Filing ITR online? Here's a quick step-by-step guide

By now most of us would have got Form 16 from our employers. Not filing your income tax return (ITR) on time will cost you dear this year as there's a penalty of Rs 5,000 for returns filed after the deadline. The deadline to file ITR for FY 2017-18 has been extended by a month to August 31, 2018. If the delay is beyond 31 December, you will be fined Rs 10,000. So, if you have all the required documents handy, calculated your tax liability and know the deductions you're eligible for, here are 12 procedural steps to file your ITR.

1. If you are a first-time return filer, register yourself on the income tax department’s official e-filing portal www. incometaxindiaefiling. gov.in. Your permanent account number (PAN) will act as your user ID.

2. Keep key documents handy, including the Form 16, Form 26AS (tax credit statement), bank statements, copy of returns fi led last year, capital gains statement from mutual funds and brokers.


3. Go to the ‘Downloads’ tab to download the ITR preparation software (JAVA or Excel utility) for the relevant assessment year.

4. If tax is due, make the payment immediately and enter the details in appropriate schedule. Repeat above step so that tax payable turns ‘zero’.

5. Enter all data and click on ‘Calculate’ to compute the tax and interest liability and final figure of refund or tax payable.

6. Prepare the return using the downloaded software application; pre-populate the personal details and tax payments/TDS by clicking on the ‘pre-fill’ button. Compare with the information you have to ensure that nothing is left out.

7. Generate and save the ITR data in XML format.

8. Login to the e-filing website, go to ‘e-file’ and click on ‘Upload Return’.

9. Select the relevant ITR, Assessment Year and XML file saved.

10. In case of physical verifi cation, you will have to send the printed and signed ITR-V form to the I-T department’s CPC in Bengaluru by post within 120 days of e-filing your return; an acknowledgement from the department confirming receipt will complete the process.

11. vIf you have not used DSC, ITR-V (verification form) will have to be downloaded; you can also choose to generate electronic verifi cation code (EVC) through your bank ATM/netbanking or use Aadhaar-based OTP for e-verification.

12. Upload Digital Signature Certifi cate (DSC), if you have obtained one and it is registered with the portal, and click on ‘Submit’ button. In this case, your process will now be considered complete.