DISCLAIMER: The below-mentioned steps have been suggested assuming the user has a basic understanding of the governing provisions of the Income Tax Act and related
terminology in India relating to taxation of individuals. Lekha and Co. does not take responsibility for any liability arising out of mistakes, mis-understandings and / or ignorance on the
part of the user. This information has been provided with the sole intention of bringing awareness to an Indian tax payer with respect to the process involved in discharging his / her
statutory obligations towards income tax.

    STEP 1: Collection of Information, documents:

  1. You will need a Permanent Account Number (PAN) card for filing your return. If you do not have one, you can apply for it online or visit any UTIISL
    office nearby for physical filing.
  2. If you are a salaried employee, get your Form-16 from your employer.
  3. If you are a pensioner, collect your pension certificate from your Bank.
  4. Collect interest certificates, Form-16-A (if tax is deducted on interest) from your Bankers and financial Institutions.
  5. If you own a house property, and are repaying housing loan, get a certificate from the lender. If the property is let out collect details of lease.
  6. If you have sold a property during the year, gather information relating to purchase, improvements and sale of the property.
  7. If you have dealt in shares or mutual funds during the year, collect information regarding purchase and sale of corresponding shares/ mutual
    Funds.
  8. Collect receipts of all investments made for tax saving purposes during the year.
  9. If you have income from business and profession - gross receipts from business/profession does not exceed RS. Twenty five lakhs in case of
    profession and hundred lakhs in case of business and you have not kept regular books of account - collect your Form-16A from your client (if any
    tax has been deducted); collect all your receipts; make a list of all expenses made during the year; make a list of all capital asset acquired during
    the year along with the exact date of installation. If your gross receipts exceeds the above said limits, you need to maintain regular books of
    accounts and need to get them audited - you cannot do it yourself!

    NOTES:

  • Interest received on your savings bank account is also taxable. Kindly review your bank statement and locate the interest amount or ask your bank
    for a certificate.

  • Tax is deducted only @ 10% from the interest on your securities. Therefore, you will need to include it in your gross total income, compute the total
    tax payable at the applicable slab rate.

  • Certain incomes are taxable at different rates, like capital gains, winnings from lotteries etc.

  • An assessment year is always the year next to the financial year (called previous year) for which return is filed. For example, for financial year 2014-
    15, the assessment year is 2015-16 and 2014-15 is called previous year.

  • To learn more about residential status click here.


    STEP 2: Computation of total income:

  1. Compute your Gross Total Income by adding all the income received during the year.
  2. Calculate your Net total Income by deducting all the investments made for tax saving purposes u/s 80C and any other donations or deductions
    under various other sections in Chapter-VI of Income Tax Act.
  3. Compute your tax liability and see if any tax is due. Use the slab rate relevant to the assessment year.
  4. Pay your taxes, if due. You can deposit it online by choosing Challan-280.


    STEP 3: Filling of ITR forms:

  1. Download the right form from the Income Tax Office site: for e-Filing; for physical filing. Please note the forms are different for e-filing and physical
    filing. E-filign is madatory for income above RS.5 lakhs.
  2. Choose the correct return form - ITR-1 for salaries and Interest Income; ITR-2 for Salaries, House property, Capital Gains and Other Incomes; ITR-
    4 if you have income from business and profession in addition to any other income specified above.
  3. Fill it manually for physical fling and fill downloaded form offline for e-filing.
  4. Validate your form and Generate XML for e-filing.


    STEP 4: File your return:

  1. For physical filing - Submit your fully filled and signed form to the assessing officer having jurisdiction at the Income Tax Office applicable for your
    residential address. Get your acknowledgement duly stamped.
  2. For e-filing: Log on to the Income Tax Site ; Register yourself by giving your PAN, full name, date of birth and choosing a password for you.
  3. Upload your return by clicking the Submit return button.
  4. In case of e-filing, you would be required to sign DIGITALLY or if you do not have Digital Signature, ITR-V will be generated, which will have to be
    signed and deposited within 120 days of e-filing at the CPC of Income Tax Office.
  5. If you have DIGITAL Signature, your process ends with uploading your return; you do not have to send the signed ITR-V.
  6. If you do not have a DIGITAL signature, sign the ITR-V generated after your return is uploaded and send via normal postal channels to the Central
    Processing Centre at “Income Tax Department – CPC, Post Box No - 1, Electronic City Post Office, Bangalore - 560100, Karnataka". This needs to
    be sent in an A-4 size envelope without folding as there are MICR codes in this document. You will receive an e-mail intimation from the CPC for
    receipt of ITR-V.
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Income Tax Return Filing - How do I do it myself?
(Step-by-step instructions for individuals)