Normally a Resident Individual is required to submit his/her return of income, if the income – without claiming deduction under sections 10(38), 10A, 10B, 10BA, 54, 54B, 54D, 54EC, 54F, 54G, 54GA, 54GB, 80C to 80U of the Income Tax Act – exceeds the amount of exemption limit.
The exemption limits are –
- Rs 2.5 lakh for individuals below 60 years of age.
- Rs 3 lakh for senior citizens up to 80 years of age.
- Rs 5 lakh for very senior citizens above 80 years of age.
However, even if you don’t have income exceeding the above-mentioned exemption limit, you may still have to file your Income Tax Return (ITR) in the following circumstances.
TDS
Even if your gross income is not above the exemption limit, you still need to file your ITR if there is any tax deducted at source (TDS) from any source of your income.
Deposits in Current Account
In case of no taxable income and no TDS, you may still have to file your return of income if you have deposited an amount (or aggregate of the amounts) exceeding Rs 1 crore in one (or more) current account(s) in a bank and/or in a co-operative bank during the previous year (that is financial year (FY) 2021-22).
Expenses on Foreign Travel
If you have not deposited over Rs 1 crore in current account(s), but have incurred expenditure of an amount (or aggregate of the amounts) exceeding Rs 2 lakh for yourself (or any other person) for travel to a foreign country during the previous year, you will have to file your ITR, irrespective of the fact that your gross income is not above the exemption limit and there is no TDS.
Electricity Consumption
In case none of the above provisions is applicable, you may still end up filing your ITR, if you have incurred expenditure of an amount (or aggregate of the amounts) exceeding Rs 1 lakh towards consumption of electricity during the previous year.
