New Income Tax Return (ITR) Forms Released, Tax Slabs For FY 2017-18

The income tax department recently notified income tax return (ITR) forms for the financial year 2017-18 (assessment year 2018-19). A one-page simplified ITR Form-1 (Sahaj) has been notified. The new ITR forms seek more details from individual taxpayers about their salary structure and income from property, say tax experts.

The ITR Form-1 (Sahaj) can be filed by an individual who is a resident having income up to Rs.50 lakh and is receiving income from salary, one house property/other income (interest etc.). For the previous assessment year (2017-18), a one-page simplified ITR Form-1 (Sahaj) was also notified. This benefited around 3 crore taxpayers, who have filed their return in this simplified form, the tax department said.

The new Sahaj forms seeks an assessees salary details such as allowances that are not exempt, value of perquisites, profit in lieu of salary and deductions claimed under Section 16. The last date for filing the ITRs is July 31.

The Sahaj form has been amended to incorporate the same details for salary and house property as in other forms. Hence, the simplicity of the form has been somewhat diluted. Further, requirement for GSTIN and turnover as per GST returns for assesses having business or profession has been incorporated, hence the effort has been made to integrate for check,” said Sandeep Sehgal, director of tax and regulatory at Ashok Maheshwary & Associates LLP.

Income tax slabs/rates for FY 2017-18:

General category		Senior citizens		Super senior citizens
(Up to 60 years of age)		(60-80 years)		(Above 80 years)
Income	Tax	Income	Tax	Income	Tax
Up to Rs. 2.5 lakh	Nil	Up to Rs. 3 lakh	Nil	Up to Rs. 5 lakh	Nil
Rs. 2,50,001-Rs. 5 lakh	5%	Rs. 3,00,001-Rs. 5 lakh	5%	Rs. 5,00,001-Rs. 10 lakh	20%
Rs. 500,001-Rs. 10 lakh	20%	Rs. 5,00,001-Rs. 10 lakh	20%	Above Rs. 10 lakh	30%
Above Rs. 10 lakh	30%	Above Rs. 10 lakh	30%
Surcharge of 10% for income between Rs. 50 lakh and Rs. 1 crore with marginal relief
Surcharge of 15% for income above Rs. 1 crore with marginal relief
# Rebate of up to Rs. 2,500 for taxable salary up to Rs. 3.5 lakh
# Education and higher education cess of 3%

Surcharge: The amount of income-tax gets increased by a surcharge at the rate of 10 per cent of such tax, where total income exceeds Rs. 50 lakh but does not exceed Rs. 1 lakh. However, the surcharge shall be subject to marginal relief.

ii) The amount of income-tax shall be increased by a surcharge at the rate of 15% of such tax, where total income exceeds Rs. 1 lakh. However, the surcharge shall be subject to marginal relief.

Source: NDTV