Income Tax Return: If you are going to file ITR for the first time, keep these 8 things in mind

The process of filing Income Tax Return (ITR) for the financial year 2023-24 i.e. Assessment Year 2024-25 is going on. The last date to file the return is 31st July. Like every year, this year also the number of such people is very high who are filing income tax returns for the first time. If you are also filing ITR for the first time, then it is important to keep these 8 things in mind. This reduces the chances of making a mistake significantly.

Calculation of taxable income:

Before filing ITR, it is very important to know what your taxable income is and which tax bracket you fall in. Include income from other sources along with salary in taxable income. This will tell you which tax regime is better for you, new or old.

Choose all tax regimes:

If you are going to file an income tax return for the first time, then take advice from an expert before choosing between the new tax regime and the old tax regime. The new regime is the default system. If your total annual income including standard deduction is up to Rs 7.5 lakh, then blindly choose the new regime. On the other hand, if the annual income is more than this, then see in which regime tax is being saved. For this, you can also take the help of an online tax calculator. There is no tax exemption in the new tax regime, but the tax rates in it are low. On the other hand, tax exemption is available on investment, home loan, insurance etc. in the old tax regime, but the tax rates in it are high.

Form-16: Employer companies have started issuing Form-16 to employed people. This form contains important information like the employee's gross salary as well as taxable income, TDS and tax deduction. If you do not have Form 16, then you can also file ITR with the help of salary slip.

Form 26AS: It is also important for people filing returns for the first time to check Form 26AS. You can download it from the official website of the Income Tax Department. It contains the details of TDS deducted along with the income. It is necessary to match Form-16 with Form 26AS. If there is any error, ask your company to correct the errors in Form 16.

Annual Information Statement:

It is an important document for filing tax returns. Through this, you get information about income from bank FD or deposit, dividend, mutual fund transactions, foreign remittances and other sources. It can also be downloaded from the website of the Income Tax Department.

ITR Form:

The Income Tax Department issues many types of ITR forms. Salaried class can choose ITR-1 or ITR-2. Salaried people whose salary is less than Rs 50 lakh can choose ITR-1 form i.e. Sahaj. Also, you should have only one house and income from agriculture should not be more than Rs 5000. On the other hand, people whose salary is more than Rs 50 lakh can choose ITR-2 form. This income should not be business or profession income.

Documents:

PAN card, Aadhar card, proof of investment, home loan interest certificate etc. are required to file ITR.

ITR Verification: It is necessary to verify the income tax return within 30 days of filing it, only then will you get tax refund. You can do ITR verification online or offline.