Simplified one-page form: How to file your Income Tax Returns (ITR) from April 1, 2017

For long, filing one’s income tax returns was considered one of the most tedious tasks, requiring skill sets possessed by very few people. For the common man, it was infuriating, if not impossible.  It wasn’t enough that one was giving one’s hard-earned money to the exchequer which would let the government do with it whatever it deemed fit, but one had to fill up complicated forms as well.

Thankfully, from tomorrow, April 1,2017, the process of filing income tax returns has been made considerably easier for salaried individuals. The government has introduced a simple one-page form for the assessment year 2017-18. To simplify the process even further, here are some steps to follow while filling your ITR form:

1) Register yourself on the IT department’s tax-filing website.

2) Fill in your PAN card and Aadhaar number. As per the latest rulings, your Aadhaar number is mandatory for filing IT returns.

3) Fill in your personal details and information on taxes paid, following which your TDS (tax deducted at source) will be auto-filled.

4) There are two ways to do this. You can fill it and submit it online or download a soft copy and fill it electronically.

5) The form has to be submitted along with documents required for IT returns filing. If you fill it offline, you can upload XML versions of the required documents.

6) Once you’re done, you will get a message confirming the receipt of your IT returns form.