MUST KNOWWhy is March 31 an important date for taxpayers? Find out

 

The ongoing Financial Year 2021-22 is coming to an end on March 31, 2022. Unlike 31 December, which is widely celebrated across the world as end of a year and people welcome the new year, many people don’t even care if it’s 31st March—end of the financial year. But if you are a tax payer, March 31 is very relevant for you. Make sure as an assessee you complete a few important things before March 31.

Link Aadhaar Card with PAN Card (if not done)

An assessee should necessarily link the Aadhar card with the pan card before 31st March 2022 , if not done yet. Failure to do so will lead to the inactivation of PAN cards and a penalty of Rs. 10,000. It is a simple process and can be done online by logging on to the income tax website.

Re – KYC of all active accounts with Financial Institutions

As per RBI guidelines – Re KYC of every bank account and all relevant accounts with Financial Institutions or Services like Demat Account, Share Trading Company etc should be done in every two years to keep account active. This year deadline to complete the KYC has been extended to 31st March 2022.

Read More: Deadline for Aadhaar card linking with ration cards extended till June 30

Payment of Advance Tax

An assessee with income other than the salary, if expected to have a tax liability of more than Rs. 10,000 during the financial year must clear advance tax dues before 31 March. The last instalment was due on 15th March 2022. As per income tax rules, in case of salaried individual, the employer are mandatorily required to deduct the tax from their salary as per the income tax slab, this is known as TDS (Tax Deducted at Source). If the assessee is self-employed professional or has received income from other sources, then he would need to compute the tax payable on the income earned from all the sources taking all deductions into account and if the tax liability is more than Rs 10,000 – he would need to pay the advance tax.

Invest To Save Tax

Investing in various instruments that qualifies for deduction under various income tax section such as under Sec 80C with a maximum limit of Rs 1,50, 000 assessee can save tax upto Rs 46,800. Provided the assessee do all the investments before 31st March, then only he can claim the tax benefit. However, before you choose instruments to save taxes, make sure it fits into your portfolio or requirement. Remember, tax saving should be incidental and not the primery reason behind selecting a product to invest in.

Read More: 5 big financial tasks you must complete before March 31

File Belated Tax Return

An assessee for the financial year 2020-21 was supposed to file their tax returns by 31st December 2021 (extended due date). If the deadline has been missed, then a belated return can be filed by 31st March 2022. In this regard u/s 234F of IT Act as this will be late filing a penalty of Rs. 1,000 is levied in case if gross income above Rs 2,50,000 and is below Rs. 5,00,000. If the gross income exceeds Rs. 5,00,000 then the penalty levied is Rs.10,000 but due to the striking of pandemic a tax relief has been given and the penalty charged is Rs. 5,000. You should still file belated return if you have any refund due – by paying the late filing fee or penalty.