Have refund of Income Tax in ITR: Here is what to ensure
You can qualify for a refund from the Income Tax Department if you paid more income tax than you needed to during a financial year. Refund is possible due to excess Self-Assessment Tax, advance tax, or tax deducted/collected (TDS/TCS). Some of the activities or steps that are normally followed while claiming income tax refund have been discussed in this article.
It is essential to ensure that these are followed in the right manner to ensure the credit of Income Tax Refund in your Bank Account.
Step 1: file your income tax return (ITR).
Make sure that you file your ITR in case you are eligible for refund. Be sure not to omit any of your sources of income, to use all the allowable deductions, and also while reporting the taxes that have been paid including the TDS, advance tax and self- assessment tax.
Step 2: Check your ITR online
After filing an ITR, you have to e-verify it within 30 Days. Taxpayers also have option to file the return online and physically sing and send the same to Bangalore. E-verification is an essential step which has to be completed before your ITR is further processed and therefore must be completed well in time, else your ITR will be deemed Invalid.
Step 3: Analyze your Form 26AS tax credit statement.
This format is often known as the consolidated tax statement or, Form 26AS. The document contains information about all taxes that were deducted or collected throughout the financial year. Make sure that the information filled in Form 26AS is correct and also cross-verify the details with the pertaining information in your ITR.
Step 4: ITR processing and refund calculation
The Income Tax Department will assess your tax liability with the help of the information which you filled out while preparing your ITR. If at any times the amount of taxes you paid or those withheld exceed what you should pay, a refund may be allowed for you.
Step 5: Refund order issuance
The Income Tax Department issues a refund order once ITR is processed. The refund is transferred directly to your prevalidated bank account.
Step 6: Enter bank account information
Ensure you have correctly provided your bank account details of account number, IFSC code and the bank name in your ITR. The Bank Account must be prevalidated for credit of Income Tax Refund.
Step 7 Check the progress of your refund
In the case you filed your tax returns online or through the Income Tax e-filing website (www. incometaxindiaefiling. gov. in), you can track the progress of your refund. To seek refunds you can also contact the Income Tax Department at the following numbers.
Step 8: Get your money back
- If everything is right as provided in the forms, then credit of Income Tax Refund is directly made into your bank account.
- Another thing to bear in mind is that before accepting the refund, the Income Tax Department may, otherwise, in some cases, initiate investigation or verification. Sometimes, one might be required to present additional documents or justification that support the particular statement.
In addition, the actual amount of the refund will be reduced from any unpaid taxes or/and arrears you may have with the revenue before you are issued with the refund.
Always check that forms for ITR are filled correctly, provide valid information and respond to inquiries or notices from Income Tax Department promptly in order to avoid rejection of any refund claim that you make.
