The Income Tax department has facilitated the process of tax filing for the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) by introducing online forms ITR-1, ITR-2, and ITR-4 on its website.
Taxpayers can access these online forms on the Income Tax department’s website to file their tax returns for FY24, starting from April 1, 2024.
In addition to online forms, offline Excel utilities for these forms have been released by the tax department. Furthermore, offline JSON utilities for some other forms for the same financial year are also available.
The deadline for filing income tax returns for FY24 is July 31, 2024.
Taxpayers have two options for filing their returns:
Filing online:
Taxpayers can log into their account on the Income Tax Department’s website and choose the option ‘File income tax return’. Most of their information will be prefilled based on their Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Form 26AS. However, it’s recommended to verify this information with documents like Form 16, Form 16A, or other certificates.
Using offline utilities:
Alternatively, taxpayers can download offline utilities, such as JSON and Excel, from the Income Tax Department’s website. They can fill in their details using these utilities and then upload them back onto the website. Additionally, they can download pre-filled data from their website account and use it with the offline utilities.
Taxpayers should choose the appropriate ITR form based on their income sources:
- ITR1 is for resident individuals (excluding not ordinarily residents) with income from salaries, one house property, and other sources like interest, dividend, family pension, and agricultural income up to Rs 50,000. Their total income from all sources should not exceed Rs 50 lakh in a financial year.
- ITR2 is for individuals with more than one house property and those who have made capital gains.
- ITR4 is for individuals with income from business and professions that are taxable under specific sections.
This year, the Income Tax Department has released the tax return forms earlier than usual, allowing taxpayers more time to file their taxes.
However, many salaried taxpayers might have to wait until the end of June to receive the necessary TDS certificates before they can begin filing their tax returns.