Anyone whose income exceeds the maximum exemption limit must file an income tax return (ITR). If a person under 60 years old’s gross total income in a fiscal year exceeds Rs 2.5 lakh, they must file an ITR. For these people, the fundamental exemption threshold remains the same under the old and new tax systems.
A person who was 60 years of age or older but less than 80 at any point in the prior year is considered a senior citizen for income tax reasons. An individual resident who was 80 years of age or older at any point in the preceding year is considered a super elderly citizen.
However, elderly persons 75 years of age and above are excluded from submitting income tax returns under certain conditions, as outlined in Section 194P of the Income Tax Act, 1961, which will take effect on April 1, 2021.
The Following Requirements Must Be Met For Exemption
- A senior person needs to be at least 75 years old.
- An elderly person must have been a “Resident” the year before.
- An elderly person should only have pension income and interest income, with the interest coming from the same designated bank that provides their pension.
- The elderly person will provide a statement to the designated bank.
- The bank designated by the Central Government shall be in charge of deducting TDS for elderly persons following the evaluation of rebates under 87A and deductions under Chapter VI-A.
- After the specified bank deducts taxes for seniors who are 75 years of age or older, they won’t need to provide income tax returns.
Even in situations when an individual’s income falls below the threshold, they are nonetheless required under specified requirements to submit an ITR. Among these prerequisites are:
When Individuals Have Assets Outside Of India
Regardless of income not surpassing the maximum exemption level, an individual (resident and ordinary resident in India) is required to submit an income tax return if he/she:
- Has any asset situated outside of India, whether beneficially or otherwise, including any financial stake in any organization.
- Can sign documents for any account that is not in India; and
- Is the beneficiary of any asset situated outside of India, including any financial stake in any organization.
Regardless of gross total income, if the assessee is covered by the seventh proviso of Section 139(1), they must file an income tax return. According to this clause, those who would not have been required to submit a return if their income did not exceed the maximum exemption level must do so if, in the preceding year, they had:
- Made deposits totalling more than Rs 1 crore into one or more current accounts held by a cooperative or bank;
- Spent more than Rs 2 lakh on an overseas trip for oneself or another person; or
- Incurred expenses above one lakh rupees to settle a power bill;
- The business’s gross revenues, turnover, or total sales for the prior year exceeded Rs 60 lakh;
- A professional’s total gross earnings for the prior year exceeded Rs 10 lakh;
- At least Rs 25,000 in total taxes were deducted and collected in the preceding year. For a resident who is 60 years of age or older, the threshold limit is Rs 50,000; otherwise.
- The total amount deposited by the individual in one or more savings bank accounts over the preceding year was at least Rs 50 lakh.
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