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How to File IT Returns Online for Free
Jayesh Limaye, Jul 23, 2010 1225 hrs ISTE-filing is the most hassle-free way to file your tax returns
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The final date to filing your income tax returns is fast approaching and we are sure that quite a few of you may not have filed them as yet. The usual way of filing your income tax returns involves standing in long queues or engaging an agent. But few know that the Government of India has already introduced a free service for E-filing your income tax returns, which means you can file them online much faster and with little worry. Since it is a soft copy, you can always revise it without worrying about errors committed while typing in the details. This approach is not only good because it is faster, but also because it is environmentally friendly - you save a lot of paperwork.
Here is a step by step approach to this method.
1. First you need to make sure what kind of income tax return form you need to fill. There are four different types of Income Tax Return Forms.
The first type is Form ITR1, which is the most common, applicable to salaried individuals or those who earn from pension. This form can be downloaded from here in Excel format inside ZIP file or here in PDF format. You can download the help manual for this form from here and for the help for the PDF format form from here.
The second type is Form ITR2, which is for those who have salary income with Capital Gain or house Property Income, or only capital gain or house property income. This form can be downloaded from here in Excel format inside ZIP file. You can download the help manual for this form from here.
The third type is Form ITR3, which is for people who may be partners in a firm. This form can be downloaded from here in Excel format inside ZIP file. You can download the help manual for this form from here.
The fourth type is Form ITR4, which is for those who have income from proprietary business or profession. This form can be downloaded from here in Excel format inside ZIP file. You can download the help manual for this form from here.
Select the appropriate type of Income Tax Return Form.
2. Here is a checklist of documents you need to keep handy before proceeding further.
a) A copy of last year's tax return
b) Bank Statement
c) TDS certificates
d) Savings certificates/Deductions
e) Interest statement showing interest paid to you throughout the year.
3. Extract the ZIP you have downloaded into a folder. You are now ready to fill your returns offline and generate an XML file. Open the Excel file extracted from the ZIP file in the previous step. You will find that there are four worksheets named Home, Income Details, TDS, Taxes paid and Verifications.
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