The income tax department has released the ITR- 2 offline form for filing income tax return (ITR) for FY 2022-23 (AY 2023-24). Last month, the CBDT notified the offline forms of ITR-1 and ITR- 4. Do note that the tax department is yet to enable the online ITR forms, as for now it has released only the Excel utility for ITR 1, ITR 2 and ITR-4 forms.
Hence, if a person wishes to file their ITR right away, he or she must download the tool from the income tax e-filing website. Once the utility form has been filled out with information relating to income and deductions, it must then be uploaded to the income tax e-filing platform.
The income tax return form hasn’t changed significantly this year. The only significant modification to the ITR form is the request for information regarding transactions using virtual currencies and digital assets.
When submitting the ITR form (either offline or online), one should keep in mind that it must also be verified. If an ITR is not verified by the taxpayer, it will not be processed by the income tax department.
Who should file ITR 2
For Individuals and HUFs not having income from profits and gains of business or profession.
ITR-2 must be used by the individual taxpayer if he/she meets any of the criteria mentioned below:
a) If you are resident (ordinarily or non-ordinarily) or a non-resident individual
b) Hindu Undivided Family (HUF)
c) A director of a company
d) Holding investments in unlisted equity shares
e) Having income from – salaries, more than one house property, capital gains, income from other sources such as interest income, dividends etc.
f) Having income from assets outside India such as dividend from foreign companies share etc.
g) Holding assets outside India
h) If there are any losses to be carried forward or brought forward under the head ‘Income from house property’,
i) If you have income from bets on horse racing, winnings from lottery and other means of gambling
j) If TDS was applicable to you for the certain cash payments made during the FY 2021-22
k) If the income tax was deferred on Employee Stock Option plans
l) If agricultural income is more than Rs 5,000
m) If you are claiming any treaty relief under the double taxation avoidance agreement.
What will happen if an incorrect ITR form is used?
Make sure you have chosen the correct ITR form before filing your ITR. The income tax department will give you a tax notice if the ITR is filed on the incorrect tax return form. You will be required to submit an ITR using the appropriate tax return form by the tax department.
How to know if I made mistakes in my ITR when filing them using the offline utility?
According to the Income tax website, ““All the validation rules applicable for online forms will be applicable whether you submit them on the portal or directly from the offline utility. In case of any mistake, you will get an error message from the system, and the fields which have errors will be highlighted in the form. If you export and upload your JSON file, a downloadable error file will be generated, which you can refer to for correcting mistakes.”
