How to get 'Good ITR' filed for Individuals

Filing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) has already begun as ITR 1, ITR 2, ITR 3 and ITR 4 forms have already been released by the government.

There are many individuals, who file their own ITRs. But most prefer to get them filed by a Chartered Accountant.

'Good ITR' is neither a professional term nor an industry term. By Good in it means, return filed with utmost accuracy while making all the needful disclosures. For making it understand further, I would like to make the readers aware about, though mostly every professional tries to file returns with accuracy and all disclosures but many a times due to insufficient information, lack of time or insufficient cooperation by the client, return may not be filed in the best possible way by the professional. Though most of the times, it doesn't have adverse consequences since less than 1% of all the returns are chosen for risk based assessment called scrutiny and there are few other instances only, when some further compliances are to be made in future. But those who go through that, those only know the hardships, if their ITR is non-compliant with the law.

If return filers approaching the professionals, ensure some of the following points, this will ensure them getting 'Good ITR' filed:

• Take appointment from a professional before reaching the office of the professional to get the return filed.

• Do your homework before approaching the professional. This is most important, as this will save a lot of time later in recalling things of the past year. This includes making a list of all the incomes including exempt incomes and transactions entered into, which helps in tax savings (like tax saving MF, LIC, ULIP, donations, etc.) including transactions about which you are confused that they will be useful or not. Supporting documents for each of the item should also be collected.

• Collecting documents. Actually this is part of previous point only, but here is list of documents which filers usually forget to get with them

• PAN Card & Aadhaar card

• Bank passbook

• FD certificates

• Interest certificates from bank for savings/current account

• ITR, computation and Audit Report of those firms in which the filer has interest

• Form 16 provided by the employer (Note: Form 16A received from other deductors, like banks is need not to be carried)

• Documents of sale of immovable property (like land, house, flat, etc.) made during the relevant previous year, along with documents of any re-investments made

• Annual Global Statement from your share broker for the relevant previous year

• Children's school/college fees receipts

• LIC, ULIP, MF SIP receipts/supporting documents

• Challans of advance taxes paid

• Examples of exempt income:

• Dividend received from domestic company

• Agriculture income

• Profit received from partnership firm

• LIC claim received

• Examples of taxable income which some filers aren't aware of:

• Rent received from letting out of property (including portion of the house in which they are living)

• Income from winnings like from quizzes, lotteries, horse racing, etc.

• Disclose all the information, without hiding or suppressing anything from the professional.

• Don't request the professional to not disclose specific information in the return or to reduce the amount of taxes or to increase the amount of refunds.

• Clear your doubts from the professional, about which you are not sure of their relevance.

• Before finalization do a final check to confirm that all the relevant information is conveyed to the professional.

• Pay the self assessment tax, if any required to be paid, to prevent levy of further interest/penalty.

Hope these points will help you in filing 'Good ITR'!