The last date to file your Income Tax return (ITR) for the assessment year 2020-21 (FY 2019-20) is December 31. After the deadline date passes, you will be liable to pay a penalty of up to Rs 10,000 along with accrued interest.
To recall, the Income Tax Department had extended ITR filing deadline to December 31 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. Usually, the last deadline provided is July 31.
All individuals with an annual income of Rs 2,50,000 or above are mandatorily required to file income tax returns, whereas, the limit for senior citizens (between 60 years to 80 years) is Rs 5,00,000.
Here we will be taking a look at how you can file your income tax return online in a few simple steps. But before we start, take note that you need your PAN Card, necessary details regarding your income and all the required documents.
Documents required to file ITR
- Bank passbook
- Post office savings account passbook (if available)
- PPF account passbook
- Salary slips
- Aadhaar Card
- PAN Card
- Form-16 (if available)
- Apart from these, you can also need Form-16A, Form-16B, Form-16C, Form 26AS, Tax saving investment proofs, deduction prrofs under 80D to 80U and home loan statement.
How to file ITR online
Step 1: Head over to the Income Tax Department portal (https://ift.tt/1dxxFKf) and log in to your account. If you are a new user, register on the portal using your PAN.
Step 2: Inside of the portal, open the ‘Download’ section and go to e-filing under the relevant assessment year and select the appropriate ITR form. You can also download ITR-1’s (Sahaj) return preparation software if you are a salaried employee.
Step 3: Now open the downloaded Return Preparation Software (excel utility) and keep on following all of the instructions while at the same time adding all of your details into the utility from your Form 16.
Inside the portal, open the ‘Download’ section and go to e-filing under the relevant assessment year and select the appropriate ITR form. (Screenshot)
Step 4: Now you can compute tax payable, pay tax and enter relevant challan details in the tax return. If there is no tax liability, then you can go ahead and skip this step.
Step 5: Now tap on the ‘generate XML file’ button, which will automatically be saved to your computer.
Step 6: Head back to the ITR portal and head over to the ‘Submit Return’ section.
On submitting, an ITR-Verification will be generated and sent to your registered email account. (Screenshot)
Step 7: Upload the XML file you created. And then digitally sign the file. If you do not have a digital signature, you can skip this step.
Step 8: On submitting, an ITR-Verification will be generated and sent to your registered email account. It can also be downloaded from the page itself.
Step 9: After this, you will have to e-verify the return, which can be done via six modes. These modes include Netbanking, Bank ATM, Aadhaar OTP, Bank Account Number, Registered Mobile Number & E-mail id. If you cannot e-verify, then you will need to send a physical copy of the ITR-5 acknowledgement to CPC, Bengaluru.
How to check your Income Tax Return?
- Open the ITR portal.
- Tap on the ITR status tab.
- Enter your PAN number, ITR acknowledgement number and the captcha code.
- Now the status of your filing will be shown to you.
