Keep these changes in mind while filing your ITR to prevent errors

• The ITR forms now require additional details
  
• There are changes in the LTCG tax, surcharge on total income, tax on income from house property and tax slabs
  
• The deadline to file the returns is 31 July.
  

The 2017 Budget made a lot of changes in the filing of Income Tax Returns. It is important to take care of these changes so that you can save yourself the effort and time of filing a revised return in case you commit any errors. The deadline to file the returns is 31 July.


Tax slab decreases

Income is categorised into different groups based on its amount and each such group is known as tax slab. Tax is charged at different rates for different slabs. The income tax slab rates have changed for the Annual Year 2019. For individuals with taxable income between ₹2.5 - 5 lakh, the tax has been reduced from 10% to 5%. The tax slab for individuals earning ₹5 - 10 lakh, and for those with income above ₹ 10 lakh, remain 20% and 30% respectively.


Modification in tax on income from house property

Section 24B allows you, as an individual, to make certain deductions from the net annual value of your house property. In the previous year, the entire amount was allowed to be deducted under Section 24B on the interest paid on home loan. However, it has now been restrict to ₹2 lakh.

Furthermore, earlier a complete loss set-off from your house property was allowed. There was no ceiling on the amount. However, now the loss has been restricted to ₹2 lakh in one financial year. The remaining loss can get carried forward for the next eight years.


Amendments in LTCG tax

Earlier, long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax was claimed on an immovable property with the holding period of three years. It has now been reduced to two years, from AY19.

Furthermore, the base year for tax indexing for determining the LTCG tax has been revised from 1981 to 2001. This means that the purchase price of an asset bought before 1 April 1981 could be calculated on the basis of the fair market value of 1981, however, from now onwards, the purchase price will be calculated based on the fair market value of 2001.


New surcharge on total income

Earlier the surcharge was 15% of income tax, only if the total income exceeds ₹1 crore.

From AY19 a 10% surcharge will be applicable if the total income is between ₹50 lakh and ₹1 crore. If the income exceeds ₹1 crore, a surcharge of 15% would be required.

Also, Section 87A earlier provided a rebate up to ₹5,000, but the same has been lowered down to half the amount, that is, upto ₹2,500.


Need of additional details in ITR forms

Sahaj or ITR-1 form, used by most of the salaried class, will now require additional details related to the break-up of your salary, such as details of perquisites, allowances etc. It would also require detail of income from your property including rental income, tax given to local authority, etc.

Also, in the new ITR form, details of the exemption of capital under section 54 of the Income Tax Act need to be mentioned separately in relevant columns.

Furthermore, the old ITR-4S tax form, mostly for businesses, has been renamed ITR-4 and would now need additional details such as secured/unsecured loan details, fixed assets, capital account, etc.



Turnover details and GST declaration

Taxpayers have to specify the exact turnover details while filing Goods & Services Tax (GST) and would further need to mention the GST detail while filing their ITR.


General advice

• You should keep all important documents in one place before you begin to file your returns. It will save time and reduce errors.

• You must also claim all tax benefits and deductions properly, even if you forgot to mention them in your tax declaration.

• You must note whether the interest you earn from your recurring deposits (RD) and fixed deposits (FD) are fully taxable at the applicable slab rates or not. Interest earned up to ₹10,000 from savings bank account is exempt under Section 80TTA.