Changes in Income Tax return filing that you must know before setting out

There are some changes in the e-filing site, ITR Forms for AY 2021-22, as well as in the process of filing returns.

5 min read Last Updated : Dec 08 2021 | 11:25 PM IST

The extended due date to file income tax returns for the assessment year 2021-22 is less than three weeks away, on December 31. Every year, there are certain changes in rules or in the forms issued for filing income tax returns (ITR), which the taxpayer should know about. Suresh Surana, founder, RSM India says, "The ITR comprises details of various income earned, expenses claimed against the incomes and various disclosures required under the Income Tax Act. Therefore, it becomes important to file the ITR with utmost care." Here are some of the changes you should know about when you file your tax returns.

New tax regime or old tax regime: This year there is an option of filing ITR under new and old tax regimes. In the old tax regime, the taxpayer will get deductions and exemptions, while under the new regime, the tax rate is low sans all deductions and exemptions. Kapil Rana, founder & chairman, HostBooks Limited says, " Which regime is better for him depends upon the income and deductions of the assessee. If an assessee is claiming benefits like HRA, LTC, etc. or standard deduction u/s 16 or deduction u/s 80C, 80CCD, 80D, 80G, etc. or interest deduction for self-occupied property u/s 24(b) and many more than it is beneficial for assesse to opt old tax regime because in new tax regime most of the benefits are not available."

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Tax under the new regime is payable at lower slab rates as compared to the old regime, on an income of up to Rs 15 lakh. Surana says, "Taxpayers opting for the new regime need to furnish Form 10-IE exercising their option and mention the acknowledgement number and date of filing this form in the ITR."

Taxability of Dividends: Prior to Financial Year 2020-21, dividends were exempt in the hands of shareholders and companies were subject to Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT). Consequently, only disclosures relating to dividend income were required, which didn’t affect the total taxable income.Anushkaa Arora, principal & founder, ABA Law Office says , "Dividends paid by the companies to its shareholders will now be taxed as per the tax slab of the individuals." From FY 2020-21, dividends are now taxable in the hands of shareholders and DDT have been abolished. Surana says, "As a result, Schedule OS has been amended where all dividend income will have to be reported and also, interest expenditure can be claimed against the dividend income, subject to a maximum of 20 per cent."

Non-Permissibility to use ITR 1: Section 194N of the IT Act provides for deduction of Tax Deducted Source (TDS) in case of cash withdrawal by any person exceeding the specified limit as mentioned therein. Sameer Jain, managing partner, PSL Advocates & Solicitors says, " The ITR-1 will now not be available to a taxpayer in whose case the tax has been deducted on cash withdrawal under Section 194N of the Income Tax Act." Also, since TDS deducted u/s 194N of the IT Act can be only claimed as a refund pertaining to such year of deduction, note that the ITRs rules have been amended in order to restrict the carry-forward of such TDS to subsequent assessment years.

Matching the details with the Annual Information Statement (AIS): The Income Tax Department has recently rolled out AIS which provides a comprehensive information about the taxpayer, which is presently available with the Income Tax Department. Surana adds, "The AIS covers information such as interest, dividend, transactions in securities, mutual funds, details of foreign remittance, details of deposits, etc. It therefore becomes pertinent to ensure that the details reported in ITR are in line with the information in AIS." In case the taxpayer feels that there is some error in AIS information or that a particular income reflected in his AIS does not relate to him, then he shall submit online feedback and report the same.

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Prefilled ITR forms: The Central Board of Direct Taxes, in line with its continued thrust on making procedures taxpayer friendly, has also come up with prefilled ITR forms. Pratyush Miglani, managing partner, Miglani Varma & Co - Advocates, Solicitors and Consultants says, "The assessee must warily go through and cross check the pre-filled information, for errors on account of technical issues are fairly common on the platform. Ensure that your personal information, which includes PAN, AADHAAR, etc reflecting on the ITR as well as the forms are accurate. "

Note the pre-filled data is editable and should be appropriately modified if any discrepancies are found.