Don't Risk Penalties: Your Guide to Rectifying Income Tax Return Errors

The deadline to submit income tax returns ITR for the financial year 2024-25 (assessment year 2025-26) has been extended to September 15 by the government. While this extra time may be beneficial, it is advisable to keep in mind certain factors if you are filing for the tax return. There are some issues with self-filing a tax return like leaving out a few income sources. A simple oversight on an income tax return can lead to complications down the line. It is important to know how to safeguard oneself from such circumstances? Amend Returns Make sure to amend ITR form if you suspect notice. There are high chances of incomplete disclosure of tax when adding some sources of income like small businesses or child’s savings account which normally gets overlooked and filing bank account details. Ensuring you don’t go blind is better than being too late. Self amending tax return means knowing to amend by December 31 when late self amendments cease.Mistakes that happen often when returns are being filed: Not choosing the right ITR form Misinformation regarding personal details Bank account information extraction errors Willful omission of all sources of income Overpayment of tax as a result of not utilizing eligible deductions Providing inaccurate information attracts penalty If there is an error, such as foreign bank accounts, pension accounts, or stock options from large corporations not being reported, it is essential to amend the return to avoid receiving a notice. Not reporting foreign income or assets may lead to penalties as per the Black Money Act, 2015. However, under a budget amendment for 2024, failing to report foreign assets under Rs 20 lakh does not incur penalties.Steps to amend a returnTo amend a return, visit the e-filing portal (incometax.gov.in). Navigate to 'e-File', click on 'File Income Tax Return', pick the relevant assessment year and click on 'Revised Return under Section 139(5)'. When revising a return, you need to fill in the acknowledgement number of the original return. Changes should be done at least three months prior to the end of the relevant assessment year or before the assessment’s completion, whichever comes first. Thus, for the assessment year 2025-26, the last date for submitting a revised return would be December 31, 2025.