Income tax refund: After submitting your tax return, if you meet the requirements for a tax refund, you should receive the refund plus interest at a specific rate in the event of a delay

What is the interest on income tax refund? Nonetheless, this is not always the case

If you have paid more tax than you owe for a financial year, you can receive an income tax refund after you file the income tax return (ITR) for that year. However, the processing of your ITR by the tax department and the issuance of an intimation notice confirming it is necessary before the income tax refund is issued. This intimation notice is provided under section 143 (1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. This year, the deadline for filing returns for FY 2023-24 (AY 2024-25) is July 31, 2024.

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ET Guide to ITR

Who should switch from old to new tax regime now?

No tax refund if you filed ITR with this refund amt

You can be jailed for not filing ITR and paying tax
Neither income tax refund nor any interest is given if you have filed the ITR with this amount of tax refund

The State Bank of India (SBI) processes income tax refunds and deposits them directly into the bank account specified by the taxpayer in their ITR during filing. It is important to provide the correct bank account number and IFS code. Moreover, it is crucial to pre-validate the bank account on the government's new income tax e-filing portal and link the PAN with the bank account.

How to claim income tax refund

A taxpayer can seek a refund for any extra tax amount paid or withheld in a particular fiscal year by filing their income tax returns for that year. From 2018 onward, the tax authority has implemented pre-populated ITRs on the web-based platform. However, it is recommended that the pre-filled information in the ITR form be double-checked to avoid any errors.

Once you've completed the necessary ITR form, your income tax refund will be calculated automatically using either the online method or JSON utility. The calculation will be visible in the 'Taxes Paid' section of the ITR form.

How to claim income tax refund online when filing ITR for FY 2023-24

Please remember that the tax department may not necessarily accept and pay the refund amount you claimed when filing your ITR. The tax department will decide the refund amount, if any, after processing your ITR. After you file and verify your ITR, the income tax department will process it and authenticate the claim made.

Before receiving a refund, ensure that the bank account where you want to receive the money has been pre-validated. The tax authority has announced that e-refunds will only be sent to bank accounts linked to PAN and pre-validated on the new e-filing income tax portal.

After your tax return is filed, you will be notified via your registered email about the status of your ITR processing. In most situations, you will receive a notification under section 143(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, showing one of the following outcomes:

(a) That your tax calculation matches that of the tax department and no further tax is payable by you;
(b) That your calculation does not match that of the tax department and there is additional tax (called tax demand) payable by you or your refund claim is rejected or accepted partially i.e. reduce the amount and;
(c) That your calculation matches that of the tax department and refund claim is accepted by it.

What is interest on income tax refund

If you qualify for a tax refund after filing your tax return, you should receive the refund along with interest at a specified rate if there is a delay. However, this doesn't always happen.

Generally, tax refunds carry interest at the rate of 0.5% per month or part of the month for delay in payment.

When your tax return is processed successfully, you will receive a notice under section 143(1) to confirm this. The notice will also include the total amount of any tax refund owed. No interest will be paid on the tax refund if it is less than 10% of the tax determined under section 143(1) or on regular assessment.

In cases where refunds are due to overpaid advance tax or TDS, interest is computed from the start of the assessment year until the refund is approved. For other situations, such as refunds resulting from rulings made by tax authorities, interest is calculated from the date the tax was paid to the date the refund is provided.


How to track status of income tax refund

You can track the income tax refund on:
a) The new income tax portal or
b) The NSDL website

ITR filing: How to check income tax refund status online

Tax refund: How long will it take to receive tax refund after filing ITR

The tax department will not process refunds until the taxpayer has e-verified the return. As per the tax department’s website, the taxpayer's account usually takes four to five weeks to reflect the credited return.

What can you do if your ITR refund is delayed?

If you don't receive your tax refund within the expected time, please check for any errors in your tax return and review your email for messages from the tax department.

How many days it takes to get tax refund: After filing ITR, when will I get refund?
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This story originally appeared on: India Times - Author:Faqs of Insurances