ITR Filing Deadline Ends Today: Tax Rebate U/s 87A Claimable Only On ITR Filing

Deadline to file ITR for FY 2018-19 (AY 2019-20) ends today for a major section of tax payer base and even if you are in the exempted category, it makes sense to file the ITR.
This is also true i.e. you need to file the return in case you wish to get the rebate of Rs. 2500 announced in the Interim Budget 2019.

So, what you should be doing:

Already in the wake of deadline being ending today, Income tax department has come ahead and is informing taxpayers via SMS alerts that "Return filing is mandatory if income exceeds Rs 2.5 lakh for AY 2019-20. For income up to Rs 3.5 lakh, tax relief u/s 87A can be claimed only by filing return."

And this is if wish to really avoid tax notices, penalties and prosecution as they will really be the case if you feel to meet the deadline of August 31, 2019.

According to Section 87A of the Income Tax Act, an assesee having taxable income up to Rs 3,50,000 for the financial year 2018-19 may get rebate on entire tax payable or Rs 2,500 whichever is less. However, the benefit of tax rebate under this section may be availed only through filing of Income Tax Return (ITR) for the Assessment Year (AY 2019-20).

So, even in a case if your taxable income is up to Rs. 3.5 lakhs, you need to file ITR mandatorily as without it you may be called even for prosecutive for not having disclosing your income to the department.

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