Did You Miss August 31 Deadline For ITR Filing 2019? Here's What You Can Do

Did you miss the August 31 deadline for filing income tax return (ITR) for the Assessment Year 2019-20? Relax! You do not need to feel jittery as there is still an option to file a belated ITR with a penalty fee ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000. Notably, there was no penalty for filing belated ITR until AY 2018. From 2019 onwards, those individuals filing return after the due dates need to pay a late fee under section 139(1) of the Income Tax Act, newly furnished by the government. The amount of fine payable by the taxpayers for a late return varies based on their earning and the degree of delay.

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Key Points You Need To Keep In Your Mind Before Filing A Late ITR Return:

• According to incometaxindia.gov.in, any individual who has not filed ITR within the due date can furnish the return of their income - at any time before the end of the relevant assessment year or before completion of the assessment, whichever is earlier.
  
  
• A late fee under section 234F of the Income Tax Act will be levied for a belated return.
  
  
• As per the Income Tax rules a fine of Rs 5,000 is applicable if an individual files ITR after due date but before December 31.
  
  
• The penalty increases to Rs 10,000 if the taxpayers file the return next year between January 1 and March 31.
  
  
• Those who have an annual income of Rs 5 lakh, are required to pay Rs 1,000 for filing ITR after the due date.

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 The categories of individual taxpayers are as follows -

• Individuals (below the age of 60 years) which includes residents as well as non-residents.
  
  
• Resident senior citizens (60 years and above but below 80 years of age).
  
  
• Resident super senior citizens (above 80 years of age).

Individuals having an annual income of up to Rs 2.5 lakh do not need to file income tax returns. For senior citizens (individuals between 60 years and 80 years of age), the limit is Rs 3 lakh while for very senior citizens (aged above 80 years), the limit is Rs 5 lakh, according to the official website of the IT-Dept. For those unserved, there are different ITR forms for different categories of taxpayers. Individuals need to use their respective forms namely ITR 1, ITR 2, ITR 3, ITR 4, ITR 5, ITR 6 and ITR 7.

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Over 5.65 crore income tax returns were filed by taxpayers for the Assessment Year 2019-20 as the deadline ended on August 31, showing a 4 per cent rise in ITR filing over the previous year, according to data shared by the tax department. Out of the 5.65 crore ITRs filed so far, 3.61 crore have been verified.

Nearly 50 lakh people filed their tax returns online on August 31, the last date for ITR filing, data showed. From August 27 to 31, 1,47,82,095 people filed online income tax returns, an increase of 42 per cent as compared to the same period of AY 2018-19.