A TDS Refund arises when the taxes paid by way of TDS are greater than the actual tax payable calculated for the Financial Year. It is calculated after consolidating income earned from various sources. You know we all, as taxpayers, are categorized under various tax slabs.
Say, you have an FD and earn an interest income out of it. Banks levy a basic 10% TDS on the interest accumulated. Now, if you belong to the 5% tax bracket, you can claim a TDS refund for the additional amount deducted.
When your employer deducts more than the income tax payable:
- When the tax deducted does not match your actual tax payable, you have a facility to calculate income and taxes, file an income tax return (ITR) and claim a refund.
- During the ITR filing process, you will be prompted to provide your bank name and IFSC code. This makes it easier for the IT department to refund you the excess tax paid.
- In case you’re aware of excess TDS deduction beforehand, you can apply for a lower or NIL TDS certificate from your jurisdictional Income Tax Officer in Form 13 as per Section 197. You can submit the TDS certificate received to the TDS Deductor.
- On TDS refund on Fixed Deposit:
- When you don’t have a taxable income, please submit a declaration in Form 15G before the end of FY to your bank to notify them that you don’t have a taxable income. Hence, there should be no TDS on your interest income.
- if the bank does deduct tax on your interest income in spite of you submitting the Form 15G declaration, you can claim a refund by filing your ITR.
2. For senior citizens with FD accounts:
- If you are of age 60 or above and have a fixed deposit account, you are exempt from tax deductions on FD interest earned up to Rs. 50,000 annually.
- In case you have no taxable income for a Financial Year (after claiming the deduction of up to Rs. 50,000 for interest income), you can submit Form 15H to your bank to notify them that you don’t have a taxable income.
- If the bank still deducts tax on your interest income from your FD, you can claim a refund by filing your ITR.
3. How to claim TDS Refund Online
After registration, you can file your income tax return by downloading the relevant ITR form. Fill in the requisite details, upload the form and click on submit. Upon filing the ITR, an acknowledgment is generated for the ITR submitted, which you must e-verify. You can do e-verification by using a digital signature, an Aadhar-based OTP or your net banking account. However, if you haven’t been able to e-verify the ITR, then you can complete the verification by sending a signed physical copy of the same to the IT department