Know These Changes Before You File Income Tax Return For AY 2018-19

Salaried individuals would have started getting the Form 16 from their employers, the last date for which was May 31, 2018. The last date of filing the income tax return (ITR) is July 31, 2018 unless it gets extended by the government. For the Assessment Year (AY) 2018- 19, the ITR Forms will be applicable to file income-tax returns in respect of income earned during the financial year 01-04-2017 to 31-03-2018.

- Vishwajeet Parashar

Remember, filing of income tax return (ITR), is mandatory if one has annual income exceeding the minimum exempted limit. Also, even if no taxes are due as with salaried individuals where TDS gets deducted each month, the filing of ITR is still compulsory.

Filing of ITR can be done either offline or online i.e. through e-filing, a process of electronically filing Income tax returns through the Internet. But for some taxpayers choosing between the two is not a choice anymore. Online filing has been made compulsory for certain section of the taxpayers. It is compulsory in certain cases such as where:

(a) Total income exceeds Rs 5 lakh or any refund is claimed (other than Super Senior Citizen furnishing ITR1 or ITR2),

(b) Where accounts are required to be audited under section 44AB and

(c) The return is furnished in ITR-3 or in ITR-4.

Only these persons can file their ITR offline:

(a) Individual who are of the age 80 years or more at any time during the financial year

(b) Individual whose income is less than Rs 5 lakh per year and who do not have to claim a refund in the return.