Income Tax Department Notifies Income Tax Forms For FY 2021-22 (AY 2022-23)

The government has notified new ITR forms through a notification for return filing of the assessment year 2022-23. No major changes in the ITR forms can be seen at large. As per the Income Tax Act provisions, the last date to file ITR by the taxpayers (tax audit not applicable) for FY 2021-22 is 31st July 2022. For other taxpayers to whom audit is applicable, the return filing due date is 31st October 2022. If the taxpayer has entered into a specified domestic or international transaction, the return filing due date is 30th November 2022.

Let’s see some of the important changes incorporated in the ITR forms in line with the amendments in the Finance Act, 2022:

• The Form ITR-1 seeks details on income from retirement benefits accounts in a foreign country: In Budget 2021, FM proposes to notify rules for removing hardship for NRI due to double taxation on money accrued in foreign retirement accounts. The CBDT has notified ‘Canada’, ‘United States of America’, and ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland’ countries for Section 89A in a notification released on 4th April 2022. The ITR-1 form seeks details of retirement benefit accounts maintained in a notified country under section 89A of the Income Tax Act, which should be included in the net salary. It also seeks income details from retirement benefits accounts maintained in other foreign countries. The taxpayers need to mention the relief amount to be reduced from the taxation under the said section.

• Interest accrued on PF contribution above Rs 2.5 lakh: In ITR-2 and ITR-3, the taxpayers must mention the interest accrued on the amount of contribution to taxable provident fund account under ”Schedule OS- Income from Other Sources”.

• Reporting of tax-deferred on ESOPS: A schedule ‘Schedule: Tax-Deferred on ESOP’ is inserted in ITR-2 and ITR-3. A separate disclosure of ESOPS provided by the eligible startups is required since the event of taxation is deferred to the point of sale. The new schedule will capture the details related to such deferment.

• Additional disclosures for the new tax regime opted: In ITR-3 and ITR-4, the taxpayers must disclose whether they had opted for the new tax regime under Section 115BAC, and Form 10-IE was filed in FY 2020-21. In addition, the taxpayers can choose to opt, not opt, to continue or opt out of the new tax regime for FY 2021-22.

• Additional disclosures for capital gains: In ITR-2, ITR-3, ITR-5, and ITR-6, the taxpayer must provide additional disclosures related to capital gain transactions. The disclosure requirement includes year-wise details of the improvement cost if the taxpayer has incurred such cost in different financial years and separate disclosure of the acquisition cost and indexed acquisition cost.

These are a few important changes made in the ITR forms of FY 2021-22. The taxpayers should note these ITR changes and provide necessary information while filing the income tax return.

For any clarifications/feedback on the topic, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the writer at namita.shah@cleartax.in