How to File ITR Online - Step by Step Guide to Efile Income Tax Return for FY 2023-24 (AY 2024-25)

The income tax department has mandated to file the return to individuals only if their income is above basic exemption limit or if they meet certain criteria like expenditure on foreign travel being more than Rs.2 lakh, the electricity consumption of Rs.1 lakh or more, deposit an amount/aggregate of an amount above Rs.1 crore in one or more current accounts in FY 2019-20 or onwards.

ITR filing is also mandatory if business receipts exceed Rs.60 lakhs, professional receipts exceed Rs.10 lakhs and TDS and TCS amount exceeds Rs.25,000.

In the case of a resident whose asset is located outside India or who has signing authority for an account-based account outside India, It is always a good idea to file your ITR even if you are not eligible due to the benefits.

• Filing of ITR creates a valid proof of income or net worth,
• ITR is required for applying for any loan in the future
• ITR is required by banks even for applying credit cards
• ITR is required for VISA applications, etc.
• ITR is required for obtaining Term insurance
• ITR is required for obtaining government tenders

Hence it is advisable to file ITR even if your income is below the basic exemption limit.

Income tax is a direct tax on your income. It means a portion of your income is paid to the government. The government employs this amount for expenditures related to health, education, providing subsidies to agriculture, infrastructure etc. It is paid by an individual/HUF/any taxpayer depending on income levels or gains in a financial year. A company has to pay income tax irrespective of the level of income. The government passes laws prescribing the rate of taxation on your income from time to time.

Every individual can pay taxes Online or Offline. Please refer to this link for more details.

You have to pay your taxes before filing your tax return. If you are a salaried individual, then most of your tax liability is deducted from your salary by your employer in the form of TDS and paid to the government on your behalf. If you are liable to pay advance tax, then you have to pay 90% of it before the 31st of March every financial year. You can file your ITR once the financial year ends.
The window to file ITR is generally open till the 31st of July of the relevant assessment year. However, the due date to file ITR may get extended, and the IT department will notify the same through notifications. It is always advisable to file your ITR within the due date. It’s worthwhile noting that you attract a late filing fee of Rs.5,000 on failing to file ITR within the due date of the assessment year.

There are many ways to save income tax by proper tax planning. The Income Tax Act provides certain deductions and exemptions that can be claimed, which will reduce your total taxable income and reduce tax outflow. Below are some of the most common deductions and exemptions:

• Deduction upto Rs 1.5 lakh under 80C – Investment in tax saving options like 80 C- investing in ELSS, LIC, mutual funds, deduction for tuition fees for children, deduction for principal amount of home loan, etc
• Additional deduction of Rs 50,000 above Rs 1.5 lakh in 80 CCC (1b) for contribution towards National pension schemes of the central government.
• 80D allows deduction of medical insurance premium paid for self, spouse, children (Rs 25000 / 50,000 ) and dependent parents ( Rs 25000 / 50,000)
• 80G allows a deduction for donations made to recognised institutions and trusts as per specified limits.
• House rent allowance exemption allowed partially or wholly under 10 (13A)
• Deduction for higher education loans under 80E
• Deduction for a home loan paid upto Rs. 2 lakhs under section 24 for self-occupied property and total amount if rented property and Rs. 1.5 lakhs under section 80EEA upon fulfilling specified conditions.

• Log on to incometaxindiaefiling.com with credentials
• Click on View Returns/ Forms
• Selection an option as “Income tax returns” and the relevant assessment year and click on submit
• A window displaying a list of ITR filed will open.
• Click on ITR-V acknowledgement number you want to download
• ITR V PDF file will open which can be downloaded.

You can file your ITR return online through the income tax e-filing portal or  ClearTax. If you wish to file the return through the government portal, then you have to file it using the “offline” mode or the “online” mode.

• To submit the return under ‘Offline’ mode, you can log on to https://www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/home and download the Excel or Java utilities of the applicable ITR form from the tab download > ITR return preparation software. A ZIP file will get downloaded. Please extract the ZIP file and fill in all the relevant fields in the utility. Remember to validate all the sheets and click on calculate tax. Then, generate and save the JSON file. The JSON file is ready to be uploaded on the portal for e-filing.
• To file ITR through offline mode, log on to the e-filing portal using PAN based login credentials. Go to the “e-file” tab and open the “income tax return” link from the drop-down. Fill in the relevant details and select the filing type as ‘Offline’ in the next step. Upload JSON file generated from JAVA/Excel utility and validate it. Upon successful validation, proceed to submit the return. Complete the verification of return amongst six options available.
  • Through Net banking
  • Through Bank ATM
  • Digital Signature Certificate
  • Aadhaar OTP
  • Bank Account number
  • Demat Account.
  • Physically sending ITR-V.

• Income is more than basic exemption limit
• Deposited more than Rs. 1 crore in 'current' bank account
• Deposited more than Rs. 50 lakh in 'savings' bank account
• Spent more than Rs. 2 lakh on foreign travel
• Electricity expenditure is more than Rs. 1 lakh
• TDS or TCS is more than Rs. 25,000
• Business turnover is more than Rs. 60 lakh
• Professional income is more than Rs. 10 lakh

The due date to file ITR is July 31st. If you miss filing your ITR within the deadline, you can file a belated return or updated return. However, a late filing fee and interest will be applicable. Penalty in terms of additional taxes is also applicable in case of updated return.

You can file the ITR of previous years using updated return (ITR U form). Nevertheless, there are certain restrictions on eligibility and the number of years for which ITR-U can be used. For comprehensive information, refer to this article.

Step 1: Log in to the e-filing portal with your user ID and password.
If your PAN is not linked with Aadhaar, a pop-up message will indicate its inoperability. Link PAN with Aadhaar by clicking "Link Now" or continue without linking.
Step 2: Go to e-File > Income Tax Returns > View Filed Returns.
Step 3: View all your filed returns on the page. Use "Filter" to sort returns based on criteria like Assessment Year or Filing Type. Click "View Details" and you will be able to see the status of your ITR in the form of a return's life cycle along with action items (e.g., pending e-Verification).
Note: If PAN is inoperative, refund issuance will be on hold until linked.

I missed the deadline: You can file a belated return before 31st December of the AY, i.e. For FY 2023-24 (AY 2024-25), the filing date of it would be till 31st Dec 2024. (It is called a belated return, i.e., a late-filed return with the payment of late fees u/s 234F).

I made a Mistake: You can revise your already filed ITR before 31st December of the AY, i.e. For FY 2022-23 (AY 2023-24), the filing date of it would be till 31st Dec 2023.

If you missed the 31st Dec 2023 deadline, file the Updated return (ITR U) within the additional time limit only if the specified conditions are met.

Usually, it takes 30-90 days to get your refund after filing your Income Tax Return. You can track the refund check status from here.

No, documents are not required to be attached/ uploaded, but you are advised to keep them with you. Income tax authorities may ask them if any assessment notice is served to you in future.

It is required to either e-verify the return or send it by making the signature physically to CPC, Income Tax Department, Bengaluru within 30 days of filing the return. Failing to do so will result in invalidation of return, which means the return will be considered as having never been filed.

If the return is verified after 30 days, the date of e-verification will be considered as the date of filing, and if such date falls after the due date, then

• the late filing fees of Rs.5000/Rs.1000 will be levied.
• The tax regime shall be switched to the default regime, and the return will be processed. (For FY 2023-24, if the new tax regime was opted out, then the return will be processed under the new tax regime (default regime) by disallowing the ineligible exemptions and deductions.