You can file the online return yourself on the income tax department’s e-filing website www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in. You can also take help from various online tax filing intermediaries such as Cleartax.in, Taxspanner.com, Tax2win.in, and Myitreturn.com. Most of these websites provide simplified platforms for income-tax assessees to file their returns. You can use these platforms for free if you want to file the return on your own. The websites levy a charge in case you need assistance. The charges are based on several factors such as the type of income and complexity of the tax return.

However, if you prefer to file through the tax department’s website, the process remains the same as last year. “There is no change in the process of filing ITR (online or offline),” said Amit Maheshwari, partner, Ashok Maheshwary & Associates LLP.

Just like the previous assessment year, two processes are available. One is partially offline and the other is fully online (see graphic: How to e-file your return).

However, before filing, check a few things. “You should check Form 26AS and ensure that the tax deducted from your income is as per your Form 16 and matches the figures in Form 26AS,” said Abhishek Soni, chief executive officer and co-founder, Tax2win.in. If you file your returns without checking for mismatches between Form 16 and Form 26AS, you could get a notice from the I-T department, he added.

Also ensure that you mention the correct bank details so that any refund can be directly credited to the bank account. Similarly, make sure you mention the correct PAN, address, email and mobile number.

Remember that the due date for filing returns for AY2017-18 is 31 July 2017. However, don’t wait for the last date.

In the past, there have been instances when the e-filing website has crashed because too many people logged on at the same time, which led to delays and failure in filing returns.

E-filing taxes

While filing your tax return, if you find that you still owe some tax to the income tax department, you can pay it online. This is considered self-assessment tax.

The tax liability could have arisen because maybe you did not consider an income while paying the final instalment of advance tax, or if nil or a lower rate of tax deducted at source (TDS) was applied on an income instead of a higher rate of tax.

You can pay tax offline as well at designated branches of banks that are empanelled with the income tax department. For this, you need to fill up Challan 280. You can pay the tax either by cheque or cash. Remember to collect the challan receipts and ensure that the challan information number (CIN) along with a 7-digit BSR code of the branch and date of deposit are clearly printed, stamped or written on the acknowledgement.

To pay the tax online, go to the income tax website www.incometaxindia.gov.in. Once you login, you will see an option to “e-Pay taxes”. Click here and you will be directed to the website of National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL). Here, select challan no./ITNS 280. You will be presented with two options; choose the option marked ‘(0021) Income tax (other than companies)’. Fill in details such as PAN, name, address, and contact details. Select the assessment year for which you want to pay the tax. Then, under the head ‘Type of payment’ select ‘(300) Self Assessment Tax’, click on the drop-down list to choose the bank’s name through which you want to pay.

Remember that online payments can be made only through Net banking and not by credit or debit cards. After clearing the captcha test, pay tax through Net banking.