It's that time of the year when you have started preparing for the biggest event of the year. The event that brings painful memories of all the taxes that were taken away from you in the form of TDS (tax deducted at source) from your salary and other income such as interest from bank etc.
Most of us assume that our pain ends with the TDS. However, this is just the beginning of a journey that would culminate only with the filing of our income tax return, wherein we complete two tasks
• Declare all income earned during the previous year
• Pay up the entire tax liability
1. If you are being lazy and the date 31’st of July seems like a far call then you are wrong, filing tax as early as possible is a good practice to avoid getting into crosshairs of the last minute rush filers &make mess of tax return. Prepare and execute your return ASAP.
2. You can file tax even if have missed the deadline July 31’st, Penal interest will be charged only on pending tax liability. Penal interest increases with each passing month you delay to file tax if there is any pending tax liability.
3. A penalty of Rs 5,000/- is liable if failed to file tax before 31 march. Tax returns are also subject to time barring provision i.e. you cannot file tax returns for ant years preceding financial year 2016-2017
4. Every year you create your financial record with tax department. This financial / tax history is positively viewed by most agencies with whom you may need to interact such as when you want to apply for loans or VISA, etc.
5. Acts as a valid proof for all your investments and source of income.