In a situation where your total income includes any past dues paid in the current year, you may be worried about paying a higher tax on such arrears. However, the Income Tax Act provides relief under Section 89(1) on such salary arrears to reduce the taxpayer's burden.Relief under Section 89(1)Tax is calculated on your total income earned or received during the year. If your total income includes any past dues paid in the current year, you may be worried about paying a higher tax on such arrears.To save you from any additional tax burden due to delay in receiving income, the tax laws allow a relief under section 89(1). In simple words, you do not pay more taxes if there was a delay in payment to you and you were in a lower tax bracket for the year you received the money.An employee must meet certain conditions to claim relief under this section. To start with, Section 89 reliefs can be claimed on any of the following received during a particular year: a) Salary received in arrears or in advance b) Premature withdrawal from Provident Fund c) Gratuity d) Commuted value of pension e) Arrears of family pension f) Compensation on termination of employmentHow to Calculate Tax Relief under Section 89(1) on Salary Arrears?If in case of receipt of past salary, salary in advance or receipt of family pension in arrears, you are allowed some tax relief under section 89(1).Here’s how you can calculate the tax relief yourself –Step 1: Calculate tax payable on the total income, including additional salary – in the year it is received.

As the due date to file ITR approaches and late filing of ITR attracts penalties, there is a massive flow of people filing their ITRs on the website of the income-tax department. This sometimes gives rise to situations where the income-tax portal is not working efficiently throughout the day, leading to unnecessary delays in the filing of ITRs. During this year’s filing, the technical glitches and issues in the portal are also clearly visible.Why is the Income Tax Site Not Working?The Income Tax portal is a platform for taxpayers across India to file their returns, reports, forms, view their past tax records, respond to inquiries etc., and is visited by lakhs of persons during the day. You need to access the portal for various purposes, and any malfunctioning/downtime will lead to significant delays in your other work. While the authorities ensure maximum uptime, occasional disruptions are inevitable. Few of the reasons due to which the Income-tax portal may not be working correctly are as follows:Server Overload: It is the most common reason for an Income tax portal's non-functioning.

A JSON file in income tax is a structured file format used to upload or download your ITR data on the Income Tax e-filing portal. It contains your return details in a machine-readable format. To open a JSON file, you can use the Income Tax Utility or import it directly on ClearTax for easy filing.How To Use JSON File?A JSON file is a widely used data format that stores structured data in a readable format. You can open and edit JSON files using any simple text editor like Notepad or advanced tools like VS Code. JSON files are commonly used to exchange data between a client and a server, configure applications, or store and update data in web-based platforms.

Tax filing can be a complicated and error-prone process. To assist taxpayers and resolve any concerns, the Income Tax Department offers dedicated customer care numbers and email addresses. Whether you have inquiries about e-filing, PAN cards, refunds, or other tax-related issues, the Income Tax customer care service is here to help. Below is the comprehensive list of official Income Tax customer care numbers, helpline details, and email IDs.Key Queries Addressed by Income Tax Customer CareHere are the types of queries that you can address by calling any of the income tax toll-free numbers:General Income Tax Queries: In case you have basic tax-related queries.E-Filling Support: If you need assistance with e-filing of income tax Returns or Forms and other valuable services offered through the e-filing portal.PAN and TAN Issues: Issues related to TAN and PAN applications and corrections. Refund and Rectification: For any sort of rectification, intimation, refund and other queries related to Income Tax Processing.TDS and Tax Credit: Queries related to Tax credit (Form 26AS), Form 16 and other queries regarding TDS statement, Form 15CA processing.List of Income Tax Customer Care Helpline Number and Email IDsHere’s a list of official Income Tax department helpline numbers and email contacts to help you resolve your queries efficiently:1. e-filing and Centralized Processing CenterFor queries related to e-Filing of Income Tax Return or Forms and other value added services & Intimation, Rectification, Refund and other Income Tax Processing Related Queries:1800 103 00251800 419 0025+91-80-46122000+91-80-614647002.

Income from salary is the first head of the 5 heads of income, covering basic salary, allowances, perquisites, bonuses, variable pay, and reimbursements. The act provides provisions for valuation of perquisites, exemption of allowances, and deductions available against salary income. Key HighlightsSalary income includes monetary pay, and non-monetary benefits like concessional accomodation, car facility, etc.A standard deduction of Rs.75,000 can be claimed under the new regime (Rs.50,000 under the old regime).The old regime exempts various allowances like children education allowance, hostel allowance, transport allowances, etc subject to ceiling limit.What is Salary?Any compensation or benefit received by the employee from his employer falls under the purview of salary. This need not be received in cash. More often than not, non monetary benefits the employee receives forms part of their salary. The meaning of salary might differ for accounting, taxation and other laws.

As per the provisions of the Income Tax Act,1961, if the business or profession turnover exceeds prescribed threshold limit, the assessee is required to get the books of accounts audited before filing a tax return. The due date to file ITR for taxpayers requiring tax audit under Section 44AB is 31st October 2026 for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27).Budget 2026 UpdateAmount payable on default of submitting the tax audit report has been converted from penalty to fees. This is intended to reduce litigations.What is a Tax Audit?Tax audit is an examination or review of books of accounts of any business or profession carried out by taxpayers from an income tax viewpoint.Section 44AB of the income tax act mandate tax audit for businesses have turnover more than Rs. 1 Crore or Rs. 10 Crore (where more than 95% of receipts are digital).

Taxpayers with home loan can claim a deduction for the interest repayment while filing ITR. ITR-1 is applicable for taxpayers with total income within Rs. 50 lakh, income from one house property and no capital gains income. Who Cannot Use ITR 1 Form?Total income exceeding Rs.50 lakhAgricultural income exceeding Rs 5000If you have taxable capital gainsIf you have income from business or professionIf you have income from more than one house propertyIf you are a director in a companyIf you have had investments in unlisted equity shares at any time during the financial yearOwning assets (including financial interest in any entity) outside India if you are a resident, including signing authority in any account located outside IndiaIf you are a resident not ordinarily resident (RNOR) and non-residentHaving foreign assets or foreign incomeIf you are assessable in respect of income of another person in respect of which tax is deducted in the hands of the other person.Tax Benefits on ITR Filing for Home Loan RepaymentTaxpayers with home loan repayment can claim a deduction for principal repayment under Section 80C and interest repayment up to Rs. 2 lakh against self-occupied property under the old tax regime only. However, an entire interest repayment deduction against income from let-out property is allowed under both old and new tax regime without any limit. SectionDeductionSection 24Rs. 2 lakh against self-occupied property under old tax regimeInterest deduction against let-out property income with no limit.Section 80CRs.

Freelancers are required to file form ITR-3 or ITR-4 and pay tax at applicable tax slab rates. However, freelancers have the option to opt for the presumptive taxation scheme under Section 44ADA and declare only 50% of their total receipts as taxable income under the head “Income From Business & Profession”.Who is a Freelancer?A freelancer is a self-employed individual who offers services to clients on a project or contract basis. Freelancers offer specialised services and operate on their own schedules with compensation based on particular project, task or hourly rates. It offers individuals the flexibility to to work with multiple clients simultaneously offering a wide income source rather then relying on a single employer. Some of the common industries for freelancing include graphic designing, content writing, programming, video editing, etc. Taxation for FreelancersIncome earned by freelancers are taxed at applicable tax slabs as professional income. Freelancers also have the option to opt for presumptive taxation and declare only 50% of their receipts as taxable income. For example, if Mr.

An Income Tax Notice is an official communication from the Income Tax Department alerting a taxpayer to discrepancies, missing information, overdue filing, or unreported income. Notice can be issued to the taxpayer irrespective of whether returns are filed or not. It is important to understand the type of notice, primary issue involed, and the time limit for response to stay compliant and avoid adverse consequences.Popular Notices issued under the Income Tax ActSection numberNoticeSection 142(1)Inquiry before assessmentSection 143(1)IntimationSection 143(2)Notice for scrutiny assessmentSection 148Income Escaping AssessmentSection 245Demand noticeWhat is Income Tax Notice?An income tax notice is an official communication issued by the Income Tax Department to a taxpayer regarding discrepancies, non-compliance, or additional information required related to their Income Tax Return (ITR). Each notice is issued under a specific section of the Income Tax Act and requires timely action to avoid penalties or legal consequences. It may be sent for reasons such as:Non-filing of returns Mismatch in reported income Verification of claimsDemand for outstanding tax. How to Verify or Authenticate Income Tax Notices?Before responding to any notice or order from the Income Tax Department, it is crucial to verify its authenticity. You can check whether the income tax notice is genuine by using the ‘Authenticate Notice/Order’ feature on the Income Tax e-filing portal.

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) is a government-backed savings scheme for the girl child. Parents or legal guardians can invest under this scheme to secure their daughter’s future. Minimum and maximum investment of SSY scheme is Rs. 250 and Rs. 1.5 Lakh respectively, per financial year. Such contributions qualify for section 80C deduction up to Rs 1.5 Lakh.