ITR-1, also known as Sahaj, is a type of Income Tax Return that can be filed by an individual taxpayer who has a total income of up to Rs. 50 lakhs and whose income comprises of salary/pension, one house property, other sources of income (such as interest income). This form can be used by individuals who are resident in India, and whose income includes salary/pension, one house property and other sources of income, but do not have any income from business or profession.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ITR-1
Every Individual will have this one question in his/her mind that how do I know which ITR I need to file?
The answer is simple different tax returns are prescribed for filing by individual taxpayers depending on their source of income and residential status. To determine the correct ITR to file, you can use the Help me decide which ITR Form to file option. You can then proceed based on questions displayed to determine the correct ITR to file.
Who is eligible to file ITR-1 for AY 2021-22?
The Form ITR-1 can be filed by a Resident Individual whose:
Total income does not exceed ₹ 50 lakh during the FY
Income is from salary, one house property, family pension income, agricultural income (up to ₹5000/-), and other sources, which include:
- Interest from Savings Accounts
- Interest from Deposits (Bank / Post Office / Cooperative Society)
- Interest from Income Tax Refund
- Interest received on Enhanced Compensation
- Any other Interest Income
- Family Pension
Income of Spouse (other than those covered under Portuguese Civil Code) or Minor is clubbed (only if the source of income is within the specified limits as mentioned above).
Who is not eligible to file ITR-1 for AY 2021-22?
ITR-1 cannot be filed by any individual who:
- is a Resident Not Ordinarily Resident (RNOR), and Non-Resident Indian (NRI)
- has total income exceeding ₹ 50 lakh
- is a Director in a company
- has agricultural income exceeding ₹ 5000/-
- has taxable capital gains (short term and long term)
- has income from business or profession
- has income from lottery, racehorses, legal gambling etc.
- has deferred income tax on ESOP received from employer being an eligible start-ups
- has invested in unlisted equity shares
- owns and has income from more than one house property
POINTS TO BE CONSIDERED WHILE FILING THE RETURN OF INCOME:
- Download Form 26AS (Annual Information Statement) and check the actual TDS / TCS / tax paid. If you see any discrepancy, you should reconcile it with the Employer / Tax Deductor / Bank.
- Compile and carefully study the documents to be referred to when filing your ITR, like bank statement / passbook, interest certificates, receipts to claim exemptions or deductions, Form 16, Form 26AS (Annual Information Statement), investment proofs, etc.
- Ensure details like PAN, permanent address, contact details, bank account details, etc. are correct in the pre-filled data.
- Identify the correct return for you (from ITR-1 to ITR-7). Provide all the details in the return such as total income, deductions (if any), interest (if any), taxes paid / collected (if any), etc. No documents are to be attached along with ITR-1.
- e-File the return of income on or before the due date. The consequences of delay in filing returns include late filing fees, losses not getting carried forward, deductions and exemptions not being available.
- After e-Filing the return, e-Verify it. If you want to manually verify your return, send the signed physical copy of ITR-V Acknowledgement (by ordinary post or speed post) within 120 days of filing the return to Centralized Processing Center, Income Tax Department, Bengaluru 560500 (Karnataka).
- is not covered under the eligibility conditions for ITR-1
- has tax deduction under section 194N of Income Tax Act
PRECAUTIONS TO BE TAKEN TO AVOID MISTAKES IN FILING ITR:
To avoid issues while filing your return and getting your refund, ensure you do the following:
- Link Aadhaar and PAN.
- Pre-validate your bank account where you want to receive your refund.
- Choose the correct ITR before filing it; else filed return will be treated as defective and you will need to file a revised ITR using the correct form.
- File the return within the specified timelines.
- Verify your return and you can opt for e-Verification (recommended option – e-Verify Now) is the easiest way to verify your ITR.
- File the responses for the notices received from the ITD within the specified timelines.
What is Form 26 AS (Annual Information Statement)?
Ans: Form 26AS is an annual information statement which shows various details including Tax Deducted / Collected at Source, Advance Tax / Self – Assessment Tax, Specified Financial Transactions Demand / Refund Pending / completed Proceedings for a taxpayer’s PAN as per ITD’s database.
A taxpayer may pay tax in any of the following forms:
- Tax Deducted at Source (TDS)
- Tax Collected at Source (TCS)
- Advance Tax or Self-Assessment Tax
- The Income Tax Department maintains a database of the total tax paid by all taxpayers, which is called tax credit in the taxpayer’s account. The ITD generally allows taxpayers to claim the credit of taxes as reflected in their Form 26AS.
Errors or omissions in your Form 26AS (Annual Information Statement) may happen due to several reasons, such as:
- Non-filing of TDS return by Deductor
- Non-payment of TDS by Deductor
- Quoting of wrong AY or wrong PAN (or no PAN)
- Incorrect challan details in the TDS returns submitted
- Challan details wrongly quoted in the TDS return by Deductor or in details uploaded by the bank
You can take the following action to correct the details in your Form 26AS:
1. Provide a correction statement (via NSDL website) for only those records that require correction.
2. In cases of a mistake made by the Deductor (e.g., your employer), you should contact the Deductor and request them to:
File the TDS return if it is still pending
Furnish a revised TDS return if they filed the return with incorrect details / wrong or no PAN
If there is a mistake made by the bank,you should request the bank to rectify it in the challan details uploaded by the bank
