There are people who do not buy benami properties and diligently files their tax return before the last date. Yet they could get a notice by the Income Tax Department as they did not declare the interest from fixed deposits and tax saving
These are various common misconceptions related to filling tax returns. They could be rejected due to wrong information filled by candidates, reported the Economic Times.
Further, an online survey conducted by economictimes.com last week indicates an abysmal level of tax literacy among people in India.
According to the survey, the tax returns of 66% of the 2,158 respondents could get rejected due to faulty information. Almost 34% could even get a scrutiny notice because of grave errors in their forms.
Almost 30% of the respondents believe that interest of up to Rs 10,000 from bank FDs is tax free in a year. These people should know that the exemption under Section 80TTA is only for the interest on their savings bank accounts. What they earn on fixed deposits and recurring deposits is fully taxable.
Similarly, almost 30% believe that the interest earned on the tax-saving infrastructure bonds bought a few years ago under Section 80CCF is not taxable because they were tax saving instruments. You are again wrong!
The bonds may have helped them save tax, but the interest is fully taxable and has to be reported. Nearly 45% of the 637 respondents who said so earn over Rs 12 lakh a year and should be paying 30% on the income they think is tax free.
“Our research shows that 9 out of 10 taxpayers go wrong in reporting their interest income," says Sudhir Kaushik, Co-founder and CFO of
There is also a misconception that you need not report the income if the bank has deducted TDS. But TDS is only 10%, and if your income puts you in the 20% or 30% tax bracket, you have to pay additional tax. Of course, if the income is below the basic exemption limit, the TDS will be refunded when the investor files his return.
To be sure, not reporting a small amount of interest income or claiming a deduction incorrectly rank very low in the hierarchy of tax offences. At most you will get a notice with an additional tax demand. There may even be a penalty under Section 271 (c) for concealment, but it depends on how the assessing officer views the transgression.
Fool's paradise
On the other hand, if the intention is clearly to conceal the income, the taxpayer can be in hot water. From this year, the tax forms have a separate column for declaration of property. If you have more than one property, you have to mention it in the return. If it has been rented out, the rental income will have to be declared in the return and tax paid on it. Even if the property is lying vacant, the owner has to pay tax on the notional rent from the property. This notional rent is the prevailing market rate in that location.
If you don't declare the second property, it amounts to concealment of income and could attract a severe penalty. Shockingly, nearly 20% of the survey respondents fall in this category. They believe that there is no tax implication of a house lying vacant. One out of three such taxpayers are in the highest 30% tax bracket.
Declaration of foreign assets
This is one area where taxpayers need to really be very careful this year. Uncovering black money is high on the government's agenda, and any slippage on reporting of foreign assets immediately puts you in the dock. "The logic used by the tax department is that anyone with foreign assets has high income and should not be spared if he has concealed income," says Komal Agarwal, Partner in
TDS gives you away
For many taxpayers, TDS is a four-letter word. Over 15% respondents said they would spread their investments across bank branches to avoid TDS. This might help them avoid TDS, but it's a ticking time bomb. Till now, TDS kicked in only if the income from FDs made in a particular bank branch exceeded the threshold of Rs 10,000 in a financial year.
But this year's budget has changed the rules and TDS will now apply if the combined income from FDs in all branches of a bank exceeds the threshold. Another significant change is that TDS will apply to recurring deposits if the interest during a financial year exceeds Rs 10,000. "The tax department is increasingly connecting the dots. An individual's financial life can no longer remain hidden," says Vikram Ramchand, Co-founder of makemyreturns.com.
Clubbing of income
Another way taxpayers are falling through the cracks is clubbing of income. Tax rules say that if you invest on behalf of your spouse or minor child, the income from the investment will be treated as yours. But more than 30% of the respondents believe that there is no tax implication if they invest in a recurring deposit in their wife's name or open a fixed deposit in the name of a minor child. This could prove to be a problem if the amount invested in the name of the spouse is significantly large and not commensurate with her known sources of income. Of the 668 respondents who believe this, more than 30% are in the highest tax bracket. Another 50% earn more than Rs 5 lakh a year, which puts them in the 20% tax bracket.
Missing out on deductions
Not all of the mistakes that taxpayers make raise the hackles of the taxman. Some also cost the taxpayer. More than 40% of the respondents did not know that along with the interest on a home loan for a self-occupied house, even the processing fees for the loan is also eligible for deduction under Section 24.
Another 15% was blissfully unaware that the fees paid for a preventive health checkup of the taxpayer and his family is eligible for deduction under Section 80D. A small but significant 7% were not aware that tuition fees of up to two children can be claimed as a deduction under Section 80C.
(Image: Indiatimes)