Financial Year 2018-19: Here are 5 crucial tasks you must complete before March 31

“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes!” Yes, its tax time as March 31st is just around the corner. As the Financial Year 2018-19 is about to end on March 31, the date is critical for businesses and working class to ensure that all their financial commitments including taxes, investments, claims, capital fatalities, income and expenditure details etc are met. As per IT laws in India, April 1 is the starting date for Income Tax being levied on the total earned income during a financial year and March 31 is the last date to clear out all financial backlogs of the previous financial year. All deductions, exemptions and rebates are provided on a financial year basis and cannot be carried forward to the next cycle (except otherwise stated). Therefore, it is important to claim all such exemptions, deductions and rebates before the financial year ends in order to reduce your tax liability. Before welcoming the new financial year, it is very important for all to file and claim all tax exemptions and deductions for the previous one. This is surely an art which helps you save money and as they say ‘tax evasion is a crime, but tax planning is not.’ Post demonetisation, the government has tightened taxation policy and there is no place for tax evaders to hide. So, now is the better time to get smart and in case you have missed out on anything, you can still do it and reduce your tax liability. We have chalked out these 5 important tasks for you to complete before March 31, 2019 in order to save your taxable income: File pending income tax returns for financial year 2018-19 In case you have missed the due date to file income tax returns for the previous years, you can still file the return of your income for these years. It is better to consult a Chartered Accountant for the same as the process to file belated income tax returns is a little complicated and involves many calculations. The last date for filing income tax return for Financial Year 2017-2018 was July 31, 2018. However, if you have not filed it yet it can be done till March 31, with a late payment fee. If your total income is below Rs 5 lakh per annum, the late payment fees would be Rs 1,000 whereas for those will annual income about Rs 5 lakh – the late fees would be Rs 10,000. Submit investment proofs to employer (for salaried employees) For all salaried employees, it is important to submit proofs of your investment to your employer for the financial year 2016-17. In case you fail to submit the investment proofs to your employer, excess TDS shall be deducted on your income. Though the extra TDS deducted can be claimed while filing the income tax return, it is better to submit your investment documents on time. Apart from submitting investment proofs to your employer, salaried individuals are also required to submit proofs claiming HRA Exemption, Medical Reimbursements, LTA Exemptions etc. It is suggested to get in touch with the Human Resources (HR) department to know exactly what documents one needs to furnish. Pay Advance Tax In case you are salaried and have no other income, in all cases, you might not worry about advance taxes. But if you do have other income like interest on fixed deposits, unpaid taxes (after TDS) on which exceed Rs 10,000 you should pay your advance taxes. In case you fail to pay advance tax, you might end up paying a penalty of 1 per cent on the outstanding advance tax. This is applicable in case you have taxable capital gains from the sale of house/ mutual funds/ bonds etc. You need not to pay advance tax in case you are a senior citizen (above 60 years of age) and not engaged in any business or professional activity. Make investments to save tax In case you haven’t, it is the a best time for you to make investments. One should invest money in such a way to save from taxes. Related to specific conditions, different kinds of estimation are acceptable for subtraction of indicated sum from gross income before attaining at the taxable income. You get tax deductions on the EMI (Principal component) of your home loan, under Section 80C of the Income Tax act. Other tax deductions can be enjoyed on life insurances, mutual fund investments and education loans etc. Clearout your loan accounts It is important for all to take stock of their credit records and clean them up if required. If case you have given or taken any impermanent credits or loans, or an outstanding, get it settled at the latest 31st March 2019. This will help in refining the balance sheet situation of the proportion of benefits and liabilities, debt-equity ratio, credit score and so forth. These loans can again be given or taken after April 1, 2019. Do your tax planning properly and save your hard-earned money. Be wise, get rich!