The Month of March has got significance in the taxation calendar, more so in the case of Individual Taxpayers. The Month of March marks the cut-off date for payment of advance taxes, filing of late return of income, planning and making tax investment.  In the following write-up, we have presented these issues in a concise manner:

Deadline for payment of Advance Tax

Every Individual is liable to pay full taxes before 15^th March as advance tax, in case the amount of tax payable is Rs. 10, 000 or more. In case the tax payable after deducting TDS is less than Rs. 10,000, no advance tax is payable. Thus, for tax year ending March 2011 (April 2010 to March 2011), full taxes has to be paid by 15^th March 2011.

In case an individual fails to pay advance tax or pays less advance tax, he will be liable to simple interest @ 1 per cent per month or part of month. However, no interest will be levied where the individual has paid atleast 90 per cent of total tax liability.

Deadline for filing of return of income for March 2010

Individuals were required to file their return of income/ income tax returns before 31st July 2010 for financial year 2009-10. There may be the case, wherein due some very legitimate reason, some of us would have not filed the return of income/ Income Tax within this due date and unnecessarily may become the victim of penalty by IT Department. There is still a second chance for these individuals; they can still avoid the penalty, if they file their return of income/ Income tax returns within this March 2011.

Tax Planning and Tax investment for FY 2010-11

Individuals should also look to plan and make right investment before 31^st March in order to save taxes. The Individual should take some time out to do a critical check, about, (i) the total tax incidence; (ii) amount of TDS deducted; and (iii) check whether they are availing all the exemptions and deduction provided under the law

Collecting all the details and documents

Collect your TDS Certificates- To claim the right amount of Tax Deducted at Source (TDS); you need to collect all your TDS certificates from banks, your employer & from other sources from which tax has been deducted from your income.

Collect home loan certificate- Repayment of home loan interest/principal will also help you to reduce your tax liability. You must ensure that you have taken the full benefit of Interest payment u/s 24(b) and principal repayment u/s 80C of the act.

Collect valid receipts for donation- If you have made donation to any charitable or religious institution then collect the valid receipts for donation so that you can claim deduction under section 80G of the Act to reduce your tax outgo.

Ideally tax planning should be done few months in advance as it gives you ample time to understand and evaluate different options that are specific to your financial situation.  Even then it’s not too late yet, we request you to please contact us immediately. Taxmantra.com has the expertise in handling individual taxation.