Income Tax refund: Don't lose your hard-earned money by making this mistake!
The last date to file your Income Tax Returns for the 2019-20 assessment year is August 31. If you earned over Rs 2.5 lakh before tax deduction, then you are liable to file tax returns. If you are a salaried employee or have an income other than salary, Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) would have been deducted from your income.
However, if you have paid more tax than what was required, you can claim a refund. After processing your filing, if there is any refund that needs to be made, the Income Tax department will transfer it to your bank account only via e-mode after March 1, 2019.
To get the due refund, you need to link your PAN card to Aadhaar. The I-T department has made it mandatory for every taxpayer to link both before September 30, 2019.
The refund usually takes 20-40 days from the date of e-verification of your ITR.
Here's how you can check your Income Tax refund status online:
Log into the Income Tax department website
Go to 'My Account'
Click on 'Refund/Demand status'
You will find the assessment year status, reason for refund failure if any, and mode of payment.
Don't fall prey to fraudsters and lose your money:
The Income Tax department has issued an advisory to taxpayers requesting them to read any income tax refund message/mail very carefully as fraudsters make use of the ITR filing season to swindle taxpayers' money by sending fake I-T refund SMS or e-mails.
Keep in mind that you will get a refund only to the bank accounts which you have mentioned in your filings. Apart from that, the I-T department will never ask for your debit/credit card PINs, one-time Passwords (OTPs) or any other confidential bank details.
If you receive any such emails or messages:
Do not reply
Do not open or download attachments, if any
Do not click on the links, if any
Do not provide your debit/credit card numbers, ATM PINs, internet banking login details or mobile banking passwords (MPINs)