How To Correct Mistakes In Your Income Tax Return (ITR)

By | July 27, 2018

There’s no need to panic if you’ve made an error while filing your Income Tax Return (ITR). It is now possible to make changes to your ITR if there were errors in your previously submitted one.

How To Correct Mistakes In Your Income Tax Return (ITR)

Hey there, have you filed your IT return? With the deadline fast approaching, we’re hoping that you have. But if you haven’t yet filed your return, well, you really should. That’s unless you don’t mind paying a hefty sum of Rs. 5,000 for filing it late.

From assessment year (AY) 2018-19 onwards, taxpayers who don’t file their ITR within the deadline of July 31st will have to pay Rs. 5,000 as a penalty if they file it before December 31st. If you file it after December 31st, then you’ll have to pay Rs. 10,000 (provided you pay it before March 31st next year). This is applicable to those earning an annual income of Rs. 5 lakhs. Those earning less than 5 lakhs annually will have to pay only Rs. 1,000 as a penalty. This penalty for filing one’s ITR late was introduced in the 2017 Budget.

News Update (July 26, 2018): The July 31st deadline has been extended to 31st August for certain categories of taxpayers.

Anyway, getting back to those who have filed their Income Tax Return. Of late, we’ve been receiving a lot of queries on what to do if you’ve made a mistake while filing your ITR. If you’ve made a mistake when filing your return, you can correct it!

Additional Reading: FAQs About E-Filing Your Income Tax Return

So, there’s no need to panic if you’ve made an error. It is possible to make changes to your ITR. Section 139(5) allows taxpayers to submit a revised ITR if there were errors in their previously submitted one. So, if you’ve missed out on something or filled in any wrong information in your return form, you can submit a revised one to avoid any penalties in the future.

Till when can you revise your ITR? You’ll need to file your revised return before the completion of the assessment year. So, if you’re filing your return for the financial year (FY) 2017-18, you’ll have to file your revised return by the 31st of March, 2019.

There is no limit on the number of times you can revise your ITR. But, if you keep revising it, your return can be put under scrutiny. Ideally, you should be using this facility only to correct unintentional omissions or mistakes in your previously submitted ITR. Ensure that you’re honest while filing your ITR. If you’re caught concealing income, your penalty could be anywhere between 100 to 300 percent of the tax due. Also, filing false returns can fetch you imprisonment under Section 277. You wouldn’t want all that trouble, would you?

Additional Reading: Tax-Saving Investment Options Under Section 80C

Filing a revised ITR: How to go about it

It’s pretty simple!

Filing can be done either online or offline. Convenient, right? However, the online revision is possible only if you have filed your original ITR online. You’ll need your acknowledgement number (a 15-digit number sent by the IT department) and the date on which you filed the original ITR. These need to be mentioned in your revised form. Each time you file a revised ITR, you’ll be asked to enter the details of your original ITR. Make the necessary corrections in the revised form. Check all the details, even the unchanged ones, for any errors. After a thorough review, submit the revised ITR. That’s all it takes!

Last but not the least, don’t forget to verify your revised return if you have filed it online. There are different ways to verify it. Some of the common methods include net banking, Aadhaar One-Time Password (OTP), or you can send the ITR-V of the revised form to the Centralized Processing Centre (CPC) in Bangalore.

Note: ITR-V or Income Tax Return Verification is the acknowledgement which the IT department sends to your email address once you have filed your return online.

Additional Reading: A Step-By-Step Guide To E-Verifying Your Income Tax Return

Though you can rectify the mistakes in your ITR and submit a revised one, we would advise that you avoid any errors and omissions while filing it initially. Spare yourself the headache and fill your ITR form meticulously.

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