Income Tax E-Filing: Everything You need to know

Kids often want to go on vacation in July, right when people have to submit their taxes, right? So what do you do? You can’t skip paying your taxes, not legally, at least! Skip the vacation, and you will never hear the end of it! If only there was a way to do both.

Well, there is a way! Income tax e-filing makes it feasible right now (an easier way to give away your money tax). People may file their taxes from any place. So get your type 3 digital signature ready and get filing!

E-filing an income tax return or ITR online is the procedure of electronically filing a tax return with the Department of Income Tax. Income tax e-filing is required in India (except for individuals earning up to ₹5 lakh and super senior citizens).

All businesses registered with RoC are obliged to receive a digital certificate of their annual audited accounts from the certifying bodies for the electronic filing of ITR with RoC. The process of electronically filing taxes, often known as e-filing, involves using internet based platforms recognised by the applicable tax authorities of the particular country.

Depending on local tax laws and government regulations, many countries may let citizens and other professionals file ITR online. A growing part of the population is using electronic filing because of its advantages.

E-filing was introduced to make life easier for taxpayers and income tax officials with merely an internet connection(finally, a good use of the internet). Thanks to e-filing, people may complete the income tax e-filing from their workstation or mobile device. 

Understanding the concept of E-filing

Taxes are no joke! Especially when one needs to prepare a tax return and make a payment. Today, it requires more intelligence and work to fill out an ITR than to generate the income to pay said tax!

Taxpayers can submit their tax-related paperwork to a tax department or revenue service any time of the day using the e-Filing system. Electronic file providers approved by the necessary tax authorities are used for tax form submission. Governments began implementing this technology to reduce processing times, operating costs, communications problems, and paper usage.

More than 80% of tax files are sent electronically, and this convenience allows taxpayers and collectors to access the Income tax e-filing database. Within 24 to 48 hours of receiving the tax form, the tax authority notifies the taxpayer whether the statement was approved or rejected. The part to be corrected is also included in the rejection note.

A speedier tax refund is obtained by filing tax forms electronically. So it's not a joke, but it’s not that easy either, because, according to an Economic Times report, people find it challenging to file an ITR online.

Ways to E-file your taxes

There are three ways to e-file your ITR, with the distinguishing factor being a Digital Signature Certificate or the presence of a filing intermediary. A DSC is compulsory when filing an ITR for companies and political parties as well as individuals that need to get their accounts audited U/S 44AB of the Income Tax act.

The following permutations are available to various taxpayers filing their ITR online:

• E-Filing using a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC)
• E-Filing without a Digital Signature Certificate
• Using an e-Return Intermediary (ERI) to electronically file the income tax return with or without a DSC

10-steps to successfully E-file your next ITR

Different taxable categories have different ITR e-filing deadlines. For salaried individuals, the deadline for ITR online submission is generally July 31 of the assessment year. The e-filing deadline for corporations and businesses is October 31 of the assessment year. One must register on the Income Tax Department's website to file their income tax return electronically. If the person has already registered, proceed with the steps listed below:

1. Log in to the Income Tax e-filing portal by going to the Government ITR filing portal.
2. After successfully logging into the online account to file the taxes, select “Income Tax Return” from the “e-filing “ menu.
3. Click “Continue” after choosing the assessment year (the one for which you are filing your ITR online), the ITR form type, and the submission option on the following screen.
4. Select the authentication method from Aadhaar OTP, EVC utilising a Pre-validated bank data, or send signed ITR-V using regular or speed post and click “Continue” to authenticate the income tax return.
5. One must provide all personal information, comprising of Name, PAN Card, Aadhaar Card Details, addresses, Email IDs, and more under Part A: General Information.
6. Complete all the revenue details to calculate the total gross income after supplying the general information.
7. Input all the information on deductions to determine the taxable income and income tax; verify all tax records.
8. After finishing the steps above, select “Preview and Submit” to review the ITR e-filing.

Or, if you want to actually e-file your ITR, minus the “sarkari website hassle”, visit Taxy by Finology for tax filing on autopilot.

Benefits of electronic filing 

One annual task that most people dread is filing their taxes. Why? Because there are too many forms to choose from because of complicated tax laws, and it can be expensive to get tax returns filled out by a professional. To avoid carrying a huge stack of paperwork and pay slips to an accounting office, many people opt to file their ITRs online.

The true reason e-filing, or filing taxes online, has gained so much popularity is because everything is processed more quickly. The advantages of income tax e-filing are as follows:

1. Forget about a constant mess of paper trays, stacks of papers, and folders of paperwork. Since documents are kept digitally, unwanted clutter is removed.
2. Document safekeeping issues are reduced as all the documents are saved in an electronic file storage.
3. E-filing facilitates quick processing and reduction in mistakes as all the submissions are online and there is no room for human errors.
4. The filing of tax returns will be immediately confirmed to the taxpayer.
5. The ease of filing your tax statements from anywhere at any time is provided through income tax e-filing.
6. ITR e-filing is more practical because of the straightforward guidelines and hassle-free form filling. Using the auto-fill function during e-filing makes the process simpler still.
7. Compared to the conventional hardcopy method, processing forms submitted through e-Filing is far more efficient.
8. Accuracy is the most crucial factor while submitting taxes. Giving the IRS inaccurate or incomplete information can lead to costly fines, penalties, and even time behind bars.
9. One of the key benefits of e-filing tax returns is that tax preparation softwares exist to help people save the most money. Before completing it, it checks for tax deductions and credits one is eligible for and suggests them.
10. The easiest place to dodge the crowds and lines is through e-filing. Taxpayers may complete their filing quickly and effortlessly from their homes with a low possibility of error.

The Bottom Line

Don’t you feel sick and tired of the confusion surrounding tax affairs? Who doesn’t like to finish the return filing with assurance and no fear of mistakes? You can learn what expenses you can and can’t deduct from various allowances by using income tax e-filing.

E-filing helps address concerns like the information that needs to be kept in your log book, and the importance of claiming deductions along with many other things. E-filing facilitates calculating income tax owed.