It is expected that people will be scrambling to gather the data needed for the income tax return (ITR) as the July 31 deadline draws near.
While filing your tax return as soon as feasible is advised, doing so without doing the necessary homework is not. For example, you should be aware of which income tax form to file, which tax regime to choose, and, if you haven’t already, how to link your Aadhaar number to your PAN.
Key Points Taxpayers Should Be Aware Of:
1. Online Forms
All of the income tax forms for the 2023–24 fiscal year are now available both online and offline through the income tax department. ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-3, ITR-4, and ITR-6 are some of them. Selecting the appropriate form is essential, therefore you must first determine which form is best for you.
2. Active Account
To file your tax return, you must have both an active PAN card and a registered ID on the income tax e-filing system.
3. Offline Utility
Using the offline utility, one can file the income tax form offline even though it is recommended that it be filed online. The tool is available for download on the portal’s “downloads” page.
4. Link Pan to Aadhaar
The Income Tax Department (ITD) recently posted on social media that taxpayers need to do so by May 31 to link their PAN to Aadhaar.
To avoid a greater tax deduction, they should do so if they haven’t already. They might see the April 23, 2024, CBDT circular number 6/2024 for further information on this.
5. Selecting A Tax Regime
It’s crucial to remember that if you wish to take advantage of tax exemptions that the new tax regime does not offer, you must choose the old tax regime. To pay income tax by the previous laws, taxpayers must select the old tax regime as it is the default regime.
6. Tax calculator
This tool, which can be accessed here, allows taxpayers to enter their income information and assess which regime is more advantageous. A comparative examination of the two tax systems is provided.
