Tax deducted at source can be defined as the sum of money that gets deducted from the taxpayer’s income such as interest earnings on bank account, salary, and even rent earnings. Typically, if you end up paying more TDS than what you actually owe to the government, you would be entitled to claim a refund. To ensure that you can smoothly file a refund and track TDS refund status, you need to become familiar with the steps. By doing so you can eliminate confusion and initiate the process with ease.
TDS refund – In Brief
A case for a refund would arise only if the taxes paid in the form of TDS are greater than what you ought to pay for the financial year. You can find the refund amount after consolidating the earnings from various income sources. Notably, as a taxpayer, you are categorized under different tax slabs. Take for example, if you hold a fixed deposit account and accrue an interest on it. The bank will levy the standard 10% TDS on the interest earned you accumulate on your deposit.
In case you belong to the 5% tax slab you are eligible to claim a refund for the extra amount that you paid. You will be able to claim an additional TDS refund of the extra TDS that was deducted from your salary because you did not submit investment meaning, 80C investment proof or receipt of rent paid towards the house rent allowance. During the ITR filing process, you can add up all the income from different sources to find the tax liability. After finding the sum you can subtract the TDS amount that was deducted in the financial year. In case your TDS amount is greater than your tax liability for the year, the government owes you a refund. So the next thing that you need to do is file a TDS refund claim.
Here’s How to Claim a TDS Refund
During your ITR filing process you will need your bank details, branch names, and IFSC, so keep these details ready. This step helps the IT department to refund excess tax.
Then if you follow these steps you can claim a TDS refund easily.
- When the employer deducts more than the payable tax
If your income is below the exemption limit you can avoid deduction from your salary. When the payable tax is less than the paid TDS you need to file tax returns to claim the refund.
- TDS on fixed deposit
If your taxable income is lower than the exemption limit, you need to declare the same in Form 15G to your bank. Following your declaration no TDS will be deducted from interest earnings. However, if your bank still deducts TDS on your interest earnings you can claim a TDS refund when you file tax returns.
- For senior citizens
In case you’re a senior citizen you are exempted from tax deductions on interest earnings on your fixed deposit interest earnings. However, this exemption would be applicable only if your interest earnings from each bank institution is a maximum of Rs. 50000 in a year. If your interest earnings surpass the threshold limit but your total income in the financial year remains less than the basic exemption limit, you should submit a Form 15H to declare the same through your bank. Again, if your bank deducts tax on your fixed deposit interest earnings you are allowed to claim a refund.
Steps to Claim TDS Refund
Before you begin the refund claim process you would need to register on the income tax department’s official website and register. Once done you can proceed to file returns by downloading the required ITR form.
Step 1: Enter the required information
Step 2: Cross-check the information and then upload the form
Step 3: Click on submit
Step 4: Once ITR is filed, you will receive an acknowledgment which has to be e-verified. This e-verification can be completed through digital signature, net banking, or Aadhar-based OTP.
In case you are not comfortable with e-verification you can complete the process by simply sending a signed physical copy to the income tax department. Usually, it takes 1-6 months for the refund amount to get credited. However, this window tends to depend on
the completion of the verification process. You can also verify the TDS refund status to track the progress.
Steps to Verify TDS Refund Status
Sometimes you may notice a delay in refund. In that case, you can verify the TDS refund status by simply logging into your e-filing account. From there you need to follow these easy steps –
Step 1: Open the tax filing portal and log in to your e-filing account
Step 2: Navigate to the E-file option, select Income Tax Returns, and then click on the ‘View Filed Returns’ option
Step 3: Select the relevant assessment year and click on the view details button
Step 4: in case you see ITR is processed but the refund is due proceed to click on the refund status links. It will redirect you to ITR filing details like date of filing, e-verification, date of issuing a refund, etc.
How to Check TDS Refund Status via NSDL?
In these steps you can verify your income tax refund status through the NSDL website –
Step 1: First visit the tin-NSDL website and navigate to the ‘Services’ tab.
Step 2: Next you have to select the ‘Status of Tax Refunds’ option
Step 3: Enter PAN, assessment year, and CAPTCHA
The details will appear on the screen.
Besides these ways, you can check and verify your TDS refund status by downloading and verifying your Annual TDS summary. Alternatively, you have the option to contact the income tax officer for your jurisdiction. You can also contact the ombudsman income tax office or simply complain through your e-filing account. Apart from these, you can check the TDS claim status by checking the acknowledgment and refund processing email sent to you.
Based on your convenience you can choose any of these ways and track the status of your TDS refund. This will help you initiate the process and complete the same without harboring any confusion.