How to Get TDS Refund: If you have done a job, done freelance work or have any income source from which tax has been deducted on income, then you must have heard the name of “TDS” i.e. Tax Deducted at Source. Now many times it happens that the amount of tax deducted from your income is more than your actual tax liability. In such a situation, the government returns that extra money to you, which is called TDS refund.
Now the question arises that how will you get this refund? What documents will be required for this? And by when will the money be returned? Let’s understand this whole process in a very desi and easy language.
What is TDS refund and who gets it?
Suppose your annual income does not fall in the tax slab, but still TDS was deducted from your bank FD, salary or any payment. So you can ask for this extra money which has been deducted back from the government. This is TDS refund.
What documents are required to get a refund?
The most important thing for TDS refund is your PAN card. Your PAN should be updated correctly with every institution that deducts TDS on your income. Without this, your tax can be deducted at a higher rate.
If you are in a job, you will get Form 16 and if TDS is deducted on any other income, then Form 16A is required. These forms tell when and how much tax was deducted and where it was deposited. These have to be uploaded correctly on the Income Tax Department website.
Now talking about bank details, it is important to have the bank account number and IFSC code correct. And most importantly, the bank account should be linked to your PAN card so that the refund can come directly to your account.
You should have a TDS certificate which contains all the information like TDS amount, date, TAN number of the company or institution etc. Along with this, it is also necessary to fill the Income Tax Return i.e. ITR form. In this form, you tell about your income, deductions and how much TDS has been deducted.
If your income is outside the tax slab, then you can avoid TDS deduction by giving Form 15G or if you are a senior citizen, then Form 15H. But if it has been deducted, then these documents are required to get the refund.
Now let’s talk about the entire refund process
For TDS refund, you have to first file income tax return. For this, you can go to the income tax website and fill the form yourself or take the help of a chartered accountant.
When you file ITR, you fill all your income, deductions and TDS information in it. If you want, you can match all this data with Form 26AS because the information that the government has is visible in this form.
The most important step after filing ITR is to verify it. Without this, your form will not be processed and the refund may get stuck.
If you have filled everything correctly and verified it, then usually within 30 to 45 days the refund reaches your bank account. Yes, if there is some error then it may take some time.
How to know whether the refund has come or not?
After filling the ITR, if you want to know how far the refund has reached, then you have to log in to the Income Tax website. There you will get the option of “Refund/Demand Status”. From there you will know at what stage your refund is.
If the government is taking too long to give the refund, then you are entitled to get interest up to 6% per annum. This interest is calculated from the next month of the tax due date.