Easy guide to filing your income tax returns!

It’s that time of the year again when all your income for the current financial year is in and you need to file your income tax returns. With July 31 just a few days away, here’s how you can do it without any hassles.

It is time to file your income tax returns. Filing of tax returns is compulsory for everyone whose gross total income exceeds the basic exemption limit, which is Rs 1.90 lakhs for women below 65 years of age, Rs 2.40 lakhs for senior citizens and Rs 1.60 lakhs for any other individual, for the financial year 2009-10 (for income earned between April 2009 and March 2010). The due date for filing the tax returns for financial year 2009-10 in case of individual tax payers is July 31, 2010. The current tax returns don't require any documents to be annexed.

The Income Tax Department has opened special counters for the purpose at Gayatri Vihar, Palace Grounds. The counters will remain open until July 31, the last day for filing returns. Walk in to the Palace Grounds and get all the assistance you need with your income tax returns, as the special counters will operate between 9.30 am and 5.30 pm. This time, the IT department is all set to put up nearly 90 counters at Palace Grounds.

Nearly 200 personnel from the department will be manning these counters. The idea behind this effort is that all those who seek help with filing returns find all they need at the location; they will then not have to seek anything beyond these premises — help desks, IT return forms, PAN verification counters, kiosks from where you can photocopy any documents that you need copies of — these will all be available to those seeking to utilize these services. But in case you plan to do it yourself, here’s what you need to know:-

Why should we file IT returns?
There is a misconception among some salaried individuals that because the employer has deduced tax at source, they are not required to file tax returns. Even though tax has been deduced and there is no other source of income, or liability to pay tax, you have to file income tax returns. It is necessary to file income-tax returns if the total income, before allowing any deduction, exceeds the exemption limit.

Even if your income is below the exemption limit, which is bound to happen at the beginning of one’s career, filing income tax returns will help in the documentation process if you are taking a loan or an insurance policy or when you are applying for a visa.

What documents are required?
All you need is Form 16 and 16A along with the summary of all your bank accounts. And of course your PAN Card number.

Which form to choose?
There are eight Indian Income Tax Return (ITR) forms. Depending on the various streams of income you earn, you have to select the return form accordingly. E.g. If you have income from salary, pension and interest income, then ITR-1 is the form for you. If you have capital gains or rental income or you’re paying off a home loan in addition to interest income and salary income, then you need to fill ITR-2. Make sure you select an appropriate form after taking into consideration, the flow of income from various streams.

How to file your returns?
There are two possible ways to file your returns—online and offline.

Though many are contemplating whether it’s worthwhile shifting from the old fashioned method of filing returns physically to a modern method i.e. e-filing which was introduced in the assessment year 2006-07, but the fact remains that with the last day for filing Income Tax returns coming close, whatever means you choose—offline or online, what matters is that it is done before its too late.

What is E-Filing of returns?
It means filing your Income tax returns electronically through the internet. It’s a simple, easy and convenient process. You can log on to www.incometaxindia.gov.in and file returns for free. However the process involved is complicated, which might be confusing for a lay man as it includes downloading of an XML file.

To save you of this complication, many websites like www.taxsmile.com, today offer easier online tax filing services which do not involve any downloads, but they do charge you a minimal amount varying from Rs 250-400.

You also can go to your Chartered Accountant and submit all required documents, paying a consultation fee, which could go up to as high as Rs 2500, varying from CA to CA. However, the online mode is said to be a faster, quicker and easier way to file your returns. The return form, along with copies of necessary supporting documents, has to be filed at the appropriate income tax office or special counters set up for this purpose by Income Tax Department of India.

E-filing of tax returns made mandatory for corporates

The Finance Ministry on Monday made it mandatory for all companies to file income tax returns electronically with digital signatures, a move that will facilitate faster filing of I-T returns by India. The ministry indicated that the online filing of income tax returns could touch one crore-mark in the current financial year from 55 lakh in the last fiscal year.

All business entities and Hindu undivided families (HUFs) with a business income of over Rs. 40 lakh per annum will also be required to mandatorily file income tax returns in the electronic format, but the digital signatures will not be mandatory. Under the Income Tax Act, the individuals and HUFs are required to get their accounts audited if the turnover or gross receipts from business exceeds Rs. 40 lakh (Rs. 60 lakh from assessment year 2011-12) or receipts from the profession exceeds Rs. 10 lakh (Rs. 15 lakh from assessment year 2011-12).

Although, e-filing of income tax returns has been getting momentum lately, a large number of Indian masses are unaware of its benefits. The best advantages of filing your income tax returns online is that you can file your returns anytime, anywhere, away from the prying eyes of others and within the confines of your own home.

At the same time you need to ensure you protect your personal information online as the identity theft rate related to tax return filing rises in keeping with the increasing popularity of online tax filing. The web links you get on your emain can be dangerous as the fraud links can steal your sensitive personal information, from PAN numbers to credit card account information. If you need to log in, do so independently and through the log-in Web page, not by clicking on a link. It should be kept in mind that the Income Tax Department will never request personal information via fax.

There are many web sites which do provide this service today. Taxsmile.com is one of such sties which offers free tax preparation to people up to 3 lakhs of income. People can then review their tax calculations instantly and proceed with filing their returns online without need to visit the income tax office. Taxsmile.com covers almost complete set of deductions allowed by income tax department so that tax payers who have invested in any approved schemes for tax savings can get the benefit of the same and prepare accurate returns. As part of their corporate social responsibility.

The government had introduced the system for mandatory e-filing of income tax returns by corporates from assessment year 2006-07. The due date for submitting income tax returns for assessment year 2010-11 is July 31, 2010.

Filing Return made a Little Easier

Inauguration of Income Tax Office at Raghunathgunj, Jangipur,
District Murshidabad, West Bengal by Honorable Union Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee on 10.07.2010.

Here's how to file tax returns without pain

It's that time of the year again. July is the month that most of us come up with excuses, either at work or at home, to spend time with that person who assumes special importance this month. You guessed it right: it's your chartered accountant!

But if you have all the papers intact, why wait for him, just get started. Yes, tax filing could be as simple as that, thanks to the Internet and tax norms getting simpler every year.

This simplicity, clubbed with a little understanding of how the process works, could save you from those long, winding queues and last-minute tension outside Aayakar Bhavan.

Here are some tips on how you can help yourself with just a few clicks and be a responsible citizen of the country. Read on . . .

Due date

July 31 is the deadline for filing tax returns if you don't have to get your account audited. In other words, people whose income is not subjected to tax audit under the Income Tax (IT) Act, have just a month to file tax returns.

Other assesses have that bit of extra time. They will have to get it done by 30 September. Now that you have figured out the applicable due date, let's get started with the calculations. Don't sweat. It's not that tough a task.

Source - Rediff Business

Taxsmile goes with inditrade

Taxsmile is a simple “Do it yourself” tax return preparation portal which will take you through an intuitive and step by step process for preparing your return. Once you have prepared you can efile your income tax return in just one click.

You don’t need to know any taxation laws, any Finance jargon etc. as a simple and transparent mechanism guides you through the whole process. Taxsmile.com is an Electronic Return Intermediary (ERI) certified by Income Tax Department of India and has been recognized as the “Best Website for Online Filing of Taxes by the PC World Web Awards 2008”!!

Filing Solutions:

· File by eMail: Just send your form 16 to Taxassist@taxsmile.com and Taxsmile will prepare your return.

CBDT Press Release on Tax collections during first quarter.

Net direct tax collections during first quarters of the present fiscal (up to June 2010) stood at Rs.68,675 crore, up from Rs.59,465 crore in the same period last fiscal, registering a growth of 15.49 percent.

Revised Agreement between India and Finland

Revised Agreement between Republic of India and the Republic of Finland with respect to taxes on DTAA.

The revised Agreement and the Protocol between the Republic of India and the Republic of Finland for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income (DTAA) was signed by the Chairman, CBDT on behalf of Government of India and the Ambassador of Finland on behalf of Government of Finland on 15th January, 2010 and has come into force on 19th April, 2010.

New Facility added for Registered E-filers

New facility added in "My Account" for registered e-filers at www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in to view the Tax Credit Statement (Form 26AS) to verify if the tax payments made by you or TDS deducted from salary or interest etc. are correctly reported to the Department.

CBDT released revised discussion paper on the Draft Direct Taxes Code

The draft DTC along with the Discussion Paper was released in August, 2009 for public comments. The response from various stakeholders has been overwhelming and a number of valuable inputs have been received. CBDT has released the revised Discussion Paper on the draft Direct Taxes Code (DTC), which is being placed in the public domain to seek responses on the modified proposals. The major issues which have been addressed relate to Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) on gross assets, tax treatment of savings - Exempt Exempt Tax (EET) vis-a-vis Exempt Exempt Exempt (EEE) basis, status of Double Tax Avoidance Agreements vis-a-vis the domestic law, the administration of the General Anti-avoidance Rule (GAAR), taxation of income from house property on a presumptive basis, tax treatment of capital gains and tax treatment of non-profit organizations, etc. The response on the revised Discussion Paper may be submitted electronically on the website 'http://finmin.nic.in' or may be sent to e-mail address 'directtaxescode-rev@nic.in' on or before 30th June, 2010.
The information provided is synced with Income Tax Department, India.

Direct Tax

Tax Collection
Direct Taxes, now the major resource provider to the Central Government, have grown at
an average annual rate of 24 percent in the last five years and have nearly trebled from
Rs.1,32,771 crore in financial year 2004-05 to about Rs.3,78,000 crore in financial year 2009-
10, increasing its share from 4.1 percent to 6.1 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
This tremendous growth has been made possible not only due to rationalisation of tax structure
and improvement in tax administration leading to better tax compliance, but also persistent and
unrelenting efforts of employees of the Income Tax department. File your Income Tax Return to ensure the Government has the documents to prove the same.

Tax Reforms
2. To improve compliance further, tax laws need to be simple, stable and robust; tax rates
should remain moderate; and multiplicity of tax exemptions and deductions should be gradually
phased out in order to widen and deepen the tax base. Tax administration needs to be further
toned up by appropriate use of technology on the one hand, and improving professional
competence and responsiveness of the employees on the other.
3. A major tax reform initiative has already been announced in the proposed ‘Direct Taxes
Code 2009’ to simplify, rationalize and consolidate the laws and procedure, relating to direct
taxes. Its draft is under revision, taking into consideration the areas of concern expressed by
various stakeholders, and the discussion paper will be shortly in the public domain before
introduction in Parliament in the forthcoming monsoon session. It will indeed be legislation for
the 21st century, which will witness the emergence of an economically strong and vibrant India. I
anticipate that the new code will usher in major changes in procedures and practices of Direct
Tax. The Department, therefore, needs to draw a roadmap for administratively meeting the
challenges and the changes that will be introduced by the new Code. The Human Resource
Directorate of the Department should draw up plans for training in cooperation with tax training
institutes for capacity building for implementation of the Direct Tax Code. The transition from
existing law to DTC would require completion of delegated legislation in a time bound manner.
CBDT should ensure smooth transition by planning the activities schedule well in advance.

Ammendments in TDS

Notification about Amendments in TDS

Filing Return was Never so Easy

Technology advancements have made our life easier and fast. The idea of technology is to streamline the human requirements and provide solutions which results in saving time by reducing human efforts.

Taxsmile.com adopted the same ideology and offer a range of solutions to help you file your income tax return online without requiring expert knowledge on Income Tax regulations.

You can choose to file your taxes online, or you can e-mail your eForm 16 (PDF) to taxassist@taxsmile.com, or you can walk up to your nearest Citizen Service Center* and submit your Form 16 and Taxsmile will help you file your returns.

Filing Tax Return is a socio-economical responsibility of every citizen in each country. Taxsmile helps in adhering this responsibility. Not only this, you can save a lot of trees and protect our environment. Watch out this video to learn more...

* BangaloreOne, eSeva for Hyderabad and Jeevan for Delhi.