Senior Citizens 75 Years and Older Can Avoid ITR Filing if These Conditions Are Met
As the income tax filing season for the assessment year 2025–26 has started, a section of the Income Tax Act provides relief to senior citizens aged 75 and older. Section 194P, brought about by the Finance Act, 2021, and applicable from April 1, 2021, offers relief from the requirement of filing income tax returns (ITR) for qualifying senior citizens. But to avail of this benefit, some essential conditions need to be met.
For eligibility, the person should be above 75 years of age and a resident of India. Further, the income should be entirely from interest and pension, and both should be drawn from the same bank account. This bank should be classified as a ‘Specified Bank‘ notified by the central government.
For such individuals, the Income Tax Department does not mandate an ITR to be filed, provided the relevant senior citizen gives a prescribed declaration to the bank. This statement, submitted on Form 12BBA, has to provide the Permanent Account Number (PAN), Pension Payment Order (PPO) number, information regarding total income, deductions under different sections of the Income Tax Act (such as 80C to 80U and section 87A), and an assurance that the income is restricted to pension and interest alone. The name of the bank and the pension-paying employer also have to be provided.
When the bank receives this declaration, it calculates the total income of the senior citizen and subtracts the payable tax after considering all the eligible deductions and exemptions. After that, there is no requirement on the part of the senior citizen to submit an ITR for the respective financial year.
One also has the choice of picking between the old and new tax regimes. It is necessary for those choosing the old tax regime to provide investment proofs to the bank for availing corresponding deductions. On the contrary, the new tax regime does not involve any investment proofs, as most of the exemptions under it are not available.
This has been launched to make tax compliance easier for elderly citizens who might find the ITR filing procedure complicated. Such families with older generations who fulfil the eligibility conditions are advised to take advantage of this facility, as this might exempt them from filing income tax returns altogether.
