How To Claim Income Tax Refund: If you have paid more taxes than your actual liability, you can request a refund for the excess amount. The Income Tax (I-T) Department offers an online facility for tracking your income tax refund status. You can easily check the progress of your refund by entering your PAN (Permanent Account Number) and the applicable Assessment Year. Visit the I-T portal and log in to your account.
Key Steps to Track and Claim Your Refund
E-Verification: Ensure your return is e-verified. Tax refunds are initiated by the tax department once you have e-verified your return.
Refund Timeline: Typically, it takes 4-5 weeks for the refund to be deposited into your bank account.
Follow-Up Actions: If the refund is not received within this timeframe, consider the following steps:
Check for discrepancies or errors in your ITR by logging into the e-filing portal (e-File > Income Tax Returns > View filed returns).
Check your email for notifications from the Income Tax (IT) department regarding the status of the refund.
Check the refund status using the online tracking facility.
How to Claim an Income Tax Refund
To get your income tax refund or TDS refund, file your Income Tax Return and declare your income, deductions, and tax paid details to the Income Tax Department. The amount of refund receivable is computed and shown in the tax return. Make sure to finish e-filing to get your tax refund faster.
Calculating Your Income Tax Refund
If you paid more taxes than required, you can claim the additional amount as an income tax refund using the formula:
Income Tax Refund = Taxes paid – Total tax liability
The income tax department will recompute the taxes and validate the refund claim before initiating the refund.
Is the Income Tax Refund Taxable?
No, the refund amount is not taxable. However, the interest received on the tax refund is taxable at your applicable tax slab rate.
Time Duration for a Tax Refund
The time taken to receive the income tax refund depends on the Income Tax Department’s internal process. Generally, it takes around 7 to 120 days, with an average time of 90 days after you have e-verified your return. The I-T Department has implemented a new refund processing system to enable faster processing, reducing the average ITR processing duration to 10 days for returns submitted in AY 2023-24.
Mode of Receiving the Refund
The refund amount is sent through electronic mode (direct credit to the account) or through a ‘Refund Cheque’. Ensure you enter the correct bank account number and IFSC code with complete address details, including the PIN code, at the time of filing your return to receive refunds. Refunds sent through cheques are dispatched to the address mentioned in the ITR through speed post.
Interest on Income Tax Refund
When the refund amount is more than 10 per cent of the total tax payable for that particular year, you will receive a simple interest on the tax refund. Interest is computed at 6 per cent per annum on the refund amount from the beginning of the next financial year until the refund date.
Claiming Refund for Missed ITR Filing on Due Date
The deadline to file your ITR for non-audit cases was 31st July 2024. If you missed this deadline, you can still file a late return, known as a Belated Return, by December 31, 2024, and claim your tax refund through this process.