ITR Filing: Here's how you can file your income tax this year

The deadline for income tax return filing has been extended till August 31 this year, after individuals faced issues with the various changes in the filing format and forms this year. Individuals are to file for the financial year (FY) 2018-19 or the assessment year (AY) 2019-2020. The Central Board of Direct Taxes said taxpayers faced hurdles in the issuance of Form 16, changes in the forms, tax-filing utilities and technical glitches with return forms, following which the deadline was extended.

By filing your returns on time, you are eligible for certain benefits such as carry forward losses and avoiding late filing fees, which is up to Rs 10,000.

The task may seem tedious and overwhelming for the first time filers as one looks for the proper ITR form and the tax slab they fit into.

For the assessment year 2019-20, there are currently seven kinds of forms available for filing your tax return. ITR 1-3 can be used by individuals, while ITR 4-7 are used by corporates, businesses or associations. In case you are unsure as to which form to use, take help from your tax adviser or financial adviser.

Once you are done paying all the taxes that were due, and you think you are eligible for any refund from the income tax department, you can start filing your ITR form. The form can be downloaded from the e-filing website in Excel or Java utility. In case you are eligible for ITR-1 and ITR-4, then the form can be filed online by choosing the option 'prepare and submit online,' without downloading any software.

Once you file the returns, the verification process starts. There are six ways to do the verification, which include five electronic methods and one physical verification. The tax department allows you 120 days to verify it. In case you miss out on verifying the ITR, it will be deemed as NOT to have filed an ITR. If you miss the 120-day deadline, then you can file a request to your assessing officer.

If you are opting for the electronic verification, you are not required to send any physical documents by post to the IT department. However, if you wish to do it physically, you have to send a duly signed copy of

Once you are done verifying your ITR form via electronic ways, you will immediately receive the confirmation from the tax department regarding the same. If you have sent the verification document via post, the tax department will send you an email confirming that the ITR-V has been received to your registered email address.

Once the return verification is approved, the income tax department will start the process of verifying the returns filed by you as per the Income Tax Act and also crosscheck the other details filled by you. Once the process is complete, the IT department sends a confirmation email to you communicating the same. In case any discrepancies are observed, the tax department might ask you to explain or correct the mistakes.