Nil ITR filing: Should you file a Nil Income Tax Return if earning less than Rs 2.5 lakh?
Nil ITR Filing for AY 2023-24: While the Income Tax rules do not mandate individuals to file Income Tax Return (ITR) if their income is less than the basic exemption limit of Rs 2.5 lakh (Rs 3 lakh in the case of senior citizens for AY 2023-24), experts say you should file a Nil ITR even when your income is below the taxable threshold as there are several benefits of doing so.
“Section 139(1) of the Income Tax Act does not mandate individuals with income not exceeding the basic exemption limit of Rs. 2.5 lakhs (Rs 3,00,000 or Rs. 5,00,000 as applicable in case of senior citizens and super senior citizens respectively) to file their tax return,” says Dr Suresh Surana, Founder of RSM India, a tax consultancy firm.
However, taxpayers are required to file ITR if they have undertaken the following transactions during the relevant financial year.
According to Dr Surana, taxpayers not fulfilling the above-mentioned conditions may voluntarily furnish tax returns even if the same constitutes a Nil return i.e. ITR filed when income is less than the basic exemption limit.
Also Read: Why is the number of ITRs filed increasing? FM Nirmala Sitharaman shares reasons
“Even if an individual has no income or their total income is below the taxable threshold, they may still need to file a Nil Income Tax Return (ITR) in certain circumstances,” says Saakar S Yadav, Director and Founder of myITreturn.com.
There are several benefits of filing a Nil ITR when your income is less than the tax exemption limit, according to experts.
According to Yadav, one should file a Nil ITR in the following situations:
According to the Finance Ministry, the number of taxpayers filing zero-tax ITR or Nil ITR has increased from 2.9 crore in FY 2019-20 to 5.16
Read more on financialexpress.com
