The date for filing IT returns has been postponed to December 31. However, while filing returns individual taxpayers need to be careful about listing income from all sources and not just their salary or business income.
For the last two years, the income tax department has been keen on capturing minute details such as interest income from savings or fixed deposits and major deposits into the taxpayer's bank accounts. “Taxpayers should pay extra attention to savings bank Interest, gifts coming into the bank account, any large sum from the sale of capital assets to match with the IT return,” says Suneel Dasari, founder, CEO @ EZTax.in, an online income tax filing portal.
This is very important as failing to do so can lead to tax notices. “Incorrect disclosure of assets and liabilities where required may lead to IT notices to prove assets or deposits and the attribution. Some of these notices may lead to confiscation, seizure and penalties and may damage the reputation for quick processing of future IT returns,” says Dasari. If the taxpayer is a non-resident, this may further complicate matters.
Here are four heads of income that you should keep in mind when filing taxes, especially if you are doing it on your own. It is recommended that you take help from a chartered accountant or a tax filing service when filing your IT returns.
Capital gains: Sale of any soft or hard assets must be included when filing taxes. The gains or losses need to be declared and the IT return along with attribution of the gain/loss needs to be included in the calculation to arrive at the tax refund or due.
