Filing Tax Returns: Countdown Has Begun

Income Tax Return Filing Due Date: 31st July.

Only a few days are left. Most people tend to prepare their return only in the 2-3 days, only to realise that they may actually owe a few thousand more and don't have enough in the bank to pay it off immediately (You can file your return before paying off your tax due, but if you file after 31st July, you will attract penal interest). So they run around frantically to first pay off the outstanding amount and then file their Income Tax Return.

Pay Taxes, File Returns Online

The best way to prepare your return, pay off any outstanding tax and file your return is online - using a website like Taxsmile.

Step by step guide:

• Sign up with the website
• Create your Personal Profile
• Enter your Income, Investment and related details
• Pay off the tax you still owe, if any
• If a refund is due, enter your Bank Account details to receive a Direct Credit
• Pay for Taxsmile's services and get qualified for one of several possible rewards
• Authorise Taxsmile to efile your return on your behalf
• Your ITR-V is sent to you via email. Print and sign it and send it to Taxsmile and you're done!

What if I miss 31st July?

You can still file. But you will be charged an interest @ 1% per month. Why pay in excess when you can comply with law in a few easy steps now?

Get your return filed. Get Taxsmile!

Tax Filing: File Early to Avoid Rush

We are fast approaching July when you are probably going to file your income tax return. If that is the case with you, read on carefully…

Statistics reveal that an overwhelmingly large number of taxpayers file their return in the last few days before the due date of 31st July. With the current trend where taxpayers choose to efile their return, the Income Tax Department's servers get overloaded during those days, putting you at the risk of missing the due date. And if you miss the due date, you are charged interest @ 1% per month.

Also, the month of June this year has brought with it the T20 World Cup. This may not leave you with much time to do taxes, especially if you are a cricket fan (as most Indians are!). Anyway, if you have your Form 16 and other financial records ready, why wait? Also, a still quicker way to complete your tax filing is to efile using a digital signature. This saves you a visit to the income tax office and you can complete the entire filing process sitting right at your computer!

Income Tax Collections Go Up

Personal Income Tax collections during Financial Year 2008-09 have grown by 9.09%. According to a press release from the Income Tax Department, in spite of the recession and considerable relief granted to non-corporate taxpayers, tax collections went up by Rs.26,000 crore.

 

This is the result of timely Advance Tax payments by those who were liable to make such payments. However, that is not the end of your tax journey for the year 2008-09. You still need to file your income tax return. The best way to do it is online. Remember, the due date is 31st July, 2009. So you should efile your return as soon as the I-T Department is ready to accept them.

 

How do I know?

 

It's simple. Choose a website like Taxsmile to file your return. You can sign up, prepare your return and authorise Taxsmile to efile on your behalf. As soon as the I-T Department begins accepting returns online, Taxsmile will efile yours without you needing to do anything!

Pay Taxes before Filing Your Return

Before you file your income tax return, make sure that you have paid off the outstanding tax amount.

 

"How do I find out if and how much tax I still have to pay?" you might ask. Before you file your return, you would need to prepare it. The best way to prepare and file your return is to do it online, using a website like Taxsmile. You simply have to enter your basic personal and financial information and the software calculates your total tax payable and amount still due (if any). If you do not have any tax payable or have paid more tax than required, the refund due to you will be displayed onscreen.

 

A salaried employee usually has most of his tax payable deducted at source from his monthly salary. Tax on income from other sources too is usually deducted at source; e.g. TDS deducted by your bank on interest earned on Fixed Deposits. So whatever amount is still due, must be paid off before you file your return. Not paying your taxes can invite penal interest @ 1% p.m. To avoid getting into this situation, make sure that your taxes are computed speedily. You can get this done by choosing to prepare your return online.