ITR filing charges of six different websites compared Further if you are not sure of filing your ITR by your own virtue, you can always hire an CA from either these websites or from outside. Charges for this service is extra
You can take various routes to file your income tax return (ITR). These include filing your ITR on your own via the income tax department’s e-filing website, using the services of a chartered accountant or using an online third-party website like Clear (erstwhile ClearTax), Tax2Win, TaxBuddy, Quicko, etc.Filing your ITR using the income tax department’s portal is free of cost, whereas you will be charged for approaching a CA or using an online income tax filing website.
Let us look at the charges for filing income tax returns on various popular portals like Clear, TaxBuddy, Tax2Win, Taxspanner, myITReturn and Quicko.
Source: data is taken from the respective websites on July 19, 2023Note: 1. Some columns were left as 'not applicable' since the respective website does not offer that specific feature as a standalone purchase, rather it is bundled with other features. Quicko and TaxBuddy do not offer this service.
Earlier most of these websites were offering ITR-1 and ITR-4 filing without an expert’s assistance for free. In recent years, they have started charging a fee for filing ITR via their website, assistance or not. However, one must check the charges levied by these third party websites to file their ITR.
For instance, as per myITreturn website, there is a free filing option but only for certain specified persons. “We provide FREE filing to unemployed, widows with family pension, student and retired Individuals,” read the website of myITreturn.
ITR filing charges with computerised assistance
ParticularsClearTaxBuddyTax2WinTaxspannermyITreturnQuickoIncome from salary, house property, and income from other sourcesRs 1,399 to Rs 1949Rs 799Rs 849 to Rs 1,149Rs 799Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,500Rs 1,499Capital gainsRs 3,499 to Rs 5,849Rs 2,399Rs 2,799Rs 3,499*Rs 3,500 to Rs 5000Rs 2,999Virtual Digital Assests (VDA)Rs 3,999Rs 5,999not applicablenot applicableRs 3500 to Rs 5000not applicableStock market trading incomeRs 4,549Rs 3,999not applicableRs 3,499*Rs 3,500 to Rs 5000Rs 3,999Source: Respective website data as of July 19, 2023
Notes: 1. Some columns were left not applicable, because the respective website does not offer that specific feature as a separate standalone package.
2. All expert assisted plans are provided with help from an computer algorithm designed by an CA/ tax expert. For an dedicated CA's assistance the charges are extra.
3. All the assisted plans are being run with help of computer algorithms based on the data fed by an CA/ tax expert unless otherwise mentioned.
*Taxspanner plan offers assistance of a CA instead of a computerised expert.
ITR filing charges with CA and other services
ParticularsClearTaxspannerLive video call and ITR filingRs 2,999 to Rs 9,999not applicable180 minutes with CA and tax optimisernot applicableRs 7,999Income tax audit by CAcharge will varyRs 14,999*45 minute telephonic call with CARs 2,999not applicableNotes: *Here Taxspanner does not include capital gains, carry forward of losses or relief under section 89. For these services additional charge of Rs 1000 each is applicable. TaxBuddy, Quicko, myITreturn and Tax2Win does not offer this service.
Similarly, Tax2Win has a feature where taxpayers can file their income tax returns for free (for users with income under Rs 1 lakh). For all others, there are charges which are mentioned in the table above.
Although Clear has never offered all of their ITR filing plans for free, rather only the entry level or simple ITR filing service was kept free. From last year, Clear started charging for this simple ITR filing service too, which was free of cost earlier. It now costs Rs 299 (excluding GST) after a discount of Rs 151.
If you wanted an expert assisted ITR filing service from Clear, then it always was chargeable.
Since its inception in 2011, they have been offering without expert assistance ITR filing service for free. “In order to continue supporting our users with this amazing product, starting May 2022, we are charging our users a nominal fee that would help us sustainably process data of millions of Indians, all while ensuring 0% downtime," read a note on Clear’s website.
Click here to read how you can file your ITR if you have income from crypto or other VDAs
Check the plan you are buying
One needs to check the services offered by the third party websites before selecting a plan. For instance, if you have income only from virtual digital assets (VDA) such as cryptocurrency, bitcoins etc, then Clear starts charging from Rs 1949 and it can go to Rs 6,499 (excluding GST). On the other hand, Taxbuddy charges Rs 5,999 (with computerised assistance) excluding GST.However, these charges will be applicable irrespective of an individual having other sources of income or not. Thus, even if you do not have salary income, interest income or have one source of income i.e., income from VDA only, then also you may have to pay hefty charges.
Services offered by these third party websites
Third party websites offer certain benefits which makes ITR filing easier vis-a-vis filing ITR on the income tax portal. However, one needs to do a cost-benefit analysis before opting for such services.Automatic data extraction: If an individual uses a third-party website for filing ITR (without expert assistance plans), then he/she can use benefit of data extraction capabilities of the website.
Here the third party ITR filing website automatically fetches Form 16 from all your employer(s), Form 26AS, and AIS data from the income tax department’s servers and fills in your ITR. On top of that, if these websites have any partnership with financial institutions and stock brokers, you can extract your capital gains or trading or other relevant information in one single click without manual uploads. In case of no tie-ups, one has to manually upload the capital gains statement from mutual funds and stock brokers.
To fetch the data, the third party website will ask you to enter your mobile number. A one-time password (OTP) will be sent to your mobile number. Once the OTP is verified only then the data will be automatically fetched from most of the sources (income tax department, mutual funds, stock broker etc.) This facility will work only if the same mobile number is linked to both - PAN and Aadhaar.
In recent years, the income tax department has started auto-populating the information in the ITR form and also started providing pre-filled ITR to the individuals. Hence, those filing ITR-1 can easily file their income tax return on the e-filing portal free of cost. Even ITR-2 and ITR-3 can be filed on the income tax portal, however, the process can be a bit complicated for laymen.
Assisted ITR filing: Third party websites offer individuals to file ITR either using the computerised expert assistance or actually hire a Chartered Accountant (which can be quite expensive) for filing ITR. The charges levied by these websites will depend upon three factors - a) sources of income, b) computerised assistance or assistance of CA and c) duration of assistance. Further, charges will be levied depending on how assistance is given i.e., chat, phone call or video call etc.
On the other hand, the e-filing website of the income tax department offers co-browsing feature which is free of cost without any limitations. Here income tax’s help desk guides you to file ITR online on the income tax portal. One may be tempted to use the income tax department’s co-browsing ITR assistance feature for free rather than paying a fortune to hire a CA. But it should be noted that the level and degree of assistance offered by an CA and that of the income tax department’s co-browsing helpdesk agent cannot be compared. At most the co-browsing agent can help you in filling out the data in the correct box in the ITR form. The question of whether that specific data is at all required to be mentioned in this specific ITR form or any separate schedule or anything, is a matter of the CA’s intelligence and knowledge. Hence, one needs to see if the ITR filing process is complicated that one needs CA assistance.
Check for discounts
Currently, many third party websites are offering discounts in ITR filing. Hence, one should check if they are eligible for a discount in case they are using a third party website to file ITR. For instance, TaxBuddy is offering discounts to customers of certain companies like ICICI bank, EbixCash, and others. Clear is running a campaign offering special discount codes on various ITR filing plans offered by them.
Value added services
Certain websites like Clear and Taxspanner offer some value added services for extra payments. Like supposing you need to clarify your doubts about income tax, then Clear will connect you with an tax expert for 45 minutes and take Rs 2,999. Taxspanner will take Rs 3,499 to Rs 8,999 for 20 to 180 minutes of a CA’s assistance.
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This story originally appeared on: India Times - Author:Faqs of Insurances
