Income Tax Returns 2018: File it Before 31 July to Avoid Fine

The last date to file your income tax returns is 31 July. 

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The last date to file in your Income Tax returns is 31 July as notified by the Income Tax Department for the assessment year 2018-2019.

From the start of this financial year on April 1, 2018, many changes have come into effect regarding the Income Tax returns filing procedure.

Here’s a quick heads up on the changes:

Penalty for Late Submission of Income Tax Returns

If you fail to file in your Income Tax returns before 31 July, then be prepared to face a penalty.

If you miss the deadline, you will have to pay a penalty of Rs 5,000. However, if you fail to file the returns before 31 December, the penalty will be of Rs 10,000.

However, for taxpayers with income less than Rs 5 lakh per annum, the maximum amount that they can be charged as penalty is Rs 1,000 only.

Reduced Margin of Error

In case you make an error in the form for the financial year 2017-2018, you would be given time till 31 March 2019 to correct the error and fill in the revised one.

This is a change from the previous system as that allowed a relaxation of upto two years from the end of the financial year for which the returns were being filed to make the necessary revision. But now the period has been reduced to only one year.

Changes in ITR Forms

Till last year, ITR-1 (Sahaj) demanded the taxpayers to mention their gross salary and no further bifurcation of income was needed. The form was also applicable for “non-residents”.

But from this year, ITR-1 will require the taxpayer’s salary break-up along with deductions, allowances and prerequisite. It will also require to fill the income earned from a property, including rental income, local taxes etc.

Moreover, ITR-1 will not be applicable to non-residents. NRI’s will now need to use ITR-2.

Only ITR-1 and ITR 4S (Sugam) can be filled online by clicking on this link:

Requirement of GST Details

You will also be required to mention the GST detail in the income tax returns form. The exact turnover details, as filled in the GST form, need to be filled in the ITR forms keeping in mind that Income Tax Department can easily cross-check the information provided here.

Income Tax Slab Changes 2018-19

There will be no tax for individuals earning income upto Rs 2,50,000.

For individuals whose taxable income is between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, a rate of 5 percent will apply.

For people earning between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, there will be a tax rate of 20 percent and anything above Rs 10 lakh will draw in a tax rate of 30 percent.