Filing income tax returns in a hurry to meet 5 Aug deadline? Don’t make these mistakes

Procrastinators have a reason to cheer. You now get a little more time to file your income tax returns this year as the income tax department has extended the returns filing deadline to 5 August. The earlier date was 31 July. If you haven’t filed your returns yet, do it before the next deadline expires. Here are a few common mistakes that you should avoid while filing returns online: Choosing wrong form: This is a the dumbest mistake anyone can make. Experts say many make this silly mistake. [caption id=“attachment_1615035” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The problem is there are seven forms to choose from. For instance, the salaried can use both ITR1 and ITR2, but ITR1 only takes into account income from one house property; ITR2 includes income from more than one house property. Keep in mind, if you choose the wrong form, the IT department will consider that you have not filed your returns. Getting basic details wrong: People have ended up entering the wrong PAN and TAN numbers in their forms. You should double check all the details on your ITR forms, especially numbers and spelling. Filling incorrect information is classic mistake that people make. So while filing your returns, keep distractions to the minimum and actually focus on the task at hand. Remember to cross-verify before filing the return, else it may result in credit of tax refund not being allowed, in case you qualify for one. Not listing all sources of income: Many taxpayers, especially the salaried individuals think that Form 16 is the key document for filing returns. And, that’s all the information you need. In that case, you are ignoring the interest you earn on your savings and other investments, details of which are not mentioned in Form 16. For instance, many tax payers think that interest income from savings and fixed deposit accounts is not taxable or that the tax has already been deducted by the bank. Banks do deduct TDS on fixed deposits, but that does not mean you don’t mention the income in the ITR form. Failure to mention all sources of income could get you into trouble with the IT department. To make your life easier, use Form 26 AS. It will help you understand all your sources of income on which you have paid tax, you can also look at Form 26AS which can be downloaded from incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in. Don’t forget to mention the details of the gift your child might have received and investment you might have made on her name. Also if your income is more than Rs 50 lakh a year, don’t forget to list your assets such as land, building, cash in hand, jewellery and corresponding liabilities. Filing multiple ITR forms for multiple Form 16s: If you have changed jobs, you will have multiple Form 16s. One mistake many make is filing separate ITRs for each Form 16, instead of showing all Form 16s in a single return. Also make sure you submit all the relevant Form 16s. If your past employer has deducted tax too, there’s a good possibility you might qualify for a refund Not sending the ITR-V submission: Simply filing your returns online doesn’t mean the deed is done. Ensure that you send a physical copy of the ITR-V acknowledgement which the IT department sends you to their CPC Banglore office within 120 days. Ensure, that you sign the copy in blue ink, and send the copy via registered post. Do not use a courier. Alternately, you can also e-verify, which means you need not send the ITR-V to Bangalore. Now that you’ve got a few extra days to sort your returns filing chore, make the most of it. But make sure you don’t make these dumb mistakes while filing in the hurry to not miss the extended deadline. Check out how to file income tax returns in 10 steps here .