No scrutiny of senior citizens, small taxpayers

Taxes | admin | July 17, 2011 at 9:40 am

Tax returns filed by senior citizens and small taxpayers (gross total income of less than Rs 10 lakh) will not be picked up for random scrutiny by the department. The CBDT has said that it will scrutinise cases only if it has credible information pointing to tax evasion. The move follows concerns raised by taxpayers that the prolonged procedure of scrutiny was causing hardship to individuals, especially senior citizens. In a few instances, the returns of taxpayers have been picked up repeatedly.

AIR section removed from tax forms

There is no need to declare high-value investments and expenses in your tax returns. This year's tax return forms do not have the annual information return (AIR) section. Taxpayers had to declare in the AIR if certain investments exceeded a limit during the year. Investments of Rs 2 lakh in mutual funds, Rs 1 lakh in stocks, Rs 5 lakh in RBI bonds, and sale or purchase of property over Rs 30 lakh had to be declared. If credit card expenses exceeded Rs 2 lakh, you had to mention that. From this year onwards, you need not do so.

No tax on annual medical check-up

The tax department wants you to be healthier. No tax will be levied on withdrawals from welfare funds to pay for annual medical tests or medical check-ups of a member, his spouse and dependent children. Till now, only cash benefits to a member of the welfare fund on superannuation, illness (including spouse or dependent children), or towards education of dependent children were exempted from income tax. The exemption for medical tests is granted under Section 10 of the Income Tax Act.

Source: Economic Times