Online Income Tax Return

The concept of taxation is not new to Indians. It has been existing from ancient times. In ancient times, even Kings use to levy taxes on the income of the people. The manu smriti written by manu has all the guide lines of how the king should levy tax. Arthasastra written by Kautilya in 300 B.C, depicts the deep study of financial matters and also has guidelines that a king should follow to run the kingdom efficiently. As stated by Kautilya, the power of the kingdom depends on the treasury it has. Income tax is the tax levied on the income. For salaried people it is the tax levied on the salary they get. For companies it is the tax levied on the profit of the company popularly known as corporate tax . This amount is used in various welfare activities like infrastructure development of the country and for the development of other non profit organisations run by the government. The system now developed is based on the Income-tax act 1961.

In order to file an income tax return one must fill up the Income tax forms and should get it approved by the authorized auditor. An auditor, is the one who audits the fairness of the person, company, system, process etc. There are different slab rates for people ranging in various income levels. In the union budget presented by the country's Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, the slab rates have been amended and is applicable for the period 2009-2010.

There is no income tax for individuals whose income is below Rs.1.6 lakhs p.a ; For women whose income is below Rs.1.9 lakhs p.a and for Senior citizens whose income is below Rs.2.40 lakhs p.a.

10 % slab rate is for individuals whose income is in the range of Rs.1,60,001-3,00,000 p.a, for women it is from Rs.1,90,001-Rs.3,00,000 p.a and for senior citizens it is from Rs.2,40,001-Rs.3,00,000 p.a.

20 % slab rate for all the people whose income is ranging from Rs.3,00,001-Rs.5,00,000 p.a.

30 % for all those who earn above Rs.5,00,000 p.a.

One can reduce these deductions to some extent in different methods. Some pretty common methods are taking loans, retirement policies, insurance policies. There are some more methods like selling off stocks which means that if a person has a stock, which is not performing well then he can sell that stock and can claim for the tax exemption. Also, if a person buys any appliances which save energy and has been star-rated by government than one can claim exemption. So, in this way one should understand the concept of Income tax, and must pay the levied tax in the required income tax form(s) for the betterment of the country.

Income tax is the payment to the government for providing its citizens with protection and the required environment to survive by themselves and earn their breads. Income tax is the compulsory contribution to the society which an individual pays to avail its services.

Income Tax is in very layman's words would be the money a citizen gives in return for the services provided by the Government. The Government which is elected by the citizens, decides what service is most required by its citizens and then with the Income Tax collected, it uses the money to procure and create those services. The Government is responsible and is able to make decisions because of the money the citizens give as tax. The amount of Income Tax to be paid, depends on the size of the salary he/she earns and can be easily calculated via Income Tax Calculator.

There are and can be many types of taxes that come under the umbrella of income tax and need to be mentioned in the Income Tax form. Income tax has to be charged differently from different types of incomes and is also affected by how one earns their income. Income Tax is charged on the following types of Income
Income from Salary
Income from House Property
Income from profits and gains of Business or Profession
Income from Capital Gains
Income from Other sources

Income from salary includes income received in the form of salary from an employer minus the tax deducted at source. Medical Reimbursements, Conveyance allowance, Professional taxes and House Rent Allowance.
Income from House Property includes income in the form of rent received or any other income gained while owning the property.
Income from Business or Profession includes all and any form of income which is in form of any commission, profit or any other form which is directly earned from his/her business or profession.
Income from Capital Gains Tax are the gains and profits earned from selling various types of assets. It is divided in two parts which are long term and short term capital gains. Capital gains tax is applied on individuals, companies and other entities because usually when buying an asset deductions can be availed but when they are sold and a profit is earned which is then taxed.

Income from other sources includes income in the remaining forms left out by the above four categories. They include a host of incomes such as income by way of Dividends, Income from horse races or bull racing, Income from winning of lotteries or any amount received from key man insurance policy. These details may or may not have to be mentioned in the Income Tax Form.

Income Tax is the annual payment for the services used by the various entities operating and making use of the services provided by society. It can be easily calculated with the Income Tax calculator available over the Internet. One thing is very important that Income Tax should be paid on time. Income Tax should be calculated honestly and all the above mentioned incomes should be displayed and never hidden. Hence, 'Lead a stress-free life and pay Income Tax on time.'

Income Tax is the Robin Hood economics at work where the Government is legally allowed to take from the rich and distribute it among the poor. Income born out of this idea still shows a faint resemblance to the original idea.

Taxation the topic every earning member of our world's population dislikes. Never does one hear a positive comment over Income tax and is considered a necessary evil by most. It can be summed up by a beautiful quote by Jean Baptiste Colbert, "The art of taxation consists of plucking the goose in such a way to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the least possible amount of hissing", the goose being the general population. The ordinary citizens have to change their tact completely. They need to find ways to show more expenses and reduce their income which is deprecating for any self respecting man's self esteem and image.

Taxes have been applied on everything ranging from land and building to hair gel and even to nose hair trimmers. The idea of Income Tax was sold to the common public in which only the rich classes were to be taxed and then used for the welfare of the poorer classes but eventually they reached the lower classes as well. Income tax is not exactly a foreign concept for India. References both in Manu Smriti and Arthasastra have been found on Income Tax and policy. The fate of the country was sealed in 1922 with the implementation of the Income Tax Act. Things have never been the same again.

In India taxes are still not very numerous and extensive as compared to USA. The exemptions are being constantly given and slowly but surely the lower classes are being taken out of the Income Tax preview. The countries policies are actually trying to take into account the rising prices as well as the rising income levels. Income Tax even though is a pain but the Government has made the submission easier with Income Tax forms been made simpler and easier to fill and submit. Many people consider these forms as their death warrants but still Income Tax forms are easier to submit with the introduction of saral forms which are currently not in use.

On the other hand, Income Tax Calculator makes the calculation very easy since, it is the most complex aspect of the whole process. But still, Income Tax Calculator makes this process much faster and efficient.

Income Tax is the major source of revenue for the Government and the reason why a common man can receive so many services and amenities from the government. Income tax whatever you may think of it is necessity and if not paid attracts penalties and interests and after a few years, the police. So pay and file your Income tax on time and remember to file it before the last date to lead a peaceful and tax paid life. Income Tax has become essential for the proper working for any country as the number of responsibilities of the Government have increased tremendously.

Income tax also shows the earning capacity of the country and the rise in income and Standard of Living of the population.

The new budget has been a mixed bag for the common man. The amendment in Income tax policies and new or revised tax slabs hasn't received positive response from the concerned people either.

This year's Budget was presented by Pranab Mukherjee, the present Finance Minister of India. This year's budget is a very pro-public budget with exemptions and subsidies for many sectors of the economy especially for the common salaried man. Pranab Mukherjee's Budget is basically meant to tackle the problems of recession and the global economic slowdown through increasing and simulating Internal or domestic consumption. Through various measures the Finance Minister has tried to put forward a budget which borders more on the idealogical principles then on practical and logical ones.

Income Tax has been given very favourable exemptions and positive modification by the government for the Income Tax payer. Today, the trend of E-Filing tax has caught the eye of every tax payer. Questions like how much tax payer need to pay to IT authorities can be calculated through the Tax Calculator. The new Income Tax slabs are as follow for the various categories:-

Men

Up to Rs. 160000 - Nil
From Rs. 160000 to Rs. 300000 - 10 %
From Rs. 300,001 to Rs. 500,000 - 20 %
From Rs. 500001 and above - 30 %

Women
Up to Rs. 190000 - Nil
From Rs. 190001 to Rs. 300000 - 10 %
From Rs. 300001 to Rs. 500000 - 20 %
From Rs. 500001 and above - 30 %

Senior Citizens
Up to Rs. 240000 - Nil
From Rs. 240000 to Rs. 300000 - 10 %
From Rs. 300001 to Rs. 500000 - 20 %
From Rs. 500001 to Rs. 300000 - 30 %

The exemptions have been increased compared to last year for the general tax payers, women and also for the senior citizens. The surcharge on income above Rs. 10 lakh which earlier, was 10 % has been removed as well. The maintenance of medical treatment of a dependence has been raised by Rs. 25000 to Rs. 100000. This will be very beneficial for the lesser fortunate income class. And the cherry on the cake is that the one page 'Saral forms' which are also known as two-minute tax filing forms has been proposed by the Finance Minister. Filling 'Saral forms' is even simpler then calculating your tax through an Income Tax calculator.

For the rest, the Finance Minister also had a whole bag filled with goodies as well. The Fringe Benefit Tax which was a cause of pain for the corporate world has been removed. Personal Income Tax surcharge of 10 % has also been removed. The Commodity Transaction Tax was also removed. Major parts of the budget was diverted towards Transportation and Infrastructure companies. The rural Jobs program was allocated more funds then ever before up by 144 %.

The budget seems to be a very populist one and the government seems afraid of disappointing its voters . Also, it shows that the Budget would promote inclusive growth rather than exclusive growth. These types of budgets if made, are made for long term benefits rather than short term gains. This budget will affect and improve the condition of the lower strata of society, the underprivileged and the economically weaker section of society. The government can afford to plan for long term early on in their term but as it always is with everything there is still room for improvement.

Income tax system in India has always been under severe scrutiny of tax payers since, they are the people who never seem to get satisfied with the provision conceptualised exclusively for their convenience and for the government.

Income Tax has been the bane of our existence. In India, the system of direct taxation as it is known today, has been in force in one form or another even from ancient times .There are references both in Manu Smriti and Arthasastra to a variety of tax measures. Kautilya's Arthasastra, which deals with the system of taxation in a real elaborate and planned manner.

An income tax is a tax levied on the financial income of people, corporations, or other legal entities in a given financial year. The financial year of which the tax has to be paid is called the assessment year. The income tax payer is called the Assessee.

Every individual with income of any kind is liable for income tax if the income is above the threshold. We include the following sources of income for tax calculation purposes with reference to the Income Tax Act 1961.
Wages
Any Annuity or Pension
Any Fees, Commission, Perquisites or Profits in Lieu of salary
Any Gratuity
Any payment received by an employee in respect of any period of leave not availed by him, known as Leave Encashment
Transferred balance in a recognized provident fund to the extent it is taxable
Contribution made by central Government to the account of an employee under the pension scheme U/S 80 CCD

There are various websites in India that can help or do the job of calculating the amount of Income Tax. The Income Tax Calculators is the latest innovation in the scene. Needless to say it is a very user friendly, easy to use and instant results producer innovation that has come out as an handy option for many who want to get an idea about the total income tax that they have to pay to the authorities in a very short period of time. After the calculation of the Income Tax figure through the Income Tax Calculator one can also file, submit or pay the whole amount online. Here all an Assessee needs is a computer with an Internet connection and the amount that can be paid through one's credit card. The whole activity which has caused such furore in the past can now be performed within 15 minutes and that too only by sitting at home. This phenomenon is called as E-Filing and has simplified the procedure for payment of tax to an unbelievable extent.

E-Filing which has been a recent phenomenon to surface on the scene of income tax, has been very beneficial for the common tax payer. The amount of paperwork for the government has also came down due to the introduction of PAN ie Permanent Account Number. The amount of tax again can also be easily calculated through the Income Tax Calculators which available Online these days. As E-Filing can be done through the Internet, the concept is very time efficient as well as much easier for new tax payers. The work which earlier used to take hours and even days can now be done away within 15 minutes which is nothing short of a boon to the common taxpayer.

Filing of income tax returns is a legal obligation in India and in order to encourage more and more people to file their taxes on time, the central government and the IT department have launched features such as Online e-filing and Income Tax Calculator 2009 which have helped people immensely and has enabled them to file their taxes without fearing about the last date of tax-filing.

Income tax basics

Income tax is a tax which is paid to the central government on the personal income, earned in a particular year. As per the Income Tax Act 1961, every person who is an assessee and whose total annual income exceeds the maximum exemption limit is required to file the income tax as per the rules prescribed in the Finance Act. Filing of Income Tax Returns (ITR) is a legal obligation of every person whose total income for the previous year has exceeded the maximum amount that is not chargeable for income tax under the provisions of the I.T. Act, 1961.To file your Income Tax returns, you need to submit ITRs. There are different ITRs to file your income returns, depending on your profession/business/property.

E-filing

What is e-filing?
Income Tax Department has introduced e-filing where the eligible assesses can file their returns of income electronically with the aid of persons authorized to act as e-return intermediaries. These intermediaries digitize the data of tax returns and send the same electronically to the IT Department under their digital signatures. All one needs to do to file the return of income through e-filing is to approach and give his consent to any one of the e-intermediaries to work as the agent. After paying online for bills, booking the rail and air tickets online, one can now file his income tax as well online which has made life even simpler and easier without tensions about the tax-filing date.

Income Tax Calculator

What is Income tax calculator 2009?

The Income tax calculator 2009 is entirely free and a simple tax calculator to calculate your Indian income tax for 2009.

Is it easy to use and how to use it?

The calculator is easy to use and a number of websites are having this tool where you just need to enter your financial details and with in a short span of time, you get the taxable amount.

Both the features, e-filing of taxes and tax calculator brought a great relief for the people, however, there are other things as well which should be kept in mind such as income tax return forms. A brief detail about the same is as under.

1. Income tax return forms like forms ITR 1 to ITR 8 have not changed for the current year, however, the contents of the forms have been modified in order to include new data to facilitate speedier assessment and refunds related thereto.

2. One can easily download forms from the site of IT Department of India to file tax returns online. One more thing, one should use separate forms for income tax filing related to respective assessment years, which means the forms are assessment year specific.