Why senior citizens having only Fixed Deposit income should file ITR for AY 2023-24

While senior citizens having only Fixed Deposit income below the basic exemption limit are not required to file Income Tax Return (ITR), they should do so to claim a refund in case the bank had deducted TDS on interest earned on those deposits.

The basic exemption limit for senior citizens under the old tax regime for AY 2023-24 is Rs 3 lakh. Under the New Tax Regime (u/s115BAC), this limit is Rs 2.5 lakh for AY 2023-24.

According to experts at Taxmann, filing an ITR is not mandatory for senior citizens having only bank deposit income below the maximum basic exemption limit.

However, it is important to note that if the amount of tax paid by an individual exceeds his actual tax liability, the excess amount is considered an ‘income-tax refund’ that can be claimed by filing a return.

“If you are eligible for an income-tax refund, it can only be claimed by filing the ITR,” say experts.

Therefore, in cases where tax has been deducted from the interest income of a senior citizen, filing the ITR to claim the refund of TDS is advisable. “If you do not file the return, you cannot claim any refund,” experts say.

The due date to file ITR for such senior citizens having only Fixed Deposit income is July 31, 2023. For other taxpayers, there are different due dates (check the full list of due dates for AY 2023-24 here).

If a taxpayer fails to file ITR before the due date then he can file a belated return till December 31, 2023. However, belated ITR involves a late fee. Therefore, it is advisable to file returns before the due dates.

Some senior citizens are exempted from filing returns after a certain age (read details here).

As of 2nd July 2023, over 1.32 crore ITRs have been filed while more than 1.25 crore returns have been processed. The Income-department has also processed around 4000 ITRs till 2nd July.