Free Free Free…There is some charm in the word, just like Free discount! Pay for a service or get it for free,what would you choose? Free of course, no brainier question right. After all, why shell out money for something that can be done at no cost? This is why a majority of taxpayers opt for filing their tax returns for free.But what is the cost of free Income Tax filing? are they paying a heavy price for it?

Income Tax efiling site is free but

The Income Tax Department offers free filing as government wants to encourage more and more people to file their returns.

One must have working knowledge of computers and software like Excel or Java. For ITR1 and ITR4S One can simply log on to the website and file his return for free.

But Income Tax efiling website does not offer any guidance, it expects you to know the rules. Many get the Assessment Year wrong or file the wrong ITR.

If you miss a certain deduction or exemption, the portal will not point out the error nor suggest a solution. It will happily keep the extra tax paid.

Are you paying more tax than due?

Many taxpayers miss out benefits because they are not aware of the rules. Many of my friends were unaware the Rs 10,000 exemption for interest under Section 80 TTA is only for savings bank interest and not fixed deposits. A reader who had changed jobs during the year had claimed tax benefits from both employers and ended up getting notice from the Income Tax Department. Many did not send their ITR-V on time and their returns were not processed. TaxSpanner found that 68% of such taxpayers pay more tax than their peers. They could save thousands of rupees if they took help from a tax expert and optimised their tax planning.   A tax expert will analyse your income tax return and see if all the relevant exemptions and deductions have been availed of. He will also remove mistakes in the tax form, which means your income tax return will be error free. Don’t file your return in haste and repent later!

Many private portals also offer free filing facilities as well as investment advisory services. These portals hope that the commission on tax­saving investments by these free customers will help them make money some day. This can lead to a serious conflict of interest.

Comparison of Income Tax websites with other websites from our article  Comparison of Income Tax Filing Websites:IncomeTaxEfiling,ClearTax,etc  is shown in image below

Cost of Free Income Tax Filing For employees of a corporate

A tax professional approached a company for Tax Filing for employees and mentioned the cost involved. The first question asked is why charge fees when a certain company is ready to do it for FREE!! What are the risks that one might face?? What is the company gaining by offering it free of cost??  Who is paying them to offer free services and why??

1. The data converted to an information is ready to be sold to Banks, Financial Institutions. The information can be sold to multiple customers and then you wonder why the credit card companies keep on calling you?

2. What are details in your Income Tax Return? Your PAN number, Date of Birth, Your residential Address, Your Contact No., Your E-Mail ID,  What is the salary you earn, Are you availing a Housing Loan? These are critical details Combination of PAN and Date of Birth is sufficient to look into whole lot of Information – Your CIBIL score, your Tax Details. Did you know PAN card can be used to also book a railway ticket. Or Can be used to make purchases that require giving a PAN number and that expenditure will reflects in your Income Tax Account without your knowledge.

4. They don’t verify your Income Tax details and chances are details like fixed deposit interest, property transactions are missed out. There was a company which just asked for Form 16 and filed the returns. No Saving or fixed depoist interest details were asked. Many ended up getting income tax notices regarding suppression of income, undisclosed incomes…. Many times TDS  is not considered which can be claimed as refunds.

Checklist before submitting ITR

We have given a basic list that you should check before submitting ITR. Our article Mistakes while Filing ITR and CheckList before submitting ITR discusses it in detail.

• Select the Correct Assessment Year. For filing Income Tax return for Income earned between 1 Apr 2015 to 31 Mar 2016 AY is 2016-17
• Select the correct ITR or Income Tax return Form.
• Mention Correct Details, Personal Details,Bank Details
• Claim All Deductions: Claim HRA(if not claimed ), 80C deductions
• Report Exempt Income : Income from PPF,Tax free bonds , Long term capital Gains on Equityetc
• Report Interest from Saving Bank Accounts under section 80TTA.
• Report Interest from Fixed Deposit and Recurring Deposit.
• Match TDS with Form 26AS
• Fill correct TDS details
• Pay Self assessment Tax and update ITR. You should owe Zero or Nil tax to Government while filing your ITR
• After submitting ITR  ITR-V or E verification

 Related Articles:

• E-verification of Income Tax Returns and Generating EVC through Aadhaar, Net Banking
• Comparison of Income Tax Filing Websites:IncomeTaxEfiling,ClearTax,etc
• Mistakes while Filing ITR and CheckList before submitting ITR
• Paying Income Tax Online, epayment: Challan 280

There are no free lunches in life.  As they say don’t be penny wise and pound foolish. Filling Income Tax return is not rocket science but it is not cake walk either. Do you use income tax efiling site to file returns or do you hire a professional? Did you have the bad experience when