ITR query

nRiTeCh

Skilled
Hey guys

Till now I used to get my ITR prepared via Cleartax but since this year they are charging 500 bucks.
So opting for another site this time.

However, while filing from another site its giving me error on the last step:

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On IT website as per the steps/links this is what I'm getting..

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I'm unsure if I should deactivate or not. I think it will deactivate Cleartax and activate this new tax service for filling.

However, I"m concerned with the "Pending verification" thing.

Any tax expert who can advise or salaried people who are filing ITR in this month.
 
Tbh i dont have a clue about the issue but what I can say is Use clear tax,
at the time of payment it ll come down to 199 as they ll apply a coupon.
Happened to me.
 
Tbh i dont have a clue about the issue but what I can say is Use clear tax,
at the time of payment it ll come down to 199 as they ll apply a coupon.
Happened to me.
Its coming to some 550 for me with 20% coupon applied. So not interested as my refund itself is some 1k only this time.
 
Official IT Website is all you need, it is pretty straightforward anyway unless there are a lot of exceptions/deductions that you wish to claim :)
 
Same, never used a portal to file returns. The extent of auto-filling has also been increased this year, so it is much easier. Normally, the only additional stuff you need to take care of is section 80D for insurance and 80TTA for savings interest.

I was still sent a wrong demand for already deducted TDS this year which they rectified after I filed a grievance, so there are still some kinks in the new portal, but nothing in terms of filing the return itself.
 
Income Tax portal is good if you have to file ITR1. But remember, if you have income from shares/mutual funds, you'll have to file ITR2. Now I hear they have made improvements, but I'm yet to file this year, so can't say how good the portal is for ITR2.

Till last year, they did not even have online filling option for ITR2. And the offline application was a nightmare. I remember when I was filling my dad's return, on the last page it said there was a schedule I needed to fill. I looked and I looked but could not find the option to fill that schedule. I refilled from the beginning on a newer version of the app and same thing. Ultimately after some 10-11 hours of looking, I finally found it hidden in a corner of page which was already 2 levels in from the main flow. The year before that, the Excel template was not compatible with the latest version of Excel. I literally had to find a laptop with older Excel version to fill it.

I'm a chartered accountant and I have been filing returns for friends and family for 10 years, and even now everything except ITR1 makes me want to pull my hair out. So I wouldn't recommend it if you have to fill ITR2.
 
Income Tax portal is good if you have to file ITR1. But remember, if you have income from shares/mutual funds, you'll have to file ITR2. Now I hear they have made improvements, but I'm yet to file this year, so can't say how good the portal is for ITR2.

Till last year, they did not even have online filling option for ITR2. And the offline application was a nightmare. I remember when I was filling my dad's return, on the last page it said there was a schedule I needed to fill. I looked and I looked but could not find the option to fill that schedule. I refilled from the beginning on a newer version of the app and same thing. Ultimately after some 10-11 hours of looking, I finally found it hidden in a corner of page which was already 2 levels in from the main flow. The year before that, the Excel template was not compatible with the latest version of Excel. I literally had to find a laptop with older Excel version to fill it.

I'm a chartered accountant and I have been filing returns for friends and family for 10 years, and even now everything except ITR1 makes me want to pull my hair out. So I wouldn't recommend it if you have to fill ITR2.
I think the cheap plans for Clear Tax are also for ITR-1, based purely on the submitted documents and most people are not even aware of when to file using ITR-2.

The IT portal tool was indeed much more horrible last year and this year it has at least improved somewhat.
 
Filled three ITR 1 at Official ITR portals, two of them on 15/07 and the last one 18/7.

1st ITR - Zero problem - Money received on the Bank even the next business day.
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2nd ITR - Despite the green tick on the pre-validated bank once filled Income Tax AI didn't find linkage of the bank's IFSC code to the Account holder pan card, So the Refund amount is not possible to transfer - solution: "need to raise a reissue refund claim" which says the Intimation Email from CPC Bangalore.

The problem is that there is no refund failure according to the Website so generating a refund raise out of question. No such problem in any previous year, always / whenever applicable refund received in this bank account without any problem.

On the other hand, this bank does have the merger though, Immediately visited the branch with a bunch of screenshots on my tablet upon explaining to the branch manager replied - all individual accounts are updated with the New Bank name and IFSC code along with PAN number - The final steps done by (if not done, then blame) RBI.
------------------------------

Now the Major Problem:-

3rd ITR - This one required actual tax payment which is done on 18/07 by generating Tax payer counter foil (under Major Head: Other Than Companies 0021, Minor Head and Self assessment tax 300) and paid through SBI net banking and it is immediately credited to Gandhinagar SBI, Bangalore in the return of 7 Digit BSR Code and 5 Digit Challan Number.....which correctly inserted under Tax Paid Tab -> Add Advance Tax and Self Assessment Tax.
After that successfully validated and E-verify ITR and submitted it.

On 20/07 - there is a Red Intimation mail at the Email arrived, please pay the exact same amount of money that was paid two days ago as the tax credit mismatch for AY 2022 due to not being able to find the Challan Number which generates enough discomfort for the genuine taxpayer mind. On the same day upon Calling Help Line No of CPC Bangalore: 1800 419 0025 and explaining the situation to 3 Individual Persons (all of them are quite surprised) they (the last person) generate the Response To Outstanding Demand which is now out of my knowledge and required a charted accountant to intervene which will going to cost at least 3-5k.
------------------------------

Again this is a pure case of Over Promised and Under Deliverd of E-Governance - This is how 164.5 Core AI failed.

Human processing (tax officer) required a minimum of 60-120 days, not 48 hours during the peak filing season.
 
Why don't you try the official income tax website, I have been using it for 5 years. Works pretty well
I too have tried but the joke is it never gave me any refund till now, dont know what and how it calculates but using 3rd party I have always got tax refunds. Thus, since last 7 yrs I resort to 3rd parties and almost every year I have received some or the other refunds.
Quicko is a good alternative to ClearTax. It is free as of now.
Thanks used that!
 
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So I finally I got around to filing my return yesterday. Filled ITR2 online on income tax website. And I have to say, it's a massive improvement over what we had earlier.

The overall process of filling the form took me around 30 minutes.

So, I just wanted to write a small walkthrough of my process of filing returns, hoping that it may help others
  1. As soon as the financial year ends, I gather all my payslips, and note down the entire break up in an Excel sheet. It's nothing fancy, just month-wise table and a total in the last row
  2. I download the receipts of all life insurance payments as PDFs (I have 3, you may have more or less)
  3. I download ELSS statement from Kuvera (other platforms should also have similar options)
  4. I download NPS statement for the relevant financial year (I make contributions every year)
  5. If I have made any donations, I download the PDF reciept
  6. I download Excel statements for each of my bank accounts (to check for Interest, dividend, etc.)
  7. I put all the above files in one folder, I create one for every financial year
Now as soon as I receive form 16
  1. I compare the form 16 with my Excel sheet where I had noted the salary details. Mostly it will be a match or Form 16 will underreport, which is fine. If there is any discrepancy, take it up with your employer immediately
  2. Download Form 26AS from Income Tax website and see if TDS matches with Form 16. Also check if there's any other TDS like TDS on dividends or interest income
Now I have everything ready to file my ITR.
  1. I prepare my HRA sheet, by putting down the rent payments
  2. I prepare a deductions sheet, where I put all my deductions (LIC, PF, NPS, Donations, etc.)
  3. I prepare an Other income sheet where I put all other income like Interest, dividend
  4. I prepare a CG sheet where I summarise the capital gains
  5. I proceed to file my return with all information already at hand.
If anyone wants, I can share the salary/tax sheet as templates. It's not very well organised, but may still help if you're interested in preparing your returns on your own.
 
I read in some article that this year onwards you should also check the AIS and TIS reports from IT department website else could get a notice if any mismatch.

Earlier just checking 26AS was enough I guess?
 
I read in some article that this year onwards you should also check the AIS and TIS reports from IT department website else could get a notice if any mismatch.

Earlier just checking 26AS was enough I guess?

100 % Ture - 26AS going to be discontinued soon, This year 26AS needs to be checked for a Mismatch of Salary Amount.

Saving bank A/C interest never reflects on 26AS....also Dividend which TIS/AIS excel on this.
 
I too have tried but the joke is it never gave me any refund till now, dont know what and how it calculates but using 3rd party I have always got tax refunds. Thus, since last 7 yrs I resort to 3rd parties and almost every year I have received some or the other refunds.

Thanks used that!
You are getting refunds mainly because of under-reporting done by the portals based mostly on Form 16 and 26AS. So you refund is due to wrong filing, so depends how concerned you are about that.
 
Cleartax has started to charge from this year but they have enabled the pre-filling the form with data from the IT department. I used their service but the prefill was not entirely accurate for me. However it took me 30 mins to do 3 filings so it is still pretty convenient and quick. I suspect all the 3rd party services will eventually go paid.
If the IT portal filing experience has improved, I will attempt it next year.
Has the date moved forward for filing.
Nope and in fact they have said that they are not extending it.
 
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Official IT Website is all you need, it is pretty straightforward anyway unless there are a lot of exceptions/deductions that you wish to claim :)
I have hand filled ITR 4/3 for several years without ever getting any assessment/demand.

No, my name isn't Giovanni Giorgio.
 
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