Step by Step Guide To File Income Tax Return FY 2018-19

Income tax return filing is a scheduled process of every taxpayer and has to be filed every year. The income tax return filing is also a mandatory process to be followed for multiple reasons including financial and record maintenance while beneficial for the future loan perspective. It is to be noted that due date for filing the Income Tax Return by Assesse is 30th September 2019 for all the Audit cases and for the Non Audit cases the due date is 31st July 2019 (revised due date is 31st August 2019).

To note down it is very important for all the assessees having an income of 5 lakhs per annum (excluding senior citizens) and to claim a refund to file income tax online. While it is a significant process, it is also easy to track refunds and ITR returns online.

Let’s Come to the Step by Step Process of ITR Filing FY 2018-19:

Document organization

The taxpayers will have to obtain all the documents of monetary value i.e. income, investments, assets, bank accounts apart from government documents like Permanent Account Number (PAN) and Aadhaar number or enrolment ID. It is not necessary to attach these documents while filing ITR online but still one needs them to fill the form due to the details engraved on them.
Also, the documents like income other than salary, like capital gains, rental income and divided income will also be needed while filing the IT online and it is suggested that the taxpayers should maintain a separate file of documents for every year ITR filing.

Document Checklist For Filing ITR Online

Personal documents

PAN Card
Aadhar card or enrollment number
Details of domestic assets and liabilities
Details of foreign assets

Income-related documents

Details of exempt income earned during the year
Form 16/16A/16B to fill the details of income
Balance sheet, P&L account statement and other audit reports, wherever applicable

Bank-related documents

Bank statement
Interest statement of the year
Details of all bank accounts held during the year( IFSC code, account number, name and nature of account)

Tax-related documents

Copy of last year tax return
TDS certificate
Saving certificate or deduction
Form 26AS to cross-check TDS details

Real estate related

Buyer agreement, sale deed and investment documents to show capital gains on sale and exemption
Lease deed to show rental income

Investment and expense related

Home loan statement to claim a deduction
Proof of investment such as mutual funds accou8nt statement
Premium receipt for life insurance plans
Medical insurance premium and preventive checkup receipts, etc.

Other documents such as proof of donation

Create ITR e-filing Account

After having all the desired documents handy, one must log in to its ITR e-filing account through the income tax department’s website. The details like user ID (your PAN), password, date of birth and captcha code will be needed for logging.

However, if a taxpayer is a first-time ITR filer than he may create ITR e-filing account on the same website with few other details.

ITR Form Selection

After logging into ITR e-filing account, one must click “filing of income tax return” on the dashboard. Then select the assessment year (AY) for which the taxpayer has to file ITR. After which choose the ITR form. For the professionals and businessmen, ITR 4 is mandatory to be filed.

According to a tax expert, “ITR-1 is not applicable to non-residents and not ordinarily residents, the ITR-2 form is no longer applicable for individuals or HUF (Hindu Undivided Family) who have profits and gains from any business or profession and are required to file form ITR-3.”

In case one selects wrong ITR form, the particular form is considered to be defective so it is advisable to be cautious. Swapping of ITR forms is also not suggested as for example ITR 1 and ITR 2 are 2 different forms. In which the ITR 2 is for those having income more than 50 lakhs and having 1 or more house while ITR 1 is for those who are having less than 50 lakhs of income and a single house.

So in case, a person filed ITR 1 instead of ITR 2 than it would be considered as under-reporting of income and it would draw a certain penalty which ranges from 50 to 200 %.

Various ITR Forms and their applicability:

ITR 1 – Resident individuals who have the salary or pension income or income from one house property or income from other sources and having a total income of 50 lakhs
ITR 2 – Individuals and HUFs not having income from profits and gains of business or profession
ITR 3 – Individuals and HUFs having income from profits and gains of business or profession.
ITR 4 – Individuals with presumptive income from business and profession
ITR 5 – Anyone other than an individual, HUF, company and person filing ITR 7
ITR 6 – Companies other than those claiming exemptions under section 11
ITR 7 – Those required to furnish tax returns under sections 139(4A)/(4B)/(4C)/(4D)/(4E)/(4F)

Note: Income earned in the particular year is called a financial year, while Assessment year is the particular year in which taxpayer assess its income and file return.

Filling Out Details

The first and foremost details are Aadhar number or enrolment ID which is mandatory to file ITR return online as the system won’t allow the filing of return online without this information.

According to the expert, “ITR forms are seeking a lot of new information like the break-up of salary and house property income to be furnished in ITR-1 form instead of a single amount of income/loss, as required to be furnished earlier.”

E-verification of Returns & Uploading

The last step to file the IT return is to verify your details and upload it on the portal. 120 days window is open for getting verified your documents after uploading of the documents. One can also send a duly signed copy of ITR V to the Central Processing Center tax department by an ordinary or speed post.

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