If you belong to the group of taxpayers in India that file income-tax returns (ITR) through Form ITR-1, you are lucky as the Income-Tax Department has made the process much simpler for you now.
Starting this year, the I-T Department is introducing the option of pre-filled ITR-1 forms, with fields seeking details of your salary, interest income on fixed deposits and TDS (tax deducted at source) already filled.
Deductions claimed by taxpayers under sections 80C to 80U will also be pre-filled in the ITR-1. In case you have forgotten to claim a deduction from your employer, then it will have to be claimed separately by manually entering the specific details. ITR-1 will also have pre-filled information on the type of house property you own and the income you derive from it.
The software uses the PAN to pick these details from Form 26AS, the TDS return filed by the employer and the last year’s ITR. A pre-filled return can be submitted directly as it is, or after modification, in case a correction is needed. It is advisable that taxpayers verify the pre-filled data very carefully and also add any other taxable income which is not pre-filled to avoid scrutiny later.
However, this facility is only available for those who are eligible to file ITR-1 and choose to file it online on e-filing website www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in. If you file your ITRs using Excel or Java utility, then you will have to manually fill in these details.
ITR-1 is mainly used by taxpayers with an annual income of up to Rs 50 lakh either from salary/pension, or from one house property, or from other sources (excluding winning from lottery and horse races).
The move is aimed at encouraging people, who are daunted by the complexity of the ITR-filing process, to file their taxes. It’s also part of the I-T department’s efforts to present a taxpayer-friendly interface. It also highlights the intensive data-gathering the department does from third parties to profile taxpayers and reduce the risk of tax evasion.
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