ITR Filing: If a taxpayer does not file income tax return by 31 July, then he is allowed to file belated return till the last date of that year i.e. 31 December. But, he will have to pay a penalty for this
Income Tax Penalty: If your income is more than the basic exemption limit, then it is necessary to file income tax return. Apart from this, there are some situations in which it is necessary to file return even if the income is less than the basic exemption limit. The last date for filing income tax return for the financial year 2023-24 is 31st July. The question is what will happen if the income tax return is not filed by the last date?
Permission to file belated return
According to the Income Tax rules, if a taxpayer does not file the return by the last date for any reason, then he is allowed to file the return till 31st December of that year. This is called belated return filing. Taxpayers have to pay a penalty for filing belated income tax return. The amount of penalty depends on the annual income of the taxpayer.
Penalty for filing belated return
If a taxpayer’s annual income is up to Rs 5 lakh or less, then he has to pay a penalty of Rs 1,000 for filing a belated return. If the taxpayer’s annual income is more than Rs 5 lakh, then he has to pay a penalty of Rs 5,000. Apart from this, the taxpayer also has to pay interest on his tax liability. In this way, there are two types of penalties for not filing the return by July 31.
Interest has to be paid on tax
According to section 234A of the Income Tax Act, the taxpayer has to pay interest at the rate of 1 percent every month on his tax amount. The calculation of interest is done till the date on which the taxpayer files the return. The calculation of interest is done from the date of August 1. Experts say that the Income Tax Department imposes this penalty so that taxpayers file the return within the deadline.
Benefits of filing returns by the deadline
There are many benefits of filing returns within the deadline. Taxpayers do not get refund money if they do not file returns by 31 July. In the meantime, if they need a home loan or any other loan, they may face problems. Banks or NBFCs ask for income tax returns from the applicant when they receive a loan application.
