All About Filing ITR1

The Income Tax Department has categorised taxpayers into many groups based on income sources to simplify tax compliance. Based on this categorisation, the Department has notified various Income-tax Return Forms (ITR 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7) that one has to file for declaring income and paying tax. In this article, we’ll tell you who should you file ITR 1?

What is ITR1?

ITR 1 form also called Sahaj is the income tax return form that is to be filed by salaried individuals who are a Resident Indian.

Eligibility to File ITR1

ITR 1 is to be filed by Individuals receiving income up to ₹50 lakhs only from the following sources:

• Income from salary
• Income from one house property (excluding cases where loss is brought forward from previous years)
• Income from other sources (excluding winning from the lottery and income from racehorses) which includes:

• Interest from Savings Accounts
• Interest from Deposits (Bank / Post Office / Cooperative Society)
• Interest from Income Tax Refund
• Interest received on Enhanced Compensation
• Any other Interest Income
• Family Pension
• In the case of clubbed Income Tax Returns, where a spouse or a minor is included, this can be done only if their income is limited to the above specifications.

Who cannot file ITR1?

For the below-mentioned incomes, ITR other than ITR1 needs to be filed.

• An individual with an income above ₹ 50 lakhs.
• Deferred income tax on ESOP received from an eligible start-up.
• Residents not ordinarily resident (RNOR) and non-residents.
• An individual who is either a company director or has held any unlisted equity shares at any time during the financial year.
• Individuals who have earned income from more than one house property
• Agricultural income exceeding ₹ 5,000
• Income from Business and Profession
• A Resident that has income from assets (including financial interest in any entity) outside India or is a signing authority in any account located outside India
• Individuals claiming relief under the income tax act for foreign tax paid or double taxation relief under section 90/90A/91
• Taxable capital gains (Short-term and Long-term)
• Income from Lottery, racehorses, legal gambling, etc.

Structure of ITR1 Form

ITR-1 Sahaj Form is made up of the following sections:

• Part A: Personal and identifiable details of the taxpayer, such as name, PAN, and address
• Part B: Total income for the financial year
• Part C: Details of all deductions and total taxable income
• Part D: Details of tax calculations and status
• Schedule IT: Information regarding payments made towards self-assessed tax and advance tax paid.
• Schedule-TDS1: TDS/TCS details
• Verification.

Documents required for filing ITR1

You should keep the below documents handy while filing your Income-tax Return Sahaj (ITR1)

• Form 16: If a taxpayer was employed with multiple employers in the previous year, he/she will need to keep all the Form 16 that he/she would have received.
• Form 16A: If the taxpayer has received any interest income or pension from banks or other institutions, they would have also issued the tax certificate or Form 16A. This will prove as a helpful document while filing tax returns.
• Form 26AS: This form can be downloaded from the TRACES website. It contains comprehensive information regarding the amount of tax deducted and deposited on the taxpayer’s behalf by all the deductors in a particular financial year. One should verify that the TDS mentioned in Form 16/Form 16 A matches the amount of TDS reflected in Part A of Form 26AS.
• Bank Statements or Passbooks: These are needed to check and provide complete details of the interest earned on savings accounts and time deposits like fixed, recurring, etc. The total interest amount should be reflected under the “Income from Other Sources” category, irrespective of the TDS.
• Supporting Documents for Investments or Exemptions: If any investments have been made post submission of proofs to the employer but before the end of the financial year or if the taxpayer was unable to submit proof of certain exemptions or deductions (such as HRA allowance or Section 80C or 80D deductions) on time.
• PAN Card

Precautions to be taken while filing ITR1

To ensure a smooth and hassle-free income tax return (ITR) filing process, there are certain steps that you should follow. These steps are as follows:

• Obtain the Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Form 26AS to check the actual TDS/TCS/tax paid. In case of any discrepancies, reconcile them with the relevant parties.
• Verify that all your details, like PAN, permanent address, contact details, bank account details, etc. are correct in the pre-filled data.
• Compile and carefully study all the relevant documents like bank statements/passbooks, interest certificates, receipts for claiming exemptions or deductions, Form 16, Form 26AS, investment proofs, etc.
• Provide all the necessary details in the return form, such as total income, deductions (if any), interest (if any), taxes paid/collected (if any), etc. No documents are to be attached along with ITR-1.
• Identify the correct return form based on your income sources and other factors, ranging from ITR-1 to ITR-7.
• File your return of income on or before the due date. Delays in filing returns can lead to late filing fees, losses not being carried forward, and deductions and exemptions not being available.
• Once you have e-filed your return, it is important to e-verify it to ensure it has been successfully submitted. If you prefer manual verification, you can send a signed physical copy of the ITR-V Acknowledgement (via speed post) to the Centralized Processing Center, Income Tax Department in Bengaluru, Karnataka, within the appropriate timelines. By doing so, you can confirm that your return has been received and is being processed by the relevant authorities.

Note: None of the documents will be uploaded or attached online while filing the Income tax Return.

How to File ITR1

Given below is the step-by-step process to fill and submit your ITR-1 Sahaj Form online:

1. Visit the Income Tax Department website
2. Register if you are a new user or log in if you already have an account.
3. Go to the ‘e-File’ drop-down menu and choose the ‘Income Tax Return’
4. Select the assessment year and submission mode
5. To file a fresh ITR, click on ‘Start New Filing’
6. Select your applicable status, i.e., whether you are an individual/HUF/others, and click on ‘Continue’.
7. Choose ITR-1 Form to proceed further.
8. Select the reason for which you are filing the ITR.
9. Based on the information available with the Income Tax Department, you will get your pre-filled return. To proceed further, validate the details in each section such as your personal information, gross total income, total deductions, taxes paid, and total tax liability.
10. Fill in details that were not filled in earlier.
11. Confirm your ITR-1 summary details.
12. Make the payment of the required tax, if any.
13. Preview and submit your ITR.
14. After the preview and submission of the ITR, the I-T Department sends an ITR acknowledgement after submitting the form. If you choose to submit your returns via electronic or online mode, the penalty Department will send the acknowledgement to the registered email id. You can download the acknowledgement from the Income tax Website if you do not receive it by email.

How to download Form ITR 1 & its acknowledgement online

Step 1: Visit the Income Tax Department website and click on “Downloads.”

Step 2: Click on “Income Tax Returns & Forms”

Step 3: Choose your Assessment Year and click on the download.

Due date of filing ITR1

For a person whose Books of Account are not required to be audited is 31st July. If the Books of Accounts are subject to audit, the due date is 31st October.

Penalty for Late Filing of ITR1

Under Section 234F of the Income-tax Act, 1961, an individual would have to pay a penalty of up to ₹10,000 for late filing income tax return after the due dates as follows:

• A penalty of ₹5000 will be applicable for returns filed after the due date of 31st July but before 31st December of the relevant assessment year.
• If an income tax return is filed after 31st December, a penalty of ₹10,000 will apply.
• For assesses with a taxable income of up to ₹500,000, a reduced penalty of ₹1000 will be applicable.

Final Word

The ITR-1 is thus the simplest form that you will find in terms of filing the income tax return. Because of its simplicity, the form is named Sahaj form, ‘Sahaj’ meaning ‘Simple’. The form is filed exclusively by a single taxpayer. An individual becomes eligible for filing ITR-1 if the individual is a salaried employee and not a businessman or an entrepreneur and comes within the threshold income tax limit.

Frequently Asked Questions