CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) has introduced new income tax return forms (ITR forms) for the assessment year 2018-19 which seek more details from individual taxpayers about their salary structure, break ups and income from property.

It has also made mandatory for small businesses to report their goods and services tax identification number (GSTIN) and turnover reported under GST.

The new ITR forms require salaried taxpayers to disclose their salary break-up. Taxpayers will have to give details about allowances that are not exempt, value of perquisites, profit in lieu of salary and deductions claimed under Section 16. Typically, these are available in the Form 16 issued by the employer but do not have to be disclosed in the tax return.

Like last year, the one-page ITR-1, or Sahaj, form can be filled by salaried taxpayers having an income up to Rs. 50 lakh and one house property. Last year, 30 million taxpayers filled this form, the tax department said in a statement.

Businesses with a turnover of less than Rs. 2 crore can do away with the requirement of maintaining books of accounts and instead pay a tax on the basis of a certain percentage of their turnover. However, the government fears that there has been misuse of the scheme.

The forms give non-resident Indians (NRIs) some relief. They can now provide details of their foreign bank accounts to claim credit or refunds. Earlier, they could only provide details of bank accounts held in India.

However, NRIs will no longer be able to file returns using the simple income tax return (ITR)-1 form, which can now only be used by residents. NRIs will have to use ITR-2, which seeks more information.

Types of ITR forms

• ITR-1 SAHAJ– For individuals being a resident other than not ordinarily resident having Income from Salaries, one house property, other sources (Interest etc.) and having total income up to Rs.50 lakh
• ITR-2– For Individuals and HUFs not having income from profits and gains of business or profession
• ITR-3– For individuals and HUFs having income from profits and gains of business or profession
• ITR-4-Sugam– For Presumptive Income from Business & Profession
• ITR-5– For persons other than,- (i) individual, (ii) HUF, (iii) company and (iv) person filing Form ITR-7
• ITR-6– For Companies other than companies claiming exemption under section 11
• ITR-7– For persons including companies required to furnish return under sections 139(4A) or 139(4B) or 139(4C) or 139(4D) or 139(4E) or 139(4F)

The new ITRs have been uploaded on the official website of the department–incometaxindia[dot]gov[dot]in.

The last date for filing the ITRs is July 31.

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Filing income tax returns became earlier online and the last date to file it is March, 31. You can also pay your advance income tax through the internet, using the net-banking facility.

Steps To Pay Income Tax Returns Online

To pay your tax online, here are the simple steps to be followed as below-

1. Login to the Income tax website
2. Click on Services > e-payment
3. Select the relevant challan i.e. ITNS 280, ITNS 281, ITNS 282, ITNS 283, ITNS 284 or Form 26 QB demand payment (only for TDS on sale of property) as applicable.
4. Enter your PAN/TAN number and all the other mandatory challan details including accounting head under which payment is made, address of the taxpayer and the bank through which payment is to be made etc.
5. After the relevant data is entered, Submit it.
6. A ‘confirmation screen’ is displayed. If the PAN/TAN entered is valid and matches with the ITD PAN/TAN master, then the full name of the taxpayer as per the master will be displayed on the confirmation screen, validate the same.
7. On confirmation of the data entered (that appears on the screen), the taxpayer will be directed to the Netbanking website of the bank where one needs to pay the tax.
8. Login to the Netbanking website using the bank’s user ID/password for net-banking.
9. Enter the payment details on the bank’s website.
10. Once the payment has been made successfully, a challan counterfoil is displayed. This contains CIN, payment details and bank name through which e-payment has been made. This counterfoil is the proof of the payment that you have made.

You can also pay your income-tax using government apps like Umang and Aaykar Setu.

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If you have PPF account and due to some unforeseen circumstances, you need to withdraw money from PPF account then this may incur some or great losses to you. Withdrawing money from immature PPF account is not recommended yet people need the money in urgent situations then in this case let’s explore the consequences of this and clarify the apprehension you have for the premature PPF money withdrawal. Public Provident Fund (PPF Account) come to appear like a great tool to channelize little savings and keep them for retirement. What a lot of people are unaware of is that it makes a great investment tool as well.

But before we invest in PPF we need to have a basic idea of what exactly PPF is and all the knowledge about deposit, withdrawals, and returns. PPF comes across as one of the safest ways to make an investment as it is government regulated and therefore provides security of your investments and with the return of 7.8% on an average in the recent years PPF beats any other form of investment and is therefore considered as the best long-term investment too.

Although the fact remains that the rate of return varies from year to year according to the market, but is anyway good for cautious investors who do not want to invest in the equity market and wishes to go for an investment which provides both safety and good returns.

But PPF scheme lays down certain strict and specific rules when it comes to withdrawal from the PPF account. What you read ahead will guide you through all the withdrawals from your PPF account along with providing an all-round idea on the PPF scheme.

What Is PPF (Public Provident Fund)?

Public Provident Fund is a very widespread long-term investment option which is initiated by the government which comes with a lock-in period of 15 years. It accumulates regular returns on investments and sums up the entire amount, the interest along with the principal investment on maturity. The minimum one may invest in PPF stands to be Rs. 500 whereas the maximum investment in a year is fixed at Rs. 1,50,000. PPF comes with tax savings benefits. The invested amount in PPF is eligible for an income tax deduction, provided you file a claim producing your investment proofs at the time of filing income tax returns.

The complete withdrawal of the invested amount in a PPF scheme is only possible after maturity, that is, only after the 15^th year from the date of creation. However, partial withdrawal is possible which are again subjected to certain rules.

How To Check PPF Account Balances?

Checking your PPF account balance is quite easy if you have net banking enabled. All you have to do is to log in with your User ID and password under PPF section and click on information balance and you will find all the particulars regarding balance in the account, interest accumulated, deposits made and more such.

However, in case you have a PPF account with a Post Office, you may not be able to check your PPF account balance for all the branches. You have to visit the respective post office wherein you have an account with your passbook and get your passbook updated in order to know the current balance.

Withdraw Money from PPF Account Prematurely

PPF is a scheme for the long term. However, that doesn’t mean that you are not eligible to withdraw any amount before the maturity period of 15 years. One is allowed to withdraw from the PPF account right after the completion of the 5^th year since the account was opened. This definitely makes PPF a multipurpose tool that helps you withdraw in times of financial emergencies even if that is before the date of maturity. Also, PPF provides loans for a short term in order to meet your financial requirements which comes at the cheaper rate of interest as compared to any commercial bank or financial institution.

The rules for withdrawals state that 50% of the accumulated amount can be withdrawn after the 5^th year since the date of creation of the account. But it is here where the PPF account holder has invested between 7 years and 12 years, the limit of withdrawal becomes higher.

It is important that the account holder follows the financial year, that is from 1^st April to 31^st March in order to get an estimate of the withdrawal period. The time-frame is necessarily the financial year for the withdrawal. Also, it is to be let in mind that only one partial withdrawal is permitted in one financial year.

The account holder has to go through an application process for withdrawal which includes submission of Form C through the bank they maintain their account in. The applicant needs to mention the account number and the amount to be withdrawn in the Declaration section of the form. The number of years completed from the date of initial subscriptions also needs to be specified.

The account holder has an eligibility to withdraw the full accumulated amount after completion of 15 years from the date of creation. The account holder also has the option of leaving the amount un-withdrawn but then he has to apply for a term extension of 5 years. Premature closure of PPF account, however, is possible only in the event of the death of the account holder. You can calculate the PPF withdrawal amount using PPF calculators.

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