Salaried Individuals Alert! File Your ITR Before This Date or Face Penalty

The e-filing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for Assessment Year 2023-24 (FY 2022-23) is expected to commence soon, as per experts. Taxpayers can anticipate beginning the filing process at either the end of April or the beginning of May.

However, salaried individuals may have to wait until mid-June as employers usually issue Form 16 by that time. As of now, salaried taxpayers do not have the option to file their ITRs for AY 2023-24 on the Income Tax Department's e-filing portal.

An expert stated that "ITR filing season for AY 2023-24 is about to start. It can be assumed that the taxpayers will be able to file their ITR from April Last week or May first week. The filing will be done for the income earned in FY 2022-23, i.e., 1st April 2022 and 31st March 2023."

Filing ITRs with the Income Tax Department is mandated by the Indian Income Tax Act for specific individuals and entities after the conclusion of each financial year. To avoid any penalty or interest implications, the due date for filing an ITR is the last date by which a person or entity must file their return for a specific financial year.

According to another expert, ITR filing should technically commence on April 1. However, salaried individuals generally file their returns after receiving Form 16 from their employers, which is usually issued in the first half of June. This implies that salaried employees may be able to begin filing their returns from mid-June 2023 onwards until July 31, 2023.

The filing of Income Tax returns usually commences from April 1 of the relevant assessment year or from the date when Income Tax forms are notified by the CBDT, whichever is later. Since the Income Tax forms for AY 2023-24 were notified in February 2023, taxpayers, including salaried taxpayers, could have commenced their ITR filings for Financial Year 2022-23 from April 1, 2023.

However, salaried individuals generally file their tax returns based on the TDS certificate (Form 16) received from their employers. Employers issue this form in the first half of June, as the last day for TDS filing for the quarter ending March is May 31, and Form 16 is to be issued within 15 days from such return filing. Therefore, once salaried taxpayers obtain their TDS certificate, they should file their return after verifying their details.

Tax experts advise taxpayers to file their returns as soon as possible to avoid any excess interest consequences. The due date for filing Income Tax Returns for income earned in FY 2022-23 for salaried taxpayers is July 31, 2023.

Experts suggest that there are minor chances of an extension in the due date this year as the Income Tax Department has been working more aggressively on this matter.