Income Tax Refund

Everyone is more or less familiar with the term Income Tax. It is charged by the central government on the annual income of individuals and HUF. Not paying income tax or paying less than what is required is a punishable offence in India. However, one can end up paying more than he or she is required to pay income tax. In such a scenario, the individual can file for the refund of the excess amount, which is called an income tax refund. If one has paid more amount as income tax than heor she is accountable for, a refund of the excessive amount can be requested tothe Income Tax Department, under Section 237 of the Indian Income Tax Act of 1961. However, the request or claim for income tax refund is subject to verification.

One can claim Income Tax Refund or ITR refund under the following circumstances.

• Your organization has deducted more tax than you areliable to pay.
• The advance payment made by you as income tax hascrossed the actual tax accountability.
• The tax deducted at source has exceeded the actual tax amount.
• In the event of double taxation, which means you havebeen taxed in two countries for the same income.

The easiest way to claim ITR refund is to present mutual funds, insurances, banks savings and other investments via Form-16 at the time of filing your IT return. The process has become effortless with the option of e-transfer. The income tax refund time should be kept in mind as verification needs to be completed either manually or online within 120 days from the claim.

In case you forgot to claim a refund while filing your ITR then you can do so by submitting Form-30.

Once the claim for income tax refund has been made, one can check the status in two methods. One can either visit the National Security depository Limited or NSDL website or go to the ITR e-filing portal managed by the Income Tax Department. Here are the detailed procedures of checking the income tax refund status using both methods.

• Pay a visit to the NSDL website https://tin.tin.nsdl.com/oltas/refundstatuslogin.html.
• Once you are on the homepage of NSDL, the page will ask for two details.
  • PAN
  • Assessment Year
• Type in the Captcha Code as given in the image.
• Tap on ‘Proceed’ and the page will show your ITR refund status.

The status will inform you whether your request is still processing or has been transferred to your account. If you have entered the wrong credentials or want to re-enter, take the option of ‘Clear’ and follow the same steps as mentioned above.

Step 1: Get to the e-filing portal of income tax refund https://portal.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/e-Filing/UserLogin/LoginHome.html?lang=eng.

Step 2: You will land on the login page. Fill in the page with your account credentials and captcha code.

Step 3: Click on Login and access the homepage of the portal.

Step 4: Once on the home page, tap on ‘View Return / Forms’ on the Dashboard.

Step 5: Click on ‘My Account’ tab and choose ‘Income Tax Returns’ using the ‘Select an Option’ menu.

Step 6: Tap on ‘Submit’ to generate the list of returns details.

You can view the status given in the ‘Status’ column beside the ‘Ack. no.’ column. You can get the details by tapping on the respective ‘Ack. no.’

The following taxpayers are eligible for an income tax refund.

• Taxpayers who have paid more than their tax payability
• Taxpayers who have paid excessive tax in advance
• Taxpayers who have faced double taxation
• Taxpayers who have invested in tax-saving investments but have not declared them

An income tax refund can be made either via direct transfer or via cheque. Below are two steps for income tax refund tracking.

• Tracking income tax refund made via direct transfer: In the event of direct transfer, you can visit the NSDL portal (https://tin.tin.nsdl.com/oltas/refundstatuslogin.html) and the e-filing portal (https://www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/home) of the Indian Income Tax Department for income tax refund tracking.
• Tracking income tax refund made via cheque: For tracking your income tax refund made via cheque, you can contact the post-service in charge of delivering. However, the reference number of your ITR claim will be required.

The claim for an income tax return has to be done within the respective assessment year. However, in some instances, this pre-decided income tax refund time can be altered. Such late claims will require verification and consideration of the respective assessment officer. Furthermore, income tax refund claims are applicable for only six consecutive assessment years, and the refund amount must not cross the Rs.50 lakh bench per assessment year.

Delayed IT refunds are subject to interest accumulation. The taxpayers will receive interest on income tax refund at a rate of 6% from the date on which tax was paid, till the date, the refund was generated. The interest will be processed together with the refund. However, interest on an income tax refund is not applicable in the cases of late claims.

Following are the income tax refund helpline numbers.

• Queries related to IT refund (AayakarSamparka Kendra): 1800 180 1961
• Queries related to refund or any modification (CPC Bangalore) : 1800 425 2229 / 080 43456700
• Queries related to refund payment (SBI Contact Centre): 1800 425 9760

You can mail your query at the official mail ID of AayakarSamparka Kendra, ask@incometaxindia.gov.in.

✅How can I check my income tax refund status?

You can check your income tax refunds by visiting the official website of NSDL or by going to the e-filing page of the Income Tax Department.
On the NSDL website, follow these steps.

• Enter PAN, Assessment Year and captcha.
• Tap on the ‘Proceed’ button.
On the e-filing portal, follow these steps.
• Log in using your credential.
• Tap on ‘View Returns / Form’ on the Dashboard and then ‘My Account’.
• Select the option of ‘Income Tax Returns’ and push ‘Submit’.

✅Will tax returns be bigger in 2021?

The Union Budget of 2021 has restructured the tax slab and in the new structure tax accountability of individuals has been reduced. Moreover, taxpayers have the option to either go along with the new tax slab or continue along with the previous one.

✅Why are my taxes less this year 2021?

The fewer taxes in 2021 can be due to an increase in your investments which are eligible for income tax deduction while calculating. Otherwise, another reason can be that you have earned less income than the previous year.

✅How much should I expect to get back in taxes?

The refund you get on your taxes depends on the excessive tax amount you paid. In case of delay in receiving the refund, the excessive amount you paid along with interest accumulated on the amount since you started paying tax and till the date of refund generation will be your income tax refund.

✅When can I expect my refund in 2021?

After you have filed your ITR claim, the verification needs to be completed within 120 days of making the claims. Once the verification has been done, the Income Tax Department usually takes 30 to 45 days to generate the refund.

✅Why is my refund still being processed in 2021?

If your refund is still processing, it might be due to incorrect details provided along with your ITR claim or due to the claim being rejected. Check the status properly by contacting CPC at their toll-free numbers, 1800 425 2229 and 080 43456700.