Income Tax Returns (ITR) filing: Can you ask your employer not to deduct tax? TDS rules explained
Income Tax returns (ITR) filing season is here and the salaried employees may well have been preparing for the same. If you are a salaried employee and fall in the tax bracket, then you may be aware of the fact that your employer deducts tax from your salary. If you are not aware of the same, here's a brief guide explaining the TDS ierrule to make your life a little easy:
Tax deducted at source
Q. What is tax deducted at source?
Ans: For a quick and efficient collection of taxes, the Income-tax Law has incorporated a system of deduction of taxes at the point of generation of income. This system is called as “Tax Deducted at Source”, commonly known as TDS. Under this system tax is deducted at the origin of the income. Tax is deducted by the payer and is remitted to the Government by the payer on behalf of the payee. The provisions of deduction of tax at source are applicable to several payments such as salary, interest, commission, brokerage, professional fees, royalty, contract payments, etc. In respect of payments to which the TDS provisions apply, the payer has to deduct tax at source on the payments made by him and he has to deposit the tax deducted by him to the credit of the Government. (Pixabay)
Can the payee request the payer not to deduct TDS?
Q. Can the payee request the payer not to deduct tax at source and to pay the amount without deduction of tax at source?
Ans: yes. A payee can approach the payer for non-deduction of tax at source but for that they have to furnish a declaration in Form No. 15G/15H, as the case may be, to the payer to the effect that the tax on his estimated total income of the previous year after including the income on which tax is to be deducted will be nil. Form No. 15G is for the individual or a person (other than company or firm) and Form No. 15H is for the senior citizens. (Pixabay)
What to do if tax is deducted but the tax liability of the payee is nil?
Q. What to do if tax is deducted but the ultimate tax liability of the payee is nil or lower than the amount of TDS?
Ans. In such a case, the payee can claim the refund of entire/excess amount of TDS (as the case may be) by filing the return of income. (Pixabay)
Income Tax Returns: Consequences if tax is not deducted at source
Q. If the payer does not deduct tax at source, will the payee face any adverse consequences by means of action taken by the Income-tax Department?
Ans. It is the duty and responsibility of the payer to deduct tax at source. If the payer fails to deduct tax at source, then the payee will not have to face any adverse consequences. However, in such a case, the payee will have to discharge his tax liability. Thus, failure of the payer to deduct tax at source will not relieve the payee from payment of tax on his income. (Pixabay)
How to check the tax amount
Q. How can I know the quantum of tax deducted from my income by the payer?
Ans. To know the quantum of the tax deducted by the payer, you can ask the payer to furnish you a TDS certificate in respect of tax deducted by him. You can also check Form 26AS? from your e-filing account at incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in. You can also use the “View Your Tax Credit” facility available at incometaxindia.gov.in. (Reuters)