Money
Donations, online gaming, bank accounts: ITR forms seek more disclosures
Summary
- It's the right time to file ITR as your Annual Information Statement (AIS) must have been updated by now. However, you must know these changes in ITR forms.
NEW DELHI : Now is the right time to start filing your income tax return (ITR) for fiscal year 2023-24 (assessment year 2024-25), for which the window will remain open till 31 July. This is because your Annual Information Statement (AIS), which captures your income and TDS (tax deducted at source) details, must have been updated by now. You can verify these details by tallying them with Form 26AS and Form 16 provided by your employer.
Doing it early will give you time to collect all the information and file the ITR correctly.
First, you should reconcile the information in Form 26AS with TDS certificates, Form 16 and bank statements. Then, check whether the information captured in 26AS is reflecting correctly in AIS. If not, it could be because your AIS has still not been updated. You can wait one more week and download the AIS again. If it is still incorrect, the AIS is erroneous, and you must report it to the Income Tax (I-T) Department. You can do this on the same website from where you download the AIS. Beware any mismatch between the AIS and Form 26AS can get you a tax notice.
Also Read: Understanding Schedule AL: Declaring assets for income above ₹50 lakh
Further, some changes have been introduced in the ITR forms. “ITR-1 remains largely unchanged. However, ITR-2 and ITR-3 feature a few modifications aimed at enhancing the reporting required for claiming specific deductions," said Neeraj Agarwala, partner, Nangia Andersen India. You may have to gather additional documents for some of these details. Filing the ITR early will give you time to do so.
For instance, the taxpayer has to get the 10BE certificate from the donee institution to claim deduction on donations under Section 80G. “Just getting a receipt is not enough. The taxpayer now has to provide ARN number (reference number) that is present in the 10BE certificate. While some institutions have sent it to donors themselves, most haven't, which requires the donor to go back to them and get the certificate," said Karan Batra, managing partner, Chartered Club.
This requirement was introduced in AY24, but it has been made mandatory in the current assessment year.
Also Read: E-verification of ITRs: mismatches and the mistakes
Disclosures for donations
Apart from getting ARN for donations, taxpayers now must separately disclose contributions made to political parties in Schedule 80GGC. “The details that the taxpayer has to provide include date of contribution, contribution amount with a breakdown of contributions made in cash and other modes, eligible contribution amount, transaction reference number for UPI transfer or cheque number/IMPS/NEFT/RTGS and the IFSC code of the bank," said chartered accountant Suresh Surana.
Individuals with disability
Two schedules have been added with respect to deductions claimed for self or dependent family members with a disability.
The first is Schedule 80DD, which seeks details of the dependent with a disability whose medical expenses or medical insurance premium is being claimed as deduction. The taxpayer must provide details about the nature of disability, relationship with the dependent, their PAN and Aadhaar along with the filing date and the acknowledgement number of Form 10-IA.
The Form 10-IA is filed when a person with a disability claims deductions under Sections 80DD and 80U.
Also Read: The trouble with missing ITR deadline under new tax regime
Section 80U allows an individual with a disability to claim a deduction of ₹75,000 or ₹1.25 lakh, depending on the degree of the disability. “A new ‘Schedule 80U’ has now been added in ITR-3 that seeks details about the nature of disability, date of filing Form 10-IA, acknowledgment number of the Form 10-IA and UDID number," said Surana.
Online gaming
“The Finance Act, 2023, had inserted a new Section 115BBJ to tax winnings from online games, w.e.f. 01 April 2024. To report such income in ITR form, a row has been inserted in Schedule OS," said Agarwala. Income from online gaming is reported under ‘Income From Other Sources’.
Taxpayers should note that they must disclose scrip-wise details of the winning amount credited in their bank account and the amount accrued. This would mean the winnings stored in the gaming platform’s wallet will also have to be reported.
Also Read: What happens if you don’t file ITR by 31 March
Other changes
I-T laws allow taxpayers to invest capital gains from the sale of property in the Capital Gains Account Scheme to get tax exemption from the capital gains tax. Now, taxpayers availing this have to fill in details such as the date of deposit, account number and IFSC code in Schedule CG.
In another change, it is now mandatory to disclose all bank accounts held during the previous year. “The ITR forms generally require disclosure about the taxpayer’s bank accounts, including the selection of the specific account for receiving income tax refunds. In the new ITR forms, it is obligatory for the taxpayer to disclose all the bank accounts they have held in India during the previous year, except for dormant accounts," said Agarwala.
Finally, a new column is added in ITR forms 1-4 for individuals inducted in Agnipath scheme to claim deduction on contributions made to Agniveer Corpus Fund under Section 80CCH of the I-T Act. It is not a donation but rather a voluntary contribution made by soldiers towards a retirement fund. “This was announced in the Finance Act, 2023. New ITR forms have been amended to include a column to furnish the amount eligible for deduction u/s 80CCH of the I-T Act," said Surana.
