5 Tips for Filing Your Income Tax Returns

One of the most necessary things you’ll have to learn in life is how to file your income tax returns. Taxes are a necessary part of life—the more you know about it, the less likely you’ll get tricked or cheated on. On that note, here are seven crucial tips from Simplified Laws on what tips to heed when you file your income tax returns.

Every month comes with a filing deadline. Don’t miss one. Make sure you take note of the filing deadlines that apply to you. Put them on your own calendar so you won’t forget. For a guide, India’s Income Tax Department provides a comprehensive calendar you can use here.

Tax filing deadlines are usually around May though extensions were made last year (up to August) to help tax payers transition to the new ITR forms. If you’re late this year, though, you can suffer some of the following consequences: you’ll have to pay extra interest u/s 234A and if the delay is longer than a year from the end of the fiscal year, you’ll have to shell out money for the Rs.5000 penalty. If you don’t want to have to pay more than you should, always make it a point to pay ahead or on time.

You can file the forms yourself electronically to save on fees. However, you’ll have to spend more time on the forms, make mistakes, and do them again. If you generally have a tough time making sense of forms, filing the forms yourself might be too much trouble than they’re worth so consider the time and hassle you avoid when you hire an expert to handle it for you.

A lot of people make mistakes in filling out their forms. Don’t be one of them. Filing mistakes slow down the process. So though it sounds tedious, you have to check everything for errors. Check them once, twice—even thrice. You could also ask someone else to proofread the form for you, for a fresh eye.

Sometimes, your TDS or the tax deducted by your employer might not show in your Form 26AS. One possibility is that your employer made an error, like quoting the wrong pan. In this case, you’ll need to make a request to your employer to resubmit the forms, with the correct information and following the right instructions this time around. So imagine if you filed your tax returns on the last day. You won’t have enough time to revise and resubmit the forms, netting you a late or delayed filing penalty.

Always listen to news about tax and tax filing. Know if there are changes in the forms, requirements, and etc. Keeping yourself updated will ensure you get the forms filled out right the first time. So the next time you worry about filing those tax returns, don’t be. It’s all pretty simple when you’ve got the right tips to help you. For more tips and income tax latest news visit Money Bhaskar