Skip to main content

Mistakes in your Tax Return

 

Are there mistakes in your tax return?

 

If you forgot to include some income or haven't declared certain assets, you may get a notice. Here's how you can avoid getting one

Are you among the more than two crore taxpayers who filed their returns before 31 July? These taxpayers can rest easy because they filed by the due date. However, the dread of the taxman does not end here. It is common for taxpayers to make errors or deliberately conceal income in their returns, which could lead to notices from the tax department. Nudged by the government to enhance revenue collections, the tax authorities are on an overdrive to catch tax evaders. Not only are financial transactions being tracked, but loopholes that allowed tax evasion are also being plugged. In October 2013, the Central Board of Direct Taxes issued a new rule for claiming HRA exemption. Salaried taxpayers claiming HRA exemption were asked to report their landlord's PAN if the total rent in a year exceeded Rs 1 lakh. Earlier, if the total rent paid was less than Rs 15,000 a month, there was no need to submit the landlord's PAN details.

 

Interest income

 The declaration of interest income is the most common mistake taxpayers make. The interest earned on bank fixed deposits, recurring deposits and infrastructure bonds is fully taxable but many taxpayers skip mentioning it in their tax return. Some think the newly introduced exemption for bank interest makes this income tax-free. But the exemption under Section 80TTA is only for the interest on your savings bank balance. Interest from other sources, including 5-year tax saving bank FDs, is fully taxable.

The other big fallacy is the TDS. Banks deduct 10% TDS if the interest exceeds `10,000 in a year. If the income is below `10,000 and TDS has not been deducted, you have to add the interest to your total taxable income and accordingly pay tax. Even if TDS has been deducted, it does not mean that your tax liability is taken care of. If you are in the 20-30% tax bracket, you are required to pay more tax on the income. Don't think you can get away by concealing this income. Failure to report this is tantamount to concealment of income. The tax authorities can easily detect it as the bank has already deducted the TDS and reported the same along with your PAN details. Also, in case of recurring deposits, no TDS is deducted, irrespective of the quantum of the interest, but the interest income is still fully taxable. Similarly, the interest earned on NSCs and infrastructure bonds is taxable.

Some taxpayers feel safe from the prying eyes of the taxman if they put money in co-operative banks. Till now, interest from fixed deposits in cooperative banks was exempt from TDS. However, there is a rude shock waiting for such taxpayers this year. The Karnataka Income Tax Tribunal recently ruled that if the interest exceeded `10,000 in a year, it must be subjected to TDS. Following this, several cooperative banks have received notices from the IT department asking them to deduct tax for the year 2013-14.

Even the interest from tax-free instruments, such as the PPF and tax-free bonds, has to be reported in your return. However, this is not a serious transgression and the taxman won't come after you.

Clubbing income of minor child, spouse Your earning is not the only income you need to declare. If you invested in the name of your minor child or gave money to your spouse for investing, the income from such investments will also be treated as your income. Any income of a minor child (below 18 years) is clubbed with the income of the parent who earns more. There is a tiny deduction of `1,500 per child for up to two children in a year. Similarly, if you have invested in your spouse's name, the income will be treated as your income and taxed at the applicable rate. If you bought a house in your wife's name and rented it out, the rent will be treated as your income, not hers, even if the house is transferred to the wife as gift. The entire income would have to be included in the tax working of the original holder of the asset.

In rare cases, where the spouse is given a remuneration for working in the taxpayer's business, the money given to the spouse will not get clubbed. For instance, if your chartered accountant wife maintains the accounts of your business and you pay her a remuneration which she invests, the income will not be clubbed. But she should have the required qualifications to do the work she is being paid for. The onus is squarely on the taxpayer. You should be able to prove that your spouse is hired in a professional capacity, not otherwise.

Not filing tax return

This is another common mistake. Many taxpayers believe that since their salary is subject to TDS, they don't have to file returns. That's not true. If your income exceeds `2 lakh, you have to file your return. Even if the tax liability is reduced to zero after deduction under Section 80C, the return has to be filed. The government has identified the category of non-filers as a key one for tapping unpaid taxes. Last year, the Income Tax Department sent 12 lakh notices for non-filing of taxes.

Non-filers are not the only ones who may get such a notice. Many taxpayers file returns online but don't complete the process. For example, a taxpayer must submit the ITR V to the Centralised Processing Centre in Bangalore within 120 days of uploading his return. "Until you submit the IT return to the authorities physically and get the acknowledgment of receipt, the return is treated as invalid.

Not spending enough The taxman also gets suspicious if you are investing too much or withdraw investing too much or withdrawing too little. A Mumbai-based individual was asked to explain how she was sustaining herself because her entire salary was flowing into investments. She flowing into investments. She was using the cash allowances received from her employer for her day-to-day needs and investing the entire salary that came by cheque. The tax officer will estimate the household expenditure you are likely to incur based on your earning capacity, family size, lifestyle and number of earning members. If your bank statement does not show commensurate withdrawals for expenses, the question will arise how you are surviving on so lit how you are surviving on so little. The taxman assumes that you have undeclared sources of income. If allowances are being used for day-to-day expenses, it means the taxpayer submitted bogus receipts to claim those allowances. If you stay in your parents' house and claim HRA exemption, your bank statement should be able to validate the payment of rent.

Not filing wealth tax return Apart from income tax, you may also be liable to pay wealth tax. Most people are blissfully unaware that if they own certain assets, including jewellery, gold or silver bullion, vacant house, non-agricultural land, costly watches, luxury cars and paintings, they have to shell out wealth tax. If the aggregate value of these assets exceeds `30 lakh, they have to pay 1% of the amount by which it exceeds `30 lakh. This also includes cash worth over `50,000. "One house is exempt from wealth tax. Also, if you have rented out your second home for more than 300 days in a year, it will also be exempt," says Kumar. If the property is used to conduct business, then it is not included for computation of wealth tax. Any loan outstanding against the house will also be subtracted from the market value of the house. However, the valuation of these items is a tedious process. Only government approved valuers can be approached in this regard. Perhaps that is why tax authorities are relatively soft on implementing wealth tax provisions wealth tax accounts for less than 0.25% of the total direct taxes collected. This doesn't mean the taxman will not go after you for not paying it. There is a stiff penalty for evading wealth tax. Incorrect declaration can invite a fine of up to 500% of the evaded tax. One can also be jailed for up to seven years if the tax due is over Rs 1 lakh.

Reversal of Section 80C benefit For salaried employees in the organised sector, the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) is a great way to save for retirement, but for some, it can also be the reason for a tax notice. Many people withdraw their PF when they change jobs. The monthly contribution to the EPF is eligible for deduction under Section 80C. If the balance is withdrawn within five years of joining the organisation, the entire deduction claimed in previous years will be reversed. Similarly, if you junk a life insurance policy within two years of buying, the tax benefits claimed under Section 80C will be reversed. The same holds true if you sell a house within five years. If you availed of tax benefits on the loan, all the deductions claimed in the previous years, including on principal repayment and payment of stamp duty along with registration fees, will be added to the taxable income of the year. Since the onus of reversing the benefit and paying the tax for the previous years is on the taxpayer, many people will conveniently skip mentioning it in their tax return. These issues are not likely to be picked up by the taxman in isolation. But in case your return is picked up for scrutiny, the investigating officer may come across these facts.

Items received as gifts Diamonds are a girl's best friend, but if you gift a solitaire diamond ring worth `1 lakh to your friend, she x, might end up paying a huge tax on it. Gifts from unrelated people are taxable if the annual value exceeds `50,000. The gifts received from blood relatives or on specific occasions like marriage or under inheritance or by will are not taxable. The specific assets for which gift tax is applicable include cash, immovable property, such as land and buildings, and movable property, including financial assets (shares, fixed deposits), jewellery and bullion, art and antiques. Since such instances of gifting occur regularly in our lives, it is a must that one is aware of the tax implications. Even when you are the one who is gifting money, you may come under the scanner if the recipient of the gift happens to come under scrutiny.

Our intention is not to alarm our readers. If you have missed some income in your tax return or made a mistake in calculating your tax liability, we suggest you file a revised return. You might have to shell out a small amount in tax, but you will be able to sleep easy. You can revise your return as many times as you want. However, a revised return can be filed only if you filed the original return before the 31 July deadline. Now, here's one more reason to file your tax return on time.

For further information contact Prajna Capital on 94 8300 8300 by leaving a missed call

Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300

Leave your comment with mail ID and we will answer them

OR

You can write back to us at

PrajnaCapital [at] Gmail [dot] Com

---------------------------------------------

Invest Mutual Funds Online

Invest Any Mutual Fund Online

Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs

Download Mutual Any Fund Application Forms

---------------------------------------------

Best Performing Mutual Funds

    1. Largecap Funds Invest Online
      1. DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund
      2. ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund
      3. Franklin India Bluechip
      4. ICICI Prudential Top 100 Fund

B. Large and Midcap Funds Invest Online

      1. ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan
      2. HDFC Top 200 Fund
      3. UTI Dividend Yield Fund
      4. Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund
      5. Franklin India Prima

C. Mid and SmallCap Funds Invest Online

      1. Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund
      2. DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund
      3. Sundaram Select Midcap
      4. IDFC Premier Equity Fund
      5. Birla Sun Life Dividend Yield Plus
      6. SBI Emerging Businesses Fund
      7. HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund
      8. ICICI Prudential Discovery Fund

D. Small and MicroCap Funds Invest Online

      1. DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund
      2. Franklin India Smaller Companies

E. Sector Funds Invest Online

      1. Reliance Banking Fund
      2. Reliance Banking Fund
      3. ICICI Prudential Banking and Financial Services Fund

F. Tax Saver Mutual Funds Invest Online

1. ICICI Prudential Tax Plan

2. HDFC Taxsaver

      1. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund
      2. Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund

G. Gold Mutual Funds Invest Online

      1. Relaince Gold Savings Fund
      2. ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund
      3. HDFC Gold Fund
      4. Birla Sun Life Gold

H. International funds Invest Online

1. Birla Sun Life International Equity Plan A

2. DSP BlackRock US Flexible Equity

3. FT India Feeder Franklin US Opportunities

4. ICICI Prudential US Bluechip Equity

5. Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares NASDAQ-100 ETF

Popular posts from this blog

What is Electronic Clearing Service (ECS)?

  As the name suggests, it's an electronic process through which money can be transferred from one bank account to another. According to RBI, this mode is usually used for regular payments and receipts, like distribution of dividend, interest, salary, pension etc. This mode is also used for collection of bills for telephone, electricity, water, various types of taxes, payment of EMIs , investments in mutual funds , payment of insurance premium etc. There are two types of ECS , like most other banking transactions, ECS credit and ECS debit. An ECS credit is used by a bank account holder , usually a large company or an institution for services like payment of dividend, in terest, salary, pension etc. If your mutual fund pays you dividend to your bank account, of all probability it is being paid through ECS credit.ECS debit, on the other hand, is used when a company or an institution is getting money from a large number of people. For example if you are investing in a mutual fund sc...

WEALTH TAX

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online Buy Gold Mutual Funds Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300 WEALTH TAX   WHAT CONSTITUTES WEALTH? For wealth tax purposes, "wealth" means property , urban land, car, jewellery , yacht, boat, aircraft and cash in hand in excess of Rs 50,000. CAUTION POINT | Do not think you will have an easy escape from wealth tax by transferring your `wealth' without consideration to your spouse or minor child. Such assets will also be considered as your wealth. HOW TO DETERMINE YOUR TAXABLE WEALTH Add the taxable value of the above assets (computed as per the detailed rules for valuation) owned by you as on March 31 (for FY 2014-15, it will be March 31, 2015). In case you sold your car during the year, it will not be taxable wealth. Deduct loans if any obtained by you to acquire any of the taxable assets from the value of gross tax out for at least 300 days in a...

Equity Savings Fund

Invest Equity Savings Fund Online   The best part about these funds is that they are subject to equity fund taxation and at the same time are structured like MIP like funds . This new category, equity savings funds , offer a little of everything. They allocate money to equities & equity related instruments, and fixed income. They aim to generate returns by diversification. Such funds invest in fixed income and arbitrage to protect the investors from short term volatility and equity for capital gains. The best part of these funds is that they are subject to equity fund taxation and at the same time are structured like MIP funds.   MIP funds however are subject to debt fund taxation. Investors Equity savings funds are suitable for the following: First time investors who seek partial exposure to equity with less volatility and greater stability Investors seeking moderate capital appreciation with relatively lower risk Those wh...

How to Pick Top Performing Mutual Fund Schemes

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online Buy Gold Mutual Funds Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300   How to Pick Performing Schemes  Funds that continue to stay in the top grade of performance over longer periods are the ones to bet on, advise investment experts   The mutual fund performance charts of the past few months make for an impressive reading. Funds across all categories boast of stellar returns. Sample this: The mid and small cap category has averaged 77 percent return over the past 12 months, with the best fund delivering a staggering 120 percent. The tax-saving funds also average an impressive 51 percent, including a fund which has soared 92 percent. Many of the table-toppers are funds of proven quality and track record. However, there are also schemes that are not that well-known. Some of these have rarely made it to the performance charts in the past, yet, of late, they bo...

8% Government of India Bonds quick guide

For those seeking comfort in safety of returns, the Government of India issued 8% savings bond once again comes to the fore. First launched in 2003, these bonds are issued by the government with a maturity of 6 years. The bonds are available at all times with specified distributors through whom you can apply to invest in them. Here is a quick guide to what the bond offers and its features to ascertain to check for suitability. What are Government of India bonds Government of India bonds are like any other government bonds with specified rate of interest. The rate is fixed at 8% per annum paid half yearly, or you can opt for cumulative payment of interest at the end of the tenure. You can buy these bonds from State Bank of India and its associates, other nationalized banks and some private sector banks such as HDFC Bank Ltd and ICICI Bank Ltd, among others. The bonds can be bought from the offices of Stock Holding Corporation of India as well. They are available in physical form onl...
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds Download Any Applications
Transact Mutual Funds Online Invest Online
Buy Gold Mutual Funds Invest Now