Also, ITR-1 cannot be used by an individual who is either a
Director in a company or has invested in unlisted equity shares or in cases
where TDS has been deducted on certain cash payments or if income-tax is
deferred on employee stock options (ESOPs).
Choosing tax regime in ITR 1
Do keep in mind that an option to choose the
concessional tax regime (under section 115BAC of the Income-tax Act, 1961) has
been introduced in ITR-1 form, which allows a taxpayer to change the tax regime
vis-à-vis the one they would have already declared to their employer at the
time of deduction of tax at source on salary payment or adopted while computing the advance tax payable during the course of FY 2020-21.
ITR filing mode
A taxpayer may choose to fill the Form ITR-1 in
either online mode or offline mode. In the offline mode, one needs to use the
JSON utility to fill in the details before uploading the same on the income tax
website to complete the filing process.
Pre-filled information
Form ITR-1 comes with certain pre-filled
information such as personal details of the taxpayer along with details of
salary income, dividend income, interest income, capital gains, etc., and the
form can be downloaded from either the government's income tax e-filing portal
or from other tax filing websites. However, with glitches in the new income tax
portal, individuals should re-verify the same (pre-filled information in the
ITR form) before proceeding to submit it to the tax authorities.
Documents/papers
needed to file ITR
It would be prudent for the taxpayer to have all
documents pertaining to his/her income/specified investment, expenditure/pre-paid
taxes etc. handy. These include Form 16 and 16As, investment proofs not
submitted to employer, rent receipts for property given on rent, interest on
housing loan certificate, bank interest details, other interest details Form
no. 26AS etc.
Step by Step guide to filing ITR-1
Go to www.incometax.gov.in and log in with your
credentials.
1. Go to E-File > Income Tax Returns ->
'File Income Tax Return' to be selected from the menu.
3. Select the applicable reason
for filing the return of income as shown below and select 'Continue.' Here we
have selected 'Taxable income is more than basic exemption limit'.
Next, the taxpayer is required to select the filing section and
whether he/she wishes to opt for the new tax regime. Thereafter, he/she is
required to confirm bank accounts held in India during FY 20-21 and select the
bank account to receive the refund (in case more than 1 bank account is
reported). Even if a bank account has been closed during FY 2020-21, it must be
reported. Upon confirming bank account details, click on Confirm as shown
below:
Total
Deductions: Chapter
VI-A deductions claimed through an employer (already forming part of your Form 16
as well) would be auto-filled herein like deduction under Section 80C towards
provident fund, life insurance premium etc., Section 80D towards the medical
insurance premium. Also, if any such deduction was not claimed through an employer, then it can be claimed directly in the
return of income by providing requisite details therein. Do keep in mind that
these deductions can be claimed only if you have opted for old tax regime in
the first tab. If you have opted for a new tax regime, then you cannot claim any
deductions except for deduction under Section 80CCD(2).
Tax Paid: Details in this tab would
be pre-filled from Form 26AS with TDS, TCS, advance-tax and Self-Assessment Tax
(SAT), if any, paid by the taxpayer.
Total Tax Liability: This tab automatically
computes the details of tax payable by, or refund due to, the taxpayer basis
the details furnished in the 'Tax Paid' tab.
5. Return Summary: It is the summary of all tabs
and the taxpayer should ensure that all tabs are reflected as 'Confirmed' and
select 'Proceed' to the Tax summary tab
6. Tax summary: In this tab, a taxpayer can view
the tax summary (Nil payable / refund) of the tax return.
7. Declaration tab
Once all the details in the form have been
entered, the taxpayer is required to fill in requisite details in the declaration
confirming that all details provided in the return are accurate and complete
and click on 'Preview Return'.
8.
Preview and submit
A taxpayer can quickly verify the personal
information, income details and taxes paid in the preview version. Upon
verification, he/she should click on 'Proceed to Validation' if the details entered
are correct. In case any errors are noted, the taxpayer should click on 'Edit' to
make the necessary corrections in the relevant tab/section.
Once the return of income is filed, an SMS/e-mail
intimation confirming the filing is sent by the tax department to the taxpayer.
Post successful submission, the acknowledgement (ITR-V) is sent to the taxpayer's
registered email id. One can also choose to retrieve it manually from the
income tax website.
9. Verification
After successful validation, the taxpayer may
proceed to the verification of tax return either electronically through net
banking, Aadhaar OTP etc. or can sign it manually and send it to the CPC,
Income Tax Department, Bengaluru within 120 days of e-filing of the return of income.
In summary, while many parts of the ITR-1 form
are pre-filled it is important to carefully verify every aspect and modify the
same as necessary before the tax return is uploaded on the income tax website.