Taxation is a complicated process and I do not like it to be honest but still, there is no way that I can escape. This process has improved a lot in the past few years and I admit the fact that the government is doing pretty well to make the experience easy but still there is a lot that requires attention. the last date for tax filing in India is the 31st of July every year and sometimes the government extended it further. This extension is never guaranteed so it is always the best practice to be prepared that the extension will not happen and take action accordingly.
I have been filing my taxes since 2011 and ITR 1 is the applicable form but now this year things have changed for me. Crypto taxation was introduced last year and after that, I did some transactions in the Indian exchanges which are reported and I was required to file a different form. It is always suggested to file the taxes whichever is applicable and if there is no clarity on something then ask for assistance. There are so many tax consultants who can help by charging some fee and this process can be done easily but I have a problem here because I want to do it by myself and I went with this option in my tax filing.
Change of Forms
As I have mentioned that I have been filing taxes from the year 2011. I have been using ITR 1 because I'm a salaried employee and there is no source of other income so this form is applicable and I think it is one of the easiest forms across all the available forms. This time things are different because of crypto. Crypto is considered another source of income so I was required to file its two and this is the first time when I used this form. I can tell you that feeling ITR one is just a 5-minute game because there are very few fields to fulfil and the rest of the information is already pre-filled by the portal. there are so many components to be filled in ITR two and even this is lengthy. I wanted to file my taxes in the first week of Aug but could not do because of my busy schedule.
I have seen 2 posts by Sanjeevm in which he talked about the issue he faced and finally, he got the solution. I had thought that if there would be more problems then I will seek assistance from some consultant but finally, I did. Thanks to Sanjeev for sharing the posts it helped me and even I watched some youtube videos to see the steps that I needed to follow.
Crypto Gains & Filing
I get Form 16 from my employer and it shows everything that I earn from salaried income but for crypto, it was difficult to get the proper details. The exchange I used for most of the crypto transactions was not providing the report with a proper breakup so I asked them some questions. Later they shared the update that they are updating it and updated trade history will be available after 15th July. The exchange released the updated report and the next weekend I was travelling so could not file it.
Now there was just one weekend and I had to get it done anyhow. I spent my Saturday and Sunday calculating the figures and finally submitted them. I tried my best to calculate the amount and I hope its correct. Sometimes the tax dept sends notice for some clarification and I will be active to see if they ask for some information. Its filed successfully and the remaining 2 steps are required to be completed by the income tax dept.
Now I know how to file taxes using ITR 2 form and from the next year onwards I should be able to do this easily. Its always good to get things done by ourselves so we know the process and next time we need not struggle anymore. This is what I think and I am glad that finally its done and now there is a relaxing period for almost 1 year.
Thank you