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 Employees who get Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) are only excluded from paying taxes on their real out-of-pocket travel expenses, such as air, rail, or bus fares. Only two travels may be excluded from the LTA throughout a period of four calendar years. You can claim LTA benefits for the travel expenses for both you and your family. The amount of the LTA exemption relies on the LTA portion in your CTC. Let’s get comments from various industry experts on how to claim LTA tax exemption under the old tax regime as the current block year is 2022-2025. Mr. Sujit Bangar, Founder, Taxbuddy.com The Indian Income Tax System plays a vital role in the country’s economic growth and development. One of the key components of this system is Leave Travel Allowance (LTA), which provides tax benefits for individuals who undertake domestic travel. In this article, we will delve into the intricacies of LTA and how it impacts taxpayers in India. LTA is a component of an employee’s salary package that al...

Form 16 download, mistake correction before ITR filing for AY 2023-24: The payroll departments of companies have started mailing their employees about the availability of Form 16 for FY 2022-23. It is an important document for Income Tax Return (ITR) filing, containing details of income and tax deductions in the previous financial year. While employees can get Form 16 directly from the payroll departments of their companies, it can also be downloaded from the TRACES website of the Income Tax Department. How to download Fon 16 on the Income Tax TRACES website “To begin the process, simply enter your PAN as the user ID on the TRACES website (www.tdscpc.gov.in). From there, navigate to the download menu and select Form 16. Next, choose the desired financial year for which you wish to acquire Form 16 and click the download button,” says Sujit Bangar, Founder of Taxbuddy.com. Source link:  https://www.financialexpress.com/money/income-tax/how-to-download-form-16-from-income-tax-traces...

Salaried individuals can start filing income tax returns (ITR) for the financial year 2022-23 as most employers must have issued Form 16 by now. Form 16, an essential document, provide details of TDS/TCS for various transactions between the deductor and deductee. It reflects the working of income earned as salary along-with various allowances and deductions. So, is Form 16 sufficient for filing ITR? No, it may not be sufficient to file ITR if individuals have any income from sources other than salary, said Sujit Bangar, Founder at Taxbuddy.com . "For example, an individual may be having income from freelancing, gain from sell of investments like shares, mutual fund units, bonds, property etc," he told CNBC-TV18.com. One of the major misconceptions is that one can’t save tax other than deductions reflected in Form 16. While filing the income tax return, it’s very much needed to do a fresh analysis of tax saving investments and tax expenses incurred during f...

Starting a mutual fund for your child no longer requires the cumbersome process of opening a bank account in their name. According to a recent circular released by the Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on May 12, 2023, investments can now also be made from the bank account of the parent or legal guardian of the minor, or a joint account of the minor with a parent or legal guardian. This new rule will be effective from June 15, 2023. The recent change in rules is a positive development as it simplifies the investment process. Moreover, having a mutual fund in a child's name provides a stronger sense of commitment for parents to continue the investment. On the other hand, if the investment is in an individual's name, there is a higher probability of withdrawals during emergencies, for purchasing luxury items like the iPhone 14 Pro, or during market downturns.  However, it's important to note that the redemption proceeds of the investment will still be credited to t...

  Taxpayers must submit an income tax return to the government, commonly once a year, in order to disclose their earnings, deductions, and tax liabilities. Filing ITR allows you to calculate the amount of tax due to the government or the prospective tax refund from tax-saving investments. After filing your income tax return, you can employ the following tactics to maximise your tax returns, according to different tax experts. Sujit Bangar, Founder, Taxbuddy.com 1. File income tax returns on time to avoid late filing fees which will reduce your refund amount or can add an additional tax liability. 2. Before filing your tax returns, make sure to verify your personal and income details with 26AS & AIS/TIS. Check if all the TDS are reflected in 26AS so that full TDS can be claimed or adjusted against the tax liability and flag any incorrect information or income added to your PAN on AIS/TIS. 3. You have the option to switch your tax regime at the time of filing your returns. If yo...

  Health insurance is a form of insurance that covers medical expenditures incurred by an individual for long-term well-being. Ultimately, health insurance allows individuals and families to cover the high expenses of medical treatment. There are tax advantages to purchasing and having health insurance coverage. The premium amount paid for health insurance is tax deductible. Section 80D of the Income Tax Act allows you to claim tax benefits on your health insurance premiums. As a result, based on an interview with various industry experts, here's how you can get tax breaks on your health insurance premiums. Sujit Bangar, Founder, Taxbuddy.com :  We all are aware about health insurance benefit for tax deductions. Where we get confused are two things.  Firstly , deduction for health insurance is different from deduction under 80C bracket. This health insurance deduction is over and above 150k limit of 80C.  Secondly, we all do regular health check up. Especially, eve...

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued a circular dated April 5, 2023, clarifying how employers will be deducting tax on salaries for the current financial year 2023-24. As per the circular issued, an employee is required to inform the income tax regime that he/she intends to choose for the purpose of TDS on salaries. Once the intimation is received by an employer, then tax on salary will be deducted accordingly. The employee can choose either the new or an old tax regime, at his convenience. If an employee does not inform the employer of the same, then it will be assumed that the employee has opted for the new regime. The TDS on salary will be deducted on the basis of the income tax rates applicable under the new tax regime. The new circular has been issued by the income tax department after changes in the Income-tax Act, 1961 were announced in the Budget 2023. One of the announcements was the new tax regime becoming the default option. Till FY 2022-23 (i.e., Mar...