What is ITR filing?

Your Income Tax Return (ITR) is the form where you need to fill in your income and taxes to be paid for April ’22 to March ’23. This form is submitted to the Income Tax Department of India.

Your income will fall under one of the following categories:

1. Income through Salary
2. Income from house property
3. Income through business
4. Any capital gains
5. Other sources.

Your income will put you in the relevant tax bracket, according to which the percentage of tax that needs to be paid will differ.

What is the deadline for filing income tax returns?

For salaried individuals, the last date for ITR filing is 31 July 2023.

If you miss this deadline, you’ll be subjected to a late fee ranging from ₹1,000-₹5,000 that varies according to your income.

Taxes can be scary, which is why Fi is here to help!

Here are some important tips to keep in mind when filing your Income Tax return:

Take the help of a professional:

Filing taxes on your own, especially if you have a single source of income, is easier than you think! It’ll take 10–15 minutes when you get on the income tax website.

But experts are experts for a reason! Taxes can be a lot to take in, so hiring a chartered accountant, especially if you’re getting closer to the deadline, will ease your stress. You might also miss out on the deductions we elaborate on next.

Don’t bypass those deductions:

Make the most of Section 80c - don’t miss out on all the tax money you could save through deductions. Section 80C is going to be your saving grace. Some examples include calculating the applicable house rent if you don't have HRA (80GG) or if you spent money on treatment for certain specified diseases (80DDB), loans, etc.

1. Fill the right ITR form.

Depending on your sources of income and if you run a business, you will have to fill one of four forms.

• ITR-1 is mostly for salaried employees:

And it's really simple.

Take a look at the five categories of income again. But for people whose income come from these three sources - salary, income from one house property, and other sources (like dividend, pension, family, etc.) — ITR-1 is the form you need to fill.

To see if you’re eligible to fill out this form, click here.

As a salaried employee, a lot of the work is done for you through Form-16.

This form is a certificate issued by your company (employer). It provides a detailed breakup of your salary, bonuses, allowances, extra income, and TDS (tax deducted at source) that’s been deducted and deposited against your PAN number. This depends on you declaring all your income from external sources to the company - otherwise, it’ll not show up in your form-16 - and will need to be input separately. This should be provided to you by June and will contain details from April ’22- Mar ’23. It’ll also dictate how much net tax applies to you.

• ITR-2

This form is for those with income coming from outside the country, capital gains in the year via investments/ ESOPs, or if you have a loss you want to carry forward. By a loss, we mean from investments, properties, business, etc.

• ITR-3 and 4

It is for business owners and freelancers.

2. Don’t forget to refer to Form 26AS.

This form will verify the tax you need to pay. It’s provided online by the Income Tax Department and accessible on the TRACES portal once you log in. It’s a form that provides all the details of TDS, advance tax paid, etc., from your various sources of income.

3. Don’t forget to do your verification once you’re done

You don’t want all this work to go to waste because not verifying will consider your ITR filing process ‘incomplete’. Thank modern times for digitalisation because it’s easy to do an e-verification.

Conclusion

Organise documents in an easy way so that you’re not overwhelmed. Filing for your taxes is stressful on its own, so make sure to have everything on hand. It also helps you if you’re the kind of person who does things at the last minute.

However, we recommend doing it as early as possible.

With Ask.Fi, you can review your spending patterns and see your money grow. With the 360-degree view of your expenses, you can filter your spending by category and time. Moreover, through the Fi app, you can invest the money you save in Smart Deposits and commission-free mutual funds.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I file ITR for the last 3 years?

If you have not filed your ITR for the last 3 years, you still have the option to file your ITR with the help of the Updated Income Tax Return (ITR-U) scheme. You can also do this if you realise there was an error with your previously filed ITR.

However, you don’t need to do so if your taxable income is below the exemption limit.

2. When can I expect my income tax refund in 2023?

Your income tax returns for 2023 will process within 3-7 weeks.