What Precautions are Required While Filing an ITR?

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If you are new to filing ITR or have little knowledge of its rules, there may be chances of mistakes or things that might get overlooked during the filing process. Let’s know about the precautions you must take while filing ITR to avoid trouble with the income tax department later in this post.

As the deadline to file ITR approaches, many people are gearing up to file their tax returns. But it often happens that taxpayers are not cautious enough or get confused during the filing process leading to mistakes such as omitting crucial details, including them in the wrong section, etc.

Below are some precautions that can save you from committing any major mistake.

File Your Return Early

The foremost thing is not to delay filing the income tax return to the last moment. There are greater chances of mistakes when you haste. You can keep adding details to your ITR form and save the draft over a window of a few days before final submission. Filing your return early gives you sufficient time to fill out the details, double-check them and even rectify your errors through a revised ITR.

Keep the Important Documents Handy While Filing ITR

You must always have your PAN card, bank details, investment documents, passbooks, form 16, form 26AS, and other relevant documents while filling the ITR form. It helps you verify all the details and lowers your chances of entering incorrect information in your returns.

Choose the Correct Form

Different forms are available to file the ITR, depending upon whether you are salaried or self-employed, income level, etc. As per your applicability, you must pick the correct form to file the ITR. If you submit your ITR using the wrong form, your return will be categorised as defective, and you may be asked to submit a revised return using the correct form.

Carefully Study the 26AS

26AS, the consolidated tax statement includes details of tax deducted at source (TDS), tax collected at source (TCS), and tax paid. You must study all the inclusions and check for any possible discrepancies. In case of any errors, you can contact the authorities to get them rectified.

Be Cautious with Deductions

Be careful while declaring investments and other expenditures to claim a deduction on the taxable income. Each expenditure must be mentioned in the relevant sections (80C, 80D, etc.) only to avoid any need for rectification later.

Do Not Delay the Verification

After the ITR form is submitted, the process is not considered complete without successful verification. You can either e-verify or choose to physically send the signed ITR-V to the income tax department, CPC, Bengaluru. The verification is an acknowledgement of filing the return, without which it is considered invalid. Hence, it must not be delayed once the ITR form has been submitted.