income of more than Rs 2.5 lakh have to file IT returns and July 31 is the date every year to complete the process without inviting a fine.
There are seven IT return (ITR) forms. Among these salaried persons and pensioners have to choose ITR-1. People with a total annual income below Rs 50 lakh, having income from one house, earning interest and having an income below Rs 5,000 from agriculture can also file ITR-1.
The returns could be filed under the old and new schemes this year as well. Salaried persons and pensioners can also choose the scheme during filing. However, deductions for PF, housing loan repayment, PPF and insurance premium are available only under the old scheme. In fact, under the new slabs, deduction cannot be claimed even for standard deduction.
Things to do before e-filing
The following four processes should be completed before you start e-filing the IT returns:
Link PAN (permanent account number) with Aadhaar; You should have a valid PAN; If PAN is invalid, submit the requisite fees to reactivate it and link to Aadhaar; You should have a phone number linked to Aadhaar and PAN for e-verification.
Step 1 to e-file ITR-1
Open the Income Tax portal https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal
If you have not registered on the portal earlier, do so now. People who registered can login with PAN number / Aadhaar number (user ID) and password. Another method for e-filing is through Net-Banking.
Step 2
Open ‘e-file’ on dashboard and click ‘Income Tax Return > File Income Tax Return’. Then, choose assessment year 2023-24.
Step 3
Click ‘Online mode’ and ‘Continue.’
Step 4
Click ‘Start new filing’ and ‘Continue.’
Step 5
In status, click ‘Individual’ and click on link ‘ITR-1’
After logging in, you would see five sections – Personal information, Gross total income, Total deduction, Tax paid and Total tax liability.
Step 6
First, choose ‘Personal information’, where details such as name, address, Aadhaar number and date of birth provided while creating the profile are displayed. If necessary, mobile number, e-mail ID and bank account number can be changed.
Step 7
Click on ‘Nature of Employment’ and choose from Central Government employee, State government employee, pensioner etc. Those working for private firms can click on ‘Others.’
Step 8
In the filing section, click on ‘139(1)’. You can then notice the question asking whether you wish to choose the new filing method. If ‘No’ is clicked, you can file returns under the old scheme and if ‘Yes’ is clicked, the filing would be in the new scheme.
Step 9
Declare your bank account details. You can also add a new account. The bank account should be pre-validated and if this was not done earlier, do so now. Otherwise, refunds will not be credited.
Step 10
Provide your gross total income, which includes all sources of income and amounts. Income from house property and income other than salary also should be mentioned. Press the ‘Save’ button.
Step 11
This step calculates your total deduction, for which details of deductions under Chapter IV have to be given. Under 80CCD(2) you have to also mention contributions to the National Pension Scheme (NPS) and health premium; donations for charity, scientific research and rural development and interest income from savings bank (SB) accounts.
People who have availed housing loans should click ‘Yes’ against ‘Are you eligible for any other deduction?’ Tick at 80EE and enter the amount you paid as interest on the housing loan to claim deduction.
After ensuring all the above figures are entered correctly, click on the ‘Confirm’ button.
Step 12
Provide details of the taxes you paid, including TDS and TCS. Check Form 16C for details on income other than salary; Form 27D and Form26AS for advance tax, self-assessment tax and tax payment and fill the amounts. Afterwards, click ‘Confirm.’
Step 13
Your total tax liability will be displayed, after calculating gross total income, total deduction and total income. Check the figures and click ‘Confirm.’ On the next screen, click ‘Proceed.’ Subsequently, click ‘Preview Return.’ You can then examine whether all the details provided are correct.
Step 14
Provide your PAN card number and name of your father. Click on ‘Proceed to preview.’ Check the return displayed and, if correct click on ‘Proceed to validation.’
Step 15
The message ‘Validation Successful’ will be displayed. Click ‘Proceed to Verification.’ Complete the IT return filing process by verification.
Filing of returns under new scheme
In Step 8, click ‘Yes’. There are five sections as in the old scheme - Personal information, Gross total income, Total deduction, Tax paid and Total tax liability. There is a slight difference only in Total deduction.
Under the new scheme, deduction is available only for employer contribution to the National Pension Scheme. No deduction is given for other expenses such as house property, life-health insurance premium, PF, donations, pension fund, educational loan, and treatment of parents. Standard deduction too is not available.
e-filing is easy in Net-Banking
If you use Net-Banking, e-filing could be done easily through your bank account. Here is the method:
In Net-Banking, choose ‘e-tax’ and click ‘Login to e-filing / e-verify’ .
If you have more than one account in the bank, select the account through which e-filing is to be done. On providing the OTP, you can directly reach the Income Tax e-filing website without submitting user ID and password.