Filing your tax return is one way of having a legitimate proof of your income. It also helps you establish a good record with the I-T Department.

Paying your income tax and filing tax returns provides on time is a must for all individuals. Doing so makes it less likely for you to fall foul of the Income Tax Department which might issue notices to you.

Being tax complaint has other benefits too. “If you are looking for housing, vehicle, education loans, etc. it is important that you provide your income tax return receipts that you have filed for the loan to be processed. If you haven’t filed your returns, banks will not provide any loan if the return stays to be NIL for three years, says Chetan Chandak, Head of Tax research, H&R Block India.

Here are few other scenarios where filing ITR becomes necessary for tax payers:

=>Filing returns are also important for VISA processing.

=>Immediate registration of immovable properties is possible if you have filed your tax returns on time.

=>Unless you file your return regularly, banks may not issue a credit card to you.

=>Filing your tax return is one way of having a legitimate proof of your income, and it helps you establish a good record with the I-T Department.

Chandak said that in case you fail to file your income tax returns, you will have to deal with certain consequences like business loss and capital loss (short term or long term), which are to be carried forward but you will not be eligible for it. Therefore, if you fall into a certain section of income and you are eligible to pay taxes, make sure that you file your tax returns as well because paying your taxes isn’t enough. “Keep your return receipts safely so that you can avail several benefits that come with filing tax returns,” he said.

Here are some of the benefits of e-filing your income tax returns:

Faster Processing of Tax return and Refunds

E-filed returns gets processed at a faster speed than physically filed returns. More importantly, refunds, if any, are processed faster than paper-filed returns.

Better accuracy

Paper-filings can be prone to errors but E-filing software comes with built-in validations which minimizes errors considerably.

Convenience

E-filing facility is available 24/7 and you can file your return anytime, anywhere at your convenience.

Confidentiality

In case of paper filings details of your income can fall in the wrong hands at your chartered accountant’s office or in the Income Tax Department’s office. But under e-filing your data is not accessible to anyone either by design or by chance so it provides better security than paper filings.

Easy access to past records

E-filing applications store data in a secure manner and allow you to access your past returns and other forms on the go. You can access this data anytime and from anywhere.

Ease of use

E-filing is user friendly and the detailed instructions make it easy even for individuals not very conversant with the internet.