If you have not yet filed ITR, then do it before 31 July. Filing ITR on time is good for you in many ways. If you do not file ITR by the due date for the financial year 2022-23, then belated returns will have to be filed. For this, you are being given time till December 31, 2023 by the department. If you are also unable to file ITR by July 31, 2023 for any reason, then you may suffer the following losses.

Late ITR filing attracts a penalty of Rs 5,000 for individuals with income above Rs 5 lakh. The fine is Rs 1000 on income up to Rs 5 lakh. Also, non-filing of ITR on time may result in loss of certain tax deductions and exemptions. Eventually, this may increase your tax liability. If you file ITR after December 31, 2023, then you will have to pay a fine of Rs 10,000.

Interest on Late Filing

If your income is taxable, then for not filing the return by 31st July, you will be charged additional interest at the rate of 1% every month till the ITR is filed. Under this, an interest of 1% is levied till the date of filing the return. After 31st December the assessee shall have the option to file the updated return only in case tax is due but is to be paid for the updated return up to 31st March 2024.

The prosecution

can be fined up to 50% for under-reporting income and up to 200% for misrepresenting income. Experts say that if the tax return is not filed despite the reminder, the authorities may have to start the prosecution process on the basis of outstanding tax. In this, there can be imprisonment from three months to 7 years.

There is no benefit of the new tax regime,

if you are late from March 31, then the salaried employees cannot select the option of the new tax regime. If they select this option with the employer, then additional tax and interest will have to be paid for late filing of ITR. Let us tell you that in the budget presented on February 1, the Finance Minister had kept income up to Rs 7 lakh tax free under the new tax regime.

Delay in refund

Another disadvantage of filing late ITR is that if you get tax refund then it can be delayed. Such delays can lead to unnecessary financial stress and inconvenience. Additionally, late filing of ITR may attract the attention of the authorities. This increases the chances of audits and inquiries in their tax matters.

The post ITR Filing FY 2022-23: Government has changed the rules! If ITR is not filed till 31st July then it will be a loss first appeared on Rightsofemployees.com.

However, there are some people who can file their ITR without paying the penalty even after the deadline for ITR filing is over. Let us know who are those people who can file ITR without paying the penalty.

As per the laws related to income tax, not everyone is required to pay late fee for filing ITR after the deadline is over. If a person whose gross total income does not exceed the basic exemption limit, then he will not have to pay penalty while filing ITR late. If the gross total income does not exceed the basic exemption limit, then no late fee is levied on ITR under section 234F.

what the law says

As per the current tax laws, the basic tax exemption limit applicable to an individual depends on the tax regime opted by him/her. If a person opts for the new tax regime, his basic exemption limit will be Rs 2.5 lakh, irrespective of age. However, if a person opts for the old tax regime, the basic exemption limit depends on the age of the individual. At present, the basic exemption limit for resident individual below 60 years of age is Rs 2.5 lakh. For senior citizens 60 years and above but below 80 years of age, income up to Rs 3 lakh is exempt from tax. The basic exemption limit for super senior citizens (above 80 years of age) is up to Rs 5 lakh.

Exceptions to the above rule

However, there are two exceptions to the rule mentioned above. The first exception to the rule requires filing of ITR for certain sections even if their gross total income does not exceed the basic exemption limit. If a person fulfills any of the conditions given in the seventh provision of section 139(1), then he will have to mandatorily file ITR for the financial year 2021-22. Failure to do so will attract charges under section 234F.

Persons covered under the seventh provision of section 139(1) –

• Persons who have deposited an amount or aggregate amount exceeding one crore rupees in one or more current accounts maintained with any banking company or co-operative bank, or
• who has spent for himself or any other person an amount or aggregate amount exceeding rupees two lakhs for travel to a foreign country, or
• Those who have spent an amount or total amount exceeding one lakh rupees for the consumption of electricity.

If you want to file ITR due to any of the above conditions, make sure you file your tax return before the deadline. Otherwise, you will have to pay a late fee, even if your gross total income is less than the taxable limit.

The post Income Tax Return: There is a penalty for late filing of ITR, but this penalty is not applicable on everyone, know what are the rules first appeared on Rightsofemployees.com.