Often people forget to declare certain income or make claims of certain deductions available to them while filing an income tax return (ITR). In many cases, they realise their mistakes after a few days or months of having filed the ITR. Often, these are genuine slips and so the income tax department allows taxpayers to make corrections in their ITRs by filing a revised return. Read more about when you can file a revised return and the rules associated with it.
What is a revised income tax return?
A revised income tax return, as the name suggests, is refiling of an ITR by an assessee if he or she finds any mistake, omission or any wrong statement made in the original tax return. A revised return can be filed as per Section 139(5) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. For instance, if you forgot to declare the interest that you earned from a bank account or have failed to claim a deduction for the premium you paid for a health insurance policy, you can file a revised return to declare the interest income or claim the deduction.
What is the time limit to file a revised income tax return?
You can file a revised income tax return before the end of the Assessment Year (AY) or before the completion of the assessment, whichever is earlier. For instance, if you have already filed your return for the AY 2020-21, but want to revise it, you can do so till the end of AY 2022-21, i.e., March 31, 2021 or before the tax department assesses your tax return, whichever happens earlier.
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Are there any fees or charges to file a revised return?
No, there are no charges or fees levied to file a revised tax return. In fact, if you had filed your original income tax return before the due date, then you are not required to pay a delay penalty in case you decide to file a revised return after the due date. “A late filing fee becomes payable in case there is a delay in filing the original return beyond the due date. A revised return substitutes the original return filed,” says Archit Gupta, founder and CEO, ClearTax. Even if the original return is filed after the due date, a taxpayer is not required to pay the late penalty every time he or she revises the same return. “Once a taxpayer pays the late filing fee with the original return, there is no need to pay the late filing fee with the revised return,” says Gupta.
How do I file a revised return?
The process of filing a revised return is similar to that of filing an original return. However, you have to keep two things in mind. The first is that while filling up a revised ITR form, tick on the “Revised Return” box. The second thing to remember is to mention the “Acknowledgement Number” of your original or previous return in the form.
Also, remember that a revised return must be filed in the same mode as the original was. So, if you filed the original return in paper format or manually, the same can be revised only manually. Similarly, if the original return was filed online, it can be revised only in the online mode or electronically.
How many times can I revise my return?
There is no limit to the number of times a tax return can be revised; it can be revised any number of times provided it fulfils the timeframe criteria. Once a return is revised, all the previous tax returns filed turn null and void.
Ideally, you should take utmost care while filing a tax return. Don’t do it in a hurry. If you need assistance, take the help of a tax expert or a chartered accountant. Moreover, should you discover a mistake in your tax return, file a revised return without further delay.
(The writer is a freelancer)
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