How to File Income Tax Returns?

The government collects tax in 3 ways:

1. Tax Deducted at Source (TDS)

Tax which is deducted from payments like salary, rent, etc. when the amount exceeds a particular limit.

2. Tax Collected at Source (TCS)

Tax collected by sellers while selling something to buyers.

3. Individual tax payments through banks

Individuals and businesses can file IT Returns in two ways:

Visiting a bank branch
Online at — https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal

How to file ITR at a bank branch:

Download the Income Tax Return (ITR) Form from the link given below:

https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/pages/downloads/income-tax-return.aspx

ITR Form 1 is for regular salaried persons and will be the form most relevant to you.
ITR Form 2, 3, 4S are for HUFs; ITR Form 6 is for companies, etc.

Quick tip

The ITR Forms are available in Hindi too. You can download the Hindi forms instead of English forms from the same link.

Carefully fill your details in the ITR Form that you downloaded.

The form will help you calculate your income tax liability after calculating your total income, deductions and exemptions.

Write a cheque for the amount of tax you have to pay.

Do you remember what a cheque is and how to write a cheque? Go to our guides on Banking to read all about it!

Submit the ITR Form along with the cheque at your bank branch.

Get ITR-V (Income Tax Returns-Verification) or a bank receipt as a confirmation of payment from the bank.

How to file ITR online:

Register and make an account on the Income Tax e-filing portal.

For this, go to: https://eportal.incometax.gov.in/iec/foservices/#/pre-login/register

You will need your PAN Card number and basic details for this.

Go to the Income Tax e-fling portal

You can access the account you created above from here.

https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal

Click on Login.

Enter your PAN number and password. Enter the CAPTCHA code. Press Login.

Click on the e-file menu.

Then click the ‘Income Tax Return’ link.

Select the Assessment Year and the ITR Form number.

Select the Filing Type as Original/ Revised Return. Choose the Submit Mode as ‘Prepare and Submit Online’.

Fill in the ITR Form carefully with correct details.

Click on Save Draft after you fill each section to save your work on the form. The draft will be available for 30 days.

After completing the form, preview the full form.

Check if you have made any mistakes. Make the necessary corrections. Finally, when your form is fully ready, click on Submit.

You must verify your ITR within 30 days of submitting the form.

For verification online, called e-verification, generate EVC under the My Account tab.

Verify e-filing.

Follow these steps to do this:

Click on ‘e-File’.
Then click on ‘Income Tax Returns’.
Then again click on ‘View Filed Returns’ option to see the ITR you filed.
You can verify your e-returns by clicking on view ‘income returns pending for e-verification’
To download ITR-V click on the ‘Download Form’ button of the relevant Assessment Year.

Now let’s look at some important points that you should keep in mind during the process of filing an ITR.

1. Choose the correct Assessment Year (AY)

An Assessment Year is the year that comes after the Financial Year.

The income you earned in the Financial Year (FY) will be taxed in the Assessment Year. Example: Income earned in FY 2020-21 will be taxed in the AY 2021-22.
An Assessment Year begins on April 1 and concludes on March 31 of the next year. Example: If Sheetal is filing her ITR on August 2, 2022, she is filing for AY 2022-23 and FY 2021-22.

2. Select code (0021) at the time of e-filing taxes online. It is the code for non-corporate taxpayers.

3. You must know if you fall under a resident, non-resident or deemed resident category of taxpayer.

You are becoming an income tax wizard!

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