File Your ITR Before 31st July to Avoid These Penalties, Fines and Legal Action

The deadline for submitting Income Tax Return (ITR) is July 31, which is just three days away. Before the time expires, taxpayers must submit their ITR for the fiscal year 2021–2022 online in order to avoid penalties, fines, and other legal repercussions.

You can profit from having a spotless ITR filing history; read on to know the details.

Individuals and salaried employees have until July 31 to file their ITRs if their accounts do not need to be audited; taxpayers whose accounts must be audited have until October 31.

Due to COVID, the government has delayed the deadline for the past two years. However, the center has emphasized the significance of submitting your tax return by the deadline.

Here is why you should file income tax returns on time:

To avoid penalties and fines:

The Income Tax Rules state that there may be further penalties in addition to a 10,000 fine for failing to file your income tax return by the deadline. According to Section 234A of the Income Tax Act of 1961, any delay after July 31 may result in interest being charged on the tax payable.

To stay clear of legal action:

If there is a delay or failure, the Income Tax department may send a notice, which would extend your legal problems. If the I-T department is still unhappy with the notice's response and decides that it has a point, a court case can also come up.

How to file an income tax return?

• The burden of submitting tax returns has decreased. There are no longer long queues and constant stress from filing taxes on time.

• Online filing, also referred to as e-filing, makes it easy to submit returns swiftly from the convenience of your home or place of business.

• Follow these steps to file your ITR through the e-filing portal:

• Visit https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal to access the e-filing portal.

• If you have already registered, log in to your account. If not, make a new registration by entering the necessary contact and personal information.

• After logging in to the portal, select "e-file" from the drop-down menu, and then "File Income Tax Return."

• Choose the Assessment year, then press "Continue."

• Indicate whether you want to file your returns electronically or manually.

• Choose the income tax returns (ITR) you want to file by selecting "Individual" under the status that applies to your filing. Most salaried people use the ITR-1 form to file their returns.

• You will then be prompted to choose an ITR filing reason from the list of possibilities. Send your selection and go on to the next stage to fill in the details.

• After the taxpayer completes the ITR-1 form, they are needed to fill out the necessary information on the declarations tab to confirm that all of the information provided in the return is accurate and complete.

• Check the entered data for accuracy before clicking "Proceed to Validate."

• Taxpayers will receive an SMS or email confirming the filing of their income tax return once it has been submitted.

To download your income tax return, follow these steps:

• Click here or go to https://portal.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/e-Filing/UserLogin/LoginHome.html?lang=eng to access the Income Tax India website and log in.

• By selecting the 'View Returns/ Forms' option, you can view e-filed tax returns.