Filing Tax Return – A legal obligation for every qualified citizen of India

One of the most important aspect of Income Tax is filing Income Tax return. Individuals with income exceeding the non-taxable income slab, filing of Income Tax Return for the full financial year is mandatory.

To cope up with the latest technology and changing world, the Income Tax Department of India has launched a convenient, hassle-free and fast online service for filing Tax returns known as E-filing through Internet. Most of the sites which provide these facilities also provide free tax filing, i.e. filing your tax returns online without any charges. It not only saves time but is also more convenient. Any individual failing to file return within the specified period is also allowed to file a late return. Moreover, free tax filing service is very handy as through it individuals can file their Income Tax Returns by sitting at home or from any place where Internet is available.

Income Tax Return Forms, also known as ITR ranges from ITR-1 to ITR-8. Each form covers different set of tax payers which include individuals and even the companies so that they can furnish all the informations with respect to the transaction that are posted via annual information returns (AIR). Large transactions like in real estate and mutual funds are reported to the income tax department by banks and several other authorities with the help of user's permanent account number (PAN). The Income Tax return Forms are divided into several categories. ITR 1 to ITR 4 are for individuals, ITR 6 and ITR 7 are for companies and ITR 8 is for fringe Benefits. These ITR forms can be downloaded from the concerned websites which might be offering free tax filing. However, some sites also charge a nominal fees for filing the return.

One more important aspect of filing Income tax return is the recent innovation, income tax calculator. Basically, it is designed for the individuals who are paying the tax to the government. Since 2005, a more advanced form of calculating income tax has been introduced, which is known as True tax calculator. It produces 2 reports, one in computerized form and other in Saral form (form 2D). Individuals who have to pay the tax have to furnish the details of all the income earned, in it. The Saral form of the 2 reports is printed in the original format and is submitted with the Income tax Department.

Income tax return should be filed within the specified period to avoid any penalty. Also, defective returns should be rectified within 15 days from the date of such intimation. Individual should keep in mind to see the heads of Income and decide which type of assessee he is and then select the form accordingly. The individual should mention all its sources of income with income amount correctly and should submit the form to the Income tax department or he can also submit the form online as the income tax department offers free tax filing on cyber world.