An Income Tax Return or ITR is a form that is used to declare the net tax liability, claim the tax deduction and report the gross taxable income. It is compulsory for everyone who earns a certain amount of money to file IT Returns. Be it companies, Hindu Undivided Families, self-employed or salary individuals, it is mandatory to file ITR to the Income Tax Department of India.
ITR Filing
The process of ITR filing by which taxpayers have to file a report of their total income earned in the financial year. Individuals can file for returns through the Income Tax Department’s official website which have been notified with seven various forms: ITR 1, ITR 2, ITR 3, ITR 4, ITR 5, ITR 6 and ITR 7.
Criteria for filing ITR.
It is compulsory for individuals to file for ITR in India if they fall into the following criteria:
- The individuals fall into their respective tax slabs.
- Company or firm, irrespective of profit or loss made in a financial year
- A tax refund is needed to be claimed
- Loss under a head of income needs to be carried forward
- One is applying for a loan or a visa
- Being a resident of India, one has an asset or financial interest in any entity located outside India
Documents required to file ITR
For filing ITR online, you need to have the following documents:
- PAN Card
- Form 26AS
- Form 16A, 16B, 16C
- Salary payslips
- Bank statements
- Interest certificate
- TDS Certificate
- Proof of tax-saving investments
Compulsion to file Income Tax Return
According to the tax laws laid down by the Constitution of India, it is mandatory to file your income tax returns in case your income is more than the basic exemption limit. The income tax rate is pre-decided for taxpayers. If there is a delay in filing returns will not only attract late filing fees but also hamper your chances of obtaining a loan or a visa for travel purposes.
Procedure of registration on the Income Tax Department portal
Follow the steps given below in order to register on the Income Tax Department website:
- Go to the income tax department portal and click on the “register”
- Enter your PAN and click on validate. After doing so, select ‘yes’ and on ‘continue’
- Enter the relevant basic details such as first name, middle name, last name, date of birth, gender and residential address.
- Provide your contact details such as mobile number, email address, postal address details, etc to complete the registration process.
- Next, submit the 6 digits OTP sent to the mobile number registered and the email id provided, in order to verify the details.
- After verification by OTP, you will be directed to a new page in order to verify the entered details. If you wish to make any corrections or changes, you can go back and do the needful
- Set a strong password after verification. The password can be a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters and have special characters.
- Lastly, click on register and you receive an acknowledgement number after registering successfully.
