The deadline for filing your income tax return (ITR) is under 3 months away, but that doesn’t mean you need to leave it all till the last minute. Filing the form requires a lot of brain work and yawns before you can hit ‘submit’. But preparing yourself for the common errors people tend to make when filing their ITR can help you out.
Before that, here are some things to know:
The deadline for salaried employees for the FY 2022-23 is 31 July 2023. The income tax return's last date for businesses requiring an audit is 31 October 2023.
You can file it online through the official website of the income tax department- or offline by filling out the form that you can either download or collect from the income tax office.
We recommend doing it online since the calculations are automatically done for you, and you don’t have to physically prepare all the documents. It’s also so much easier and more efficient. But it doesn’t just end there.
Do you want to watch the clock tick past 11:59 on the deadline as you struggle to finish adding every detail? And then also realising you forgot to request your investment gains in the last year? Doing your taxes too close to the deadline brings about unnecessary stress, and getting it out of the way early is better. Doing it last minute also means you might not have all the right info or docs. This could lead to silly errors like filing incorrect details or not reporting some extra sources of income.
When we say all sources of income, we mean all of them. If you have multiple sources of income, we recommend organising and keeping track of it throughout the year. Otherwise, you might forget certain sources of income like interest from savings accounts, freelance work, gifts or even the odd lottery winning (Who knows? Maybe you got lucky).
Come on, buddy. You’re paying more than you should when you don’t account for Section 80C. Doing it properly could save you so much money that you could shift into a lower tax bracket. And we’re not talking about basic deductions like your house rent. This also includes money you’ve spent on medical treatments, losses from the previous year that you might want to take forward or even money sent for elderly care.
If doing your own taxes last year made you cry, it’s time to hire a CA. You’re not just paying someone to do your taxes for you; it’s more about all the knowledge you’ll have at your disposal. Specifically about deductions and how to better file for them. Some people even said hiring a CA saved them so much money & they got a refund. If you have multiple sources of income, expenses that could be considered as 'deductions' or own a business, it’s time to stop taking on taxes all by yourself.
But if you still want to do it yourself, here’s a step-by-step guide to help you with your taxes.
A mismatch in the details of your Form 26AS and TDS could lead to various issues, like you paying less or more tax. This will lead to fines, late processing of your refunds and even legal issues with the tax authorities. If the two don’t match, correct the issue before filing your ITR.
Without verifying your ITR, the filing process will be considered ‘incomplete’. Luckily, e-verification is easy-peasy, and you don’t have to worry about it. Just do it online and then wait for your refunds.
To file income tax returns smoothly, avoid common mistakes such as waiting until the last minute, not reporting all sources of income, and failing to account for possible deductions. The deadline for filing income tax returns for salaried employees in FY 2022-23 is July 31, 2023. It is recommended to file online, keep track of multiple sources of income, hire a CA if needed, match TDS with Form 26AS, and verify your ITR to complete the process. If you're trying to reduce income tax, use calculators such as Fi's PPF calculator to plan & reduce your total tax.
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1. Is it mandatory to file income tax returns?
As Marvel comics summarise, “With great power comes responsibility.” Filing ITR is an essential part of being a responsible citizen and is the duty of every adult. There’s no getting past it, but we hope this blog post gives you ways to ensure the process is easier through a lack of mistakes.
