If we are paying tax for food, travel, house, medical treatment, then why should we pay income tax? It is the first question that arises in the mind of individuals. To answer this question, we need to know these facts. First, unlike other countries, India provides us facilities in Government schools, hospitals etc., at a meagre cost. As we all know that taxes play a crucial role in Nation building, we should pay taxes on time. For example, the money which is collected from tax helps build the infrastructure of our Nation. Moreover, it also contributes to improving health, education facilities. And, there are more sectors in which taxes contribute. Therefore, every citizen should pay taxes on time. How to pay income tax online? It is another question that many people want to get answered.
It is not a troublesome process, and you can quickly pay tax online. Further, in this article, we will discuss procedure to pay income tax online.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Income tax is basically a tax that is imposed on the total income of a financial year. Taxes are a source of revenue for the Indian Government. The Government uses this revenue in developing infrastructure, providing education and healthcare facilities. Moreover, this revenue is also used to provide subsidies to the agriculture sector and other governmental schemes.
Taxes are classified into two categories, direct and indirect taxes. The tax imposed on the earned income is referred to as a direct tax. For example, income tax is included in the direct tax. On the other hand, indirect taxes are not directly imposed on an individual’s income but their expenses. For example, sales tax, excise duty, entertainment tax etc.
The IT department launched a facility to pay income tax online by the taxpayers. So here are two methods for individuals to pay their taxes:
- Physical mode of payment, that is payment, can be done with the help of a copy of challan from an authorized bank.
- Online mode of payment, that is making payment through net-banking with the authorized banks.
Income tax slabs and rates
| Range of income | Tax to be paid |
| Up to ₹2,50,000 | No tax |
| ₹2,50,001 to ₹5,00,000 | 5% |
| ₹5,00,001 to ₹10,00,000 | ₹12,500 + 20% of total income above ₹5,00,000 |
| Over ₹10,00,000 | ₹1,12,500 + 30% of total income above ₹10,00,000 |
List of taxes that you can pay online
You can pay the following taxes through e payment mode:
- Income tax
- Equalization Levy
- Corporate tax
- Tax deducted at source (TDS)
- Securities Transaction Tax (STT)
- The tax collected at source (TCS)
- Wealth tax, including other direct taxes, expenditure tax etc.
When should you pay income tax online?
In today’s digital era, most of the services of income-tax department have become online. Furthermore, you can also file tax returns, claim refunds and pay taxes. In addition to this, many services relating to income tax can be claimed on the official portal of paying income tax.
Types of income-tax payments:
- TDS- Tax deducted at source, will remit to the Central Government.
- Advance Tax payments
- Self Assessment Taxes are paid before filing income tax return.
For TDS payment, you need to do nothing. Tax will be deducted from your salary and will be paid to the Government. Eventually, after paying the tax, the Employer will provide you with Form 16, including all the TDS details. Thus, you can file your income tax returns.
Self-assessment taxes are for individuals who earn high salaries. And also for those who have other income sources than salaries. Hence, you have to pay self-assessment taxes if you are :
- A person who pays advance tax and has a high net worth.
- Individuals for those TDS is not available.
- Professionals and business people are required to pay advance tax.
What are the requirements to pay income tax online?
- To pay tax online, an individual should have a net-banking linked account from an authorized bank.
- In case the taxpayer does not have a net-banking account, he can pay through another person’s account. But the tax paid should be only in the name of the taxpayer.
Compulsion to pay income tax online
Some of the taxpayers do not have permission to pay income tax through physical mode. Instead they can pay taxes through online mode only. Thus, individuals that come in this category are mentioned below:
- All firms
- All individuals who do not belong to any corporation and fall under 44AB section of income-tax Act.
Person who does not belong to the compulsory category can choose to pay their taxes according to their choice. However, we always advise you to pay taxes through e payment mode to save your time.
How to pay income tax online?- A step guide
Once you calculate your tax liability, you can pay income tax online using any of e payment methods. However, you can access net-banking or debit card according to your convenience.
Below are mentioned the steps for paying tax online:
- In the first place, open the Tin-NSDL portal. There, you will see the Services option on the top of the page; click on E payment- Pay tax online.
- You can click on the option,’ Click to pay taxes online’ too on the right side of the page.
- You will get redirected to the page of ‘e payment of taxes’. And there will be different options.
- Choose any one of the options- let it be ITNS 283. Hence, after clicking on the option, a new page will open.
- By the time choose the payment method, Debit card or net-banking.
- After that, you have to enter all the details:
- Assessment year
- Permanent account number
- Address
- After entering all these details, verify them. In addition to this, fill in the CAPTCHA and click enter.
- On the redirect page, you will see all the details that you have entered. Then, it will show a declaration on the page.
- After verifying all the details and checking the declaration box, Click on the Submit option. Then, it will redirect you to the Bank website. Enter the amount of tax you need to pay and proceed with the payment.
- You will receive a receipt after the completion of the payment.
- You will get the challan number, bank name and payment details in the receipt. To emphasize, keep it with you for records.
Benefits to pay income tax online
There are a lot of benefits of paying income tax through online mode. Below are mentioned all the benefits to pay income tax online:
- Not only you will save a plenty of time by choosing e payment method for paying tax but also you can pay it from anywhere you are.
- Amount from your bank account will get transferred instantly.
- Also, you can check if income tax Department has received the amount you have paid or not. Ans this you can do through the official website of the IT Department.
- You will be issued the receipt instantly when the tax amount is deducted from the bank account.
List of banks authorized for e payment
- State Bank of India
- Axis Bank
- Canara Bank
- ICICI Bank
- Punjab National Bank
- Bank of Baroda
- IDBI Bank
- Union Bank of India
- HDFC Bank
- Central Bank of India
- Oriental Bank of Commerce
- Corporation bank
- UCO Bank
- Syndicate Bank
- Indian Bank
- Vijaya Bank
- Punjab and Sind Bank
- Andhra Bank
- Bank of Maharashtra
- Indian Overseas Bank
- United Bank of India
- Dena Bank
- Jammu and Kashmir Bank
Q&A on paying income tax online
- Is there only an option of online payment or any other?
Yes, there is also another option to pay income tax. You can pay tax through your nearest bank branch by a demand draft and also through a cheque. You can also use an income tax challan for offline payment of tax. In particular, paying income tax online is mandatory for taxpayers under 44AB section and also for corporate taxpayers.
2. What are the different payment methods to pay income tax online?
There are many methods available to pay tax online. For example, net-banking, Debit card etc.
3. What will happen if you will not pay income tax?
If you do not pay taxes on time, interest and penalties will begin to arise on your amount. For this reason, it is advisable to pay taxes on time to avoid penalties by income tax department.
4. What to do when you do not have a net-banking account?
In case you are not having a net-banking account, you can choose to pay tax through a Debit card. And, if you do not have a debit card, you can also pay tax through another person’s account.
5. What is the solution if any error occurs while paying income tax online?
If there is any error while doing an e payment of income-tax, you may call 1800 103 4455 or +91-80-46605200 for any queries.
6. Will the person go to jail for not paying taxes?
In general, non-paying income tax is a criminal offence in India. As a result, not paying taxes can lead to heavy penalties by the department of income-tax. And in some cases, you may also get imprisoned. According to section 221(1), the Assessing officer will charge a penalty on the defaulter.
Final opinion
Overall, every individual must pay taxes. Moreover, it is your responsibility to calculate tax liability and pay the tax on time. Further, paying taxes on time will help you to avoid any interest or penalties. And also e payment of taxes has made life easy as anyone can pay them in their comfort zone. Therefore, we highly suggest you pay taxes before the due date.