Due date for Filing Income tax return extended to 04-Aug-2010

CBDT in a recent press release has announced extension of due date for filing income tax returns. Now income tax returns filed upto 04-Aug-2010 shall be considered as filed within the due date.

So go ahead and prepare your tax returns if you have still not done so.

A recent press release attributed some snag in the efiling system and inclement weather conditions at many location as the reason for extension of date. More details at Income Tax Website.

eLagaan offers the most convenient and user friendly way to prepare your income tax return right from your desktop. So you need not travel anywhere in this inclement weather and file your tax returns from the comfort of your home. eLagaan has been rated # 1 in India by variety of TV Channels and Newspapers for 2nd successive year.

How to file Income Tax Returns - A Guide

Here is a simple step by step guide on how to file you income tax returns in India. Use these simple steps to file your tax return (ITR, ITR1, ITR2, ITR3 etc) with no hassle with the Income tax department.

If you have further questions browse our Tax FAQ or ask away the question at our income tax forums. And remember preparing your income tax return is really easy and free with eLagaan.

TV9 Channel rates eLagaan #1 place to prepare taxes

On a recent TV report by TV9, the channel rated eLagaan as the #1 place to preparing your income tax return. As apparent from the video below (In Kannada), they compare it with other tax preparation service around the web and find eLagaan to be very convenient, secure and effective.



So what are you waiting for start preparing your tax return today !! Time is running out, and yes it is FREE.

As always use our Tax Forums for your tax queries.

Budget Implications analyzed (FY 2009 -10)

This year's union budget FY 2009-10 (AY10-11) did not bring many expected reliefs and cheers for the common taxpayers and has provided some marginal reliefs. Here is Team eLagaan's perspective of various income tax changes proposed in budget:

Basic Exemption Limit:

• * Rs.2.40lacs for Senior citizens (earlier Rs.2.25 lacs). This will provide a tax relief of about Rs.1545.
• * Rs.1.90lacs for Women/ Females (earlier Rs.1.80lacs). This will provide a tax relief of about Rs.1030.
• * Rs.1.60lacs for All other category of Individual tax payers (earlier Rs.1.50lacs). This will provide a tax relief of about Rs.1030.

Surcharge Scrapped:

• * Surcharge on Income tax has been scrapped. Individuals having taxable invomce over Rs.10 lacs will benefit more from this as their tax incidence at the highest slab has declined to 30.09% from 33.99% (savings of about 3.9%)

FBT Scrapped (Plus & Minus):

• * FBT has been scrapped for companies. This could result in tax on many employee benefit perks to be shifted to employees. The list of perks is yet to be released, but major perks affected could be ESOP (employee stock options) and contributions to super-annuation funds etc.

Deductions:

• * Deductions u/s 80DD in respect of maintenance, including medical treatment, of a dependent who is a person with severe disability has been increased to Rs.1 lac from the present limit of Rs.75,000
• * Deductions u/s 80E in respect of interest on loans taken for pursuing higher education in specified fields of study has been extended to cover all fields of study, including vocational studies, pursued after completion of schooling

Gift Income:

• * Non-cash gifts will be taxed. As per the new proposal, any non cash gift (e.g. property, shares and securities, jewellery, archeological collections, paintings and gold etc.) received from a non-relative where the value is in excess of Rs 50,000 in a particular year will be considered as income in the hands of the recipient. However, the proposal provides for some exclusion, which includes receipts on occasion of a marriage or by will or inheritance or from certain specified authorities (educational or medical institutions among others)

Other Important Highlights:

• * If you don’t have a permanent account number (PAN), your tax deducted at source (TDS) could be higher. The penal rate will be a minimum 20%.
• * Saral-2 is likely to re-introduced soon

eLagaan will keep a track on the developments of budget and keep all its users informed about the changes.

Please remember that these changes are applicable only for next year returns (current year's income). For this year returns none of these will apply.

But why to worry? eLagaan will keep track of all the changes and you need not worry or know about their applicability. Simply use eLagaan for preparing your tax returns and BE 100% SURE that all applicable laws and changes are updated in our system.

Income tax department confirms - UTN not a requirement for AY2009-10

We were the the first to break the news and now the Income Tax department confirmed (here) that UTN (Unique transaction numbers ) are not required.

So stay in peace and file your taxes withought having to wait for UTN number.

Here is the press release by the department:

No.402/92/2006-MC (14 of 2009)

Government of India / Ministry of Finance

Department of Revenue

Central Board of Direct Taxes

***

New Delhi dated 30th June 2009

PRESS RELEASE

The Central Board of Direct Taxes have further decided that the Notification No.

31 of 2009 dated 25.3.2009 amending or substituting Rules 30, 31, 31A and 31AA of the
Income Tax Rules, 1962 shall be kept in abeyance for the time being.
Taxpayers filing their income tax returns for assessment year (AY) 2009-10, or
any other earlier AY, may continue to file their returns without mentioning the Unique
Transaction Number (UTN) as required under the said Notification. The filing of such
returns shall be treated as valid and in compliance to the requirements under section 139
of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
Further, the date from which the Notification No. 31 / 2009 shall become
applicable on tax deducted at source (TDS) or tax collected at source (TCS) and
deposited during the current financial year shall be notified by the Central Board of
Direct Taxes subsequently.
All deductors / collectors of TDS / TCS may continue to deposit their TDS / TCS
and file their quarterly TDS / TCS returns as per procedure existing prior to issuance of
Notification No.31 / 2009 dated 25.3.2009.

XXX

Whenever, Income tax department stops accepting tax returns without UTN, eLagaan will keep track and make necessary changes to our systems. So you don't have to worry or keep a track about changing tax laws (learn more)

Income Tax Law Of India explained - A slideshow

Income Tax Laws in India can be confusing, specially to the non tax professionals. But at the same time all of us have to pay taxes (well seems like that is the right thing to do :-). The better we understand the laws, the more the chances that we save more on taxes.

Here is a slideshow from Afterschool which takes a stab at explaining Income tax laws in powerpoint format.

And if all this is too much for you to keep track of, then don't worry - eLagaan will keep track and make necessary changes to our systems. So you don't have to worry or keep track of changing tax laws (learn more). All you need to do is use eLagaan to prepare tax returns and we will take care of the rest.

And if you ever have any tax queries just fire away your questions at our income tax forums.

UTN (Unique Transaction Number) unleashed

What is UTN?
It is a unique number used by income tax department to track every Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), Tax Collected at Source (TCS) transaction.

Where to Find the UTN?
UTN should be provided by the company/ person who deducts tax on your behalf and deposits the same. If your deductor has not provided you with the UTN for all your tax deductions, then the same can be obtained from NSDL, although this requires a 1 time registration.

I donot have UTN, Can I file my returns?
As on date, Income tax department is accepting returns at their office and website (eFiling) both without UTN. eLagaan supports UTN for tax preparation and has kept is optional.

Whenever, Income tax department stops accepting tax returns without UTN, eLagaan will keep track and make necessary changes to our systems. So you don't have to worry or keep a track about changing tax laws (learn more). All you need to do is use eLagaan to prepare updated tax returns as per latest income tax laws.

And if you ever have any tax queries just fire away your questions at our income tax forums.

Income Tax FAQs

Checkout http://elagaan.com/faq for an extensive list of answers to frequently raised concerns on Income Tax, PAN, efiling process etc.
1. PAN : http://elagaan.com/faq/pan
2. Income from Salary : http://elagaan.com/faq/income-salary
3. Capital gains : http://elagaan.com/faq/capital-gains
4. Tax on income : http://elagaan.com/faq/tax-income
5. Income Tax Forms : http://elagaan.com/faq/itr
6. eFiling Process : http://elagaan.com/faq/efiling

and many more covering array of topics like taxable income, income from house property, income from business and profession, TAN, tax deducted at source, digital signatures etc.

Our FAQ section also offers, for the first time in India, ability to add your comments and discuss on a particular topic. So go ahead and get answers to all your frequently intriguing questions on various aspects of income tax. Check out http://elagaan.com/faq

Can I file my income tax returns after the due date?

Yes, you can file tax income tax returns after the due date upto end of assessment year (e.g. for FY 2007-2008, last date is upto 31-March-2009. Read on to find how you can file income tax returns after the due date and what could be impact of late filing.

DUE DATES for filing income tax returns:

Assessee Type	Due Date
A company	30-Sep-YYYY (e.g. for FY 2007- 2008, due date is 30-Sep- 2008)
A person other than a company whose accounts are required to be audited under the IT Act or any other law
A working partner of a firm whose accounts are required to be audited under the IT Act or any other law
A person other than a company, as referred above	31-Oct-YYYY
Any other taxpayer	31-Jul-YYYY

Note: If the last day for filing returns is a day on which the income tax office is closed, you can file the return on the next day afterwards on which the income tax office is open and, in such cases, the return will be considered to have been filed within the specified time limit/ due date.

HOW TO FILE AFTER DUE DATE?

Filing income tax returns after the due date is no different than filing it before the due date. The process and guidelines remains exactly the same. You can prepare and file your tax returns online or off-line (using paper returns).

Click for a step by step guide to prepare income tax returns online

Click to know the process for online filing of income tax returns

IMPACT OF LATE FILING

1. Interest: You will be liable for penal Interest u/s 234A @ 1% per month on the amount of tax due from the due date of filing returns.

2. Carry Forward of Losses: Losses like Business Loss (speculative or otherwise), Capital Loss (short term or long term), and Loss from owning and maintaining race horses are not allowed to be carried forward. Other losses, if any can be carried forward.

3. Deductions: Deductions u/s 10A, 10B, 80-IA, 80-IAB, 80-IB and 80-IC are not allowed

4. Revision: Late returns cannot be revised except if it is in pursuance of a notice under section 142(1)

5. Penalty: A penalty of Rs.5000 may be imposed u/s 271F if belated return is submitted after the end of assessment year (after 31-March-YYYY, e.g. for FY 2007-2008, end of assessment year is 31-March-2009).

How to eFile Income Tax Returns in India?

The Income tax department recommends that tax payers should file their income tax returns online. The online filing facility offers great convenience, can be used from anywhere and anytime across the globe. No more queues to submit your IT returns.

Many of our users have been asking questions about how to avail online filing. So, here it is, a simple and helpful presentation on "How to file your income tax returns online".

How to eFile Income Tax Returns in India

View SlideShare presentation (tags: tax itr incometaxreturns efiling)

How do I pay my income tax online?

You can now pay your income tax online. Here are few steps to follow for making online tax payments.

Q. What is the procedure for paying taxes online?
A. Follow these steps to pay tax online:-

Step 1
a) Click here to open online tax payment page of NSDL
b) Click on Please Click Here link located towards bottom of the page (you need to have an account with any of the listed Banks on this page, to avail online tax payment facility)
c) Select the required challan (For payment of income tax, select challan no. ITNS 280)

Step 2
After selecting the required challan, you will be directed to the screen for entering the following data:-
a)Select box "0021 Income-tax" if you are an individual or box "0020 Corporation-tax" if you are paying taxes for a company
b) PAN of the taxpayer
c) Name and address of the taxpayer
d) Assessment Year
e) Type of payment (e.g. "100 for advance tax payments" , "300 for self assessment tax payments")
f) Select the bank name from the drop down provided

Please ensure that you enter PAN correctly, as this is extremely important for further processing. The system will check the validity of PAN. In case PAN is not available in the database of the Income Tax Department then you cannot proceed with the payment of tax.

Step 3
After entering all the above detail, click on PROCEED button. The system will display the contents you have entered along with the “Name” appearing in the Income Tax Department database with respect to the PAN entered by you.

Step 4
You can now verify the details entered by you. In case you wish to modify any details, click on EDIT. To move further, click on SUBMIT button. You will be directed to the net-banking site provided by your bank.

Q. What is the procedure after being directed to the net banking site of the bank?
A. You will have to log on to the net banking site of your bank using your login ID and password/PIN provided by the bank. The details entered by you while filling up the challan will be displayed again.

You will now be required to enter the amount of tax you intend to pay and also select your bank account number from where you intend to pay the tax. After verifying the correctness, you can proceed with confirming the payment.

Q. What will happen after I confirm the payment of tax at my bank’s site?
A.Your bank will process the transaction online by debiting the bank account indicated by you and generate a printable acknowledgment indicating the Challan Identification Number (CIN). You can verify the status of the challan in the Challan Status Inquiry using CIN after a week of making payment.

Q. What is Challan Identification Number (CIN) and what is its relevance?
A. Challan Identification Number (CIN) has three parts
a) Seven digit BSR code of the bank branch where tax is deposited
b) Date of Deposit (DD/MM/YY) of tax
c) Serial Number of Challan

CIN is used to uniquely identify the tax payment. CIN has to be quoted in the return of income as a proof of payment. CIN is also to be quoted in any further enquiry.

PAY YOUR INCOME TAX ONLINE NOW

How to Apply for PAN card in India

You can now apply for a PAN (Permanent Account Number) card online in India. We have tried to answer few queries about the PAN card here:

Q. What is a PAN?
A. PAN (Permanent Account Number) is a ten digit alphanumeric number issued by Income Tax Department. This is issued in form of a laminated card (called PAN card).

Q. Who must have a PAN?
A. All tax payers who are required to furnish Income Tax Return should have a PAN.
All persons intending to enter into financial transactions, where quoting of PAN is mandatory must also obtain PAN.

Q. Can I have more than 1 PAN?
A. No. Having multiple PAN for same person or company is against the law

Q. How do I apply for PAN?
A. You need to fill up Form 49A and apply for PAN. You can apply for PAN online or offline. Click here to apply for PAN online. Alternatively, you can submit the completed Form 49A at IT PAN Service Centre or TIN Facilitation Centre.

Q. What documents are required with PAN application?
A. 1. For Individual applicants need to affix one recent, coloured photograph (Stamp Size: 3.5 cms x 2.5 cms) on Form 49A
2. Proof of Identity: Copy of school leaving certificate or matriculation certificate or degree of a recognized educational institution or depository account or credit card or bank account or water bill or ration card or property tax assessment order or passport or voter identity card or driving license or certificate of identity signed by a MP or an MLA or a Municipal Councilor or a Gazetted Officer
3. Proof of Address: Copy of electricity bill or telephone bill or depository account or credit card or bank account or ration card or employer certificate or passport or voter identity card or property tax assessment order or driving license or rent receipt or certificate of address signed by a MP/ MLA/Municipal Councilor / a Gazetted Officer

To know more about PAN, visit our PAN Card FAQ. .

APPLY FOR YOUR PAN CARD NOW (takes you to govt. site).