The last date for filing Income Tax Return (ITR) for the assessment year 2019-20 is July 31, 2019. After the refund is determined, it is processed by the tax department. It can be checked online either through the income tax e-filing portal or through the NSDL website.

ITR filing required various documents which is why it is important that taxpayers file the return ahead of the deadline so that they have enough time to gather all the required documents and details. Filing ITRs on deadline often leads to error which is why it is advised that taxpayers file their returns ahead of the deadline.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) issues the income tax return forms every year and the forms can be easily downloaded online. It may be noted that filers have to be very careful while filing their returns as several changes have been introduced this year in several forms.

Here are a few changes you should be aware of before filing your ITR

1. Form 16: The revised form seeks details of income from house property or any remuneration from other employees. It will also include details of any deduction with respect to tax-saving schemes, allowances received by the employee and income from other sources. The form will also seek details of deductions with respect to interest earned on deposits in saving account, discount or surcharge.

In the revised Form 16, the employer is now required to provide detailed break up of tax deductions claimed by the employee from his salary under section 80C to section 80U of the Income Tax Act. This will not only help the taxpayer to easily file ITR and claim tax deductions by looking at Form 16 but, it will also help the tax department to spot any discrepancy in the ITR filed by the taxpayer.

2. ITR-1: This form cannot be used by the individual who is a director of the company or has invested in unlisted equity shares, according to the notified form. Resident individuals who have a total income up to Rs 50 lakh from salary, one house property and from other sources like income from the interest, etc. This form has an option of the standard deduction. For the financial year 2018-19, the maximum amount of standard deduction claimed by an individual is Rs 50,000.

If an individual has a house then he or she will have to specify whether it is self-occupied, let-out or deemed to let-out. This year, individuals are required to provide details of income from other sources such as interest income from the bank account, fixed deposits (FD), etc.

3. ITR-2: It is used by an individual or a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) who is not eligible to file Sahaj or ITR-1 and also who is not earning any income under the head 'profits or gains of business or profession'. In this form an individual will be required to mention residency details like 'you were in India for 182 days or more during the previous year [section 6(1)(a)] or you were in India for 60 days or more during the previous year, and have been in India for 365 days or more within the 4 preceding years [section (6)(1)(c)] [where Explanation 1 is not applicable].

In the (i) section of the form, you need to check the box if you have held unlisted equity shares at any time during the previous year. If you have held the same, then you need to provide the information such as the name of the company, PAN, number of shares held or acquired by you, shares sold by you, etc.

4. ITR-4: Only taxpayers above the age of 80 years filing ITR-1 or ITR-4 are eligible for paper filing facility. Taxpayers with income of up to Rs 5 lakh and seeking a refund are not allowed to file their ITR in the paper format starting FY 2018-19. The Income Tax department has also banned directors, investors from filing ITR in regards to their investment in unlisted companies. They are barred from filing ITR-1 or ITR-1.

5. Form 24Q: At the time of paying salary to an employee, the employer deducts TDS and he has to file salary TDS return in Form 24Q. Form 24Q is to be submitted on a quarterly basis. The revised form includes details such as deductee type (senior citizen, super senior citizen, others), Income (or admissible loss) from house property reported by employee offered for TDS as per section 192(2B), PAN of lender, if the interest on housing loan is claimed under section 24(b), travel concession or assistance under section 10(5) and PAN of the landlord, if tax exemption is claimed under section 10(13A).

Worth mentioning here is that at the start of the financial year, fixed deposit holders have to submit form 15G or 15H to the banks. This is done in order to avoid tax deducted at source (TDS) on the earned interest income. Generally, banks deduct 10% as TDS from the interest amount if the total interest exceeds Rs 10,000 in a particular financial year. However, this form can be submitted even if the income exceeds Rs 2.5 lakh under certain conditions.