Did you file your income tax return?
NEW DELHI : As the tax filing season kicks off again, many individuals are questioning whether they need to file their income tax return (ITR) for financial year 2024 (FY24). This uncertainty often arises because employers have already deducted tax on salaries or banks have deducted tax at source (TDS) on interest or pensions. Others may believe their income is too low to require filing.
However, these assumptions need re-evaluation. Both resident and non-resident individuals must file an ITR in India if their total income in a fiscal year exceeds the basic exemption limit. "Total Income" refers to taxable income before applying tax exemptions on capital gains and various deductions for insurance, investments, home loans, and contributions to the National Pension Scheme (NPS).
For FY24, the basic exemption limit is ₹2.5 lakh under the old tax regime, ₹3 lakh for resident senior citizens, and ₹5 lakh for resident super senior citizens. Under the new regime, the exemption limit is ₹3 lakh, regardless of age. Individual taxpayers are also required to file an ITR in a year they: Additionally, a resident individual, other than not ordinarily resident, must file an ITR if they hold any foreign assets, have signing authority in any foreign account, or are beneficiaries of any foreign assets.
Even if none of the above conditions apply, it is advisable to file an ITR for several reasons: There have been numerous instances where non-resident Indians (NRIs) received notices from income tax authorities for interest earned on non-resident external (NRE) account deposits in India. Although this interest is exempt, authorities have issued notices due to the lack of required data to determine the taxability of such interest. Regular
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