Important Things To Know For Filing Income Tax Return Before July 31

The last date to file your income tax return (ITR) for the financial year 2018-19 is July 31, 2019 unless it gets extended by the government.

ITR is a prescribed form through which the particulars of income earned by a person in a financial year and taxes paid on such income are communicated to the Income-tax Department. It also allows carry-forward of loss and claim refund from income tax department.

There are some changes in the ITR filing for FY 201819 i.e. AY 2019-20. In ITR 1, irrespective of the income, now one can claim a standard deduction of Rs 40,000. Also, the senior citizens can claim an exemption of up to Rs 50,000 on interest income from bank saving account, fixed deposits as well as post office deposits. Further, now the taxpayer has to disclose the nature of income earned from other sources and not merely disclose the figure. Additionally, all exempt income details will also have to be furnished including details on HRA claimed during the FY.

Similarly, while filing ITR 2, the individual has to disclose the number of days spent in India when the residential status is being asked to be furnished. Also, sellers of property would require sharing more information about the buyer such as PAN, transaction price, address of the property etc.

By not filing your return if you have a taxable income, you will be liable to the penalty and prosecution provisions under the Income-tax Act. However, income tax rules allows one to file a belated return. Return of income which has not been furnished on or before the due date specified under section 139(1) is called belated return. Belated return of income is furnished under section 139(4).

However, a belated return attracts late filing fees under section 234F. As per section 234F, late filing fees of Rs.5,000 shall be payable if return furnished after due date specified under section 139(1) but before 31st December of the assessment year. In other cases, late filing fees of Rs. 10,000 is payable. However, amount of late filing fees to be paid cannot exceed Rs.1,000, if the total income of the person does not exceed Rs.5 lakh.