The Indian government needs money for spending and its development activities collected in the form of taxes and income tax returns are the biggest source of income for the Indian government.
As per the latest data released by the Indian Income Tax Department, of 8.6 lakh Doctors in the country, only 4.2 lakh of Doctors pay income tax. 2.6 lakh Lawyers are taxpayers from 13 lakh Lawyers in the country and only 1 lakh Chartered Accountants are taxpayers from 2.8 lakh Chartered Accountants. So, there seems to be a huge gap that the Government might try to increase the number of taxpayers and income, in the coming years. This requires a brief review of laws and provisions relating to the submission of income tax returns in our country.
Taxable Income
In India, the entire financial year income is beaten together under the following five heads, namely
1. Income from Salaries,
2. Income from Home Property,
3. Income from Business / Profession,
4. Income from Capital Gains and
5. Income from Other Sources (For those income not covered above 4 heads).
Income Tax Return Requirements
Under the provisions of the Indian Income Tax Act, if a person’s income exceeds the basic exemption limit, the submission of Income Tax Returns (ITR) is required. However, in cases where a person has assets or financial interests in an entity located outside India or he signs authority in a foreign bank account, filing Income Tax Returns (ITRs) is mandatory even if income is under limiting exceptions.
List Of Income Tax Returns Applicable
| S. NO. | ITR Form | Applicable For The Category |
| 1. | ITR 1 | For Individuals having Income from Salaries, one house property, other sources (Interest etc.) and having total income upto Rs.50 lakh. |
| 2. | ITR 2 | For Individuals and HUFs not carrying out business or profession under any proprietorship. |
| 3. | ITR 3 | For individuals and HUFs having income from a proprietary business or profession. |
| 4. | ITR 4 | For presumptive income from Business & Profession. |
| 5. | ITR 5 | For persons other than:- (i) Individual, (ii) HUF, (iii) Company and (iv) Person filing Form ITR-7. |
| 6. | ITR 6 | For Companies other than companies claiming exemption under section 11. |
| 7. | ITR 7 | For persons including companies required to furnish return under sections 139(4A) or 139(4B) or 139(4C) or 139(4D) or 139(4E) or 139(4F). |
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