File your income tax returns and keep these dos and don'ts in mind

File on time and keep your documents safe even after filing in case your ITR is scrutinised later on

 

 

The deadline for filing your income tax returns for the FY 2016-17 is the 31st July, 2018. It is, therefore, necessary that all taxpayers be aware of the essential dos and don’ts of tax filing so that they can avoid last-minute errors. Take a look at our list below:

DOs

1. Organize

It is important to keep your documents ready at the go. For filing, you will need all your old tax receipts, receipts of income and investments, Form 26AS, Form 16 etc. Keep these documents handy when filing for a quicker process; and also remember to keep them safe after you are done filling out the form online. You might need them in case your return is called out for scrutiny later.

2. Check your calculation

Go over your tax documents and do your calculations. Then, go over your math once again to ensure that all your calculations are correct. If you want help, you can always turn to an expert who will help you check your calculations and ensure accuracy. Besides, e-filing is highly recommended since that itself eliminates the chance of error. Those with income in excess of Rs 500,000 or those seeking a refund, must mandatorily e-file.

DON’Ts

1. Make mistakes in details

During filing, you will be asked to fill in many details such as your bank details (account number, IFSC code, name as per bank records etc.), PAN number, postal address, and email id. Incorrect information can cause problems in your return being processed. You may also not be able to receive important communications from the tax department like refund cheque, error notices etc.

2. Forget to claim Section 80 deductions

The best way to reduce your tax liability is to use the deductions offered under Section 80 to their fullest. Even if you were not able to submit proof of investment to your employer earlier, you can still claim the deductions while filing the ITR, however keeping all proofs safely is very important, should the assessing officer ask for them later...READ MORE

Update details to link PAN and Aadhaar, mismatch leads to failure

Difference of even a single alphabet in the names given means linking won't happen

#LATEST | From July 1, 2017, all tax returns will have to mention the Aadhaar number, according to the newly-introduced Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act. If you have both PAN and Aadhaar, you need to link the two. If you fail to do so, your PAN number could become invalid. Many people are, however, facing difficulties in linking these two databases.

When you try to link Aadhaar with PAN, three things need to match: name, year of birth and gender. If any of these details don't match, the linking fails. Many people are having problems because their names are different in the two databases. Some have used initials in their names in the PAN card. "The Aadhaar database does not allow initials. It accepts only full names. During the linking process, the names in the two databases need to match alphabet by alphabet. If there is a difference of even a single alphabet, the linking fails. People from South India in particular are facing a lot of problems because of the use of initials in PAN," says Chetan Chandak, head-tax research, H&R Block. People who have abbreviated their middle name in PAN (for instance, Kumar shortened to K) while using the full form in Aadhaar are also encountering problems.

The third category facing difficulties is people with special characters in their names. For instance, a surname like D'Souza has an apostrophe. While the PAN database accepts special characters, the Aadhaar database doesn't, causing a mismatch.

Women who have changed their surnames after marriage are also having difficulty. They may have got their Aadhaar before marriage and PAN after marriage, or vice versa. As the two documents have different names, they are unable to link them.

Finally, people who have gone abroad to work and don't yet have an Aadhaar card will also face a problem in filing their tax return this year. "You have to get your biometrics registered to obtain an Aadhaar card and that is possible only in India," says Naveen Wadhwa, deputy general manager, Taxmann.| read more....