The income tax return is a form where taxpayers state their tax liability and deductions according to the form’s category and demand. This form is available in ranges, ITR-1 to ITR-7.
When an individual fills the respective form and submits it to the IT Department, she/he has filed an income tax return. But how? Let us tell you about this process.
An income tax return can be filed both via online and offline methods. We will start with the online IT return filing method first.
Step-by-step process to file an IT return online
- Step-1- Visit Income Tax Department’s official portal.
- Step-2- Register with PAN, which is your user ID. Registered users can click on ‘Login Here.’
- Step-3- Navigate to e-file and click on ‘Income Tax Return.’
- Step-4- From the drop-down menu, choose the ITR form number and AY. You have to select “Original/Revised Return’ as the filing type, and ‘Prepare and Submit Online’ as the submission mode.
- Step-5- Click on ‘Continue.’
- Step-6- Fill in the essential details demanded in that ITR form.
- Step-7- Calculate the payable tax.
- Step-8- From the ‘Taxes Paid and Verification’ tab, select the relevant option.
- Step-9- Next, select ‘Preview and Submit.’
- Step-10- Complete the verification process either by Aadhaar OTP, electronic verification code (EVC) through details of bank account, bank ATM, details of Demat account, or by dispatching a filled ITR-5 (either speed post or normal) to the IT Department.
- Step-11- For final submission, type OTP/EVC sent to your registered mobile number within its validity period and follow such instructions to submit.
If you are not comfortable with filing IT returns online, you can easily take the old school/conventional method, i.e., the offline process.
Step-by-step process to file IT returns offline
The process of how to file ITR step-by-step involves an individual having to download the applicable form, fill in the mandatory details offline and save and upload the newly generated XML file.
However, this method requires downloading one of the following ITR utilities –
- Excel Utility
- Java Utility
Follow these steps mentioned below to file an income tax return offline.
- Step-1- Visit the official e-filing portal.
- Step-2- Download the relevant ITR utility under ‘Download ˃ IT Return Preparation Software.’
- Step-3- Extract the utility ZIP file that you have downloaded.
- Step-4- Open that particular utility file.
- Step-5- Provide the necessary details in the IT returns form.
- Step-6- Confirm all the tabs and compute the tax.
- Step-7- Create and save the XML file.
- Step-8- Login to the e-filing portal by providing PAN and password. Next, enter the Captcha code.
- Step-9- Select e-file.
- Step-10- Select the ‘Income Tax Return’ link.
- Step-11- Subsequently, provide details like Assessment Year, ITR form number. Next, set the filing type as ‘Original/Revised’ form as well as the ‘Submission Mode’ to XML. In this stage, the PAN will be auto-uploaded.
- Step-12- To confirm the ITR, select any of the options like ‘Aadhaar OTP,’ ‘EVC Through Bank Account Details,’ ‘Demat Account Details,’ or ‘Digital Signature Certificate’ that is present.
- Step-13- Select ‘Continue.’
- Step-14- Attach the ITR XML file.
Step-15- Depending on the selected verification option, you have to attach/provide the required file. To be precise,
- If you choose DSC as a verification option, you have to provide the signature file created from the DSC utility.
- If you select Aadhaar one-time password (OTP) as a verification option, you must provide the OTP sent to your UIDAI-registered mobile number.
- If you choose ‘EVC Through a Bank Account,’ ‘Bank ATM,’ or ‘Demat Account’ as a verification option, you have to provide an EVC number sent to your linked mobile number with the bank or Demat account.
- If you choose any other verification option, the ITR submission process will get completed; however, the procedure will not commence until the verification is complete. Thus, this is how you can submit an income tax return.
Individuals need to e-verify the submitted ITR by using the My Account ˃e-verify option. The document has to be sent to the IT Department (CPC, Bengaluru) and the individual’s signature on it.
Step-16- Click on ‘Submit’ ITR.