How to File Income Tax Return for Pensioners in India?

All individuals who have an annual income over the basic exemption limit as per the income tax regime opted by them are liable to pay income tax. However, the case is different for pensioners and senior citizens; they enjoy a certain exemption. In this article, we will talk in detail about how to file ITR for pensioners and senior citizens.

If you are wondering how to file an income tax return for pensioners, know that you would need to provide accurate details in the parts of the ITR-1 (Sahaj) form below-

Part A

All personal details of the filing individual, like DOB, name, etc., need to be filled in correctly.

Part B

The next step in the process of how to file ITR for retired govt employees involves furnishing accounts of total gross income. Provided information should tally with Form 16 and Form 12BA.

Part C

Individuals need to provide accurate information of all deductions availed in form 16 from taxable income.

Part D

Provide your tax status and correct tax amount in this part. Other details which need to be mentioned-

• Details about all active and operative accounts with their IFSC codes.

• Verification of the details provided.

• Details of advanced tax and payments for tax self-assessment.

• TDS from salary

Pensioners with a total income of less than ₹50 lakhs are required to file ITR-1 (Sahaj). It is also applicable for family pensioners.

ITR-2 is applicable to pensioners if they have income from pension or salary, from owned property or house, or from other sources. This ITR form is also eligible for pensioners who have capital gains. 

In case a pensioner has income from business or profession, they have to file ITR-3 or ITR-4.

Section 11 of the Pension Act and Section 60 of CPC states have clearly defined pensions. Only individuals who qualify under this category specifically can be termed as pensioners. 

Given below are some important things to note before filing ITR for pension income: 

• Uncommuted pensions (received monthly) are taxed under the head “Income from Salary” as per the tax slab. 

• A commuted pension (received as lump sum) of government employees is completely tax exempted. 

• A commuted pension of non-government employees is partially tax exempted subject to their gratuity, as: 

• If gratuity is received – 1/3 of the total pension received is tax exempt and the remaining is taxed as salary. 

• If gratuity is not received – 1/2 of the total pension received is tax exempt. 

For Pension Received by a Family Member

This pension is taxed under the head ‘income from other sources’, and the tax rules applicable are as follows: 

• Commuted pension is not taxable.  

• Uncommuted pension received by a family member is tax exempt up to ₹15,000 or 1/3rd of the uncommuted pension whichever is lower, under both new income tax regime and old tax regime as per Budget 2023

Most pensioners tend to receive their salary in their bank accounts at nationalised banks, usually after deducting TDS. Based on proposed changes by Budget 2019, TDS exemption is raised from ₹10,000 to ₹40,000. This means if your earnings are ₹40,000 or less, you can avail of a TDS exemption.

Pension received by family members is not taxed for TDS, as it falls under the head “income from other sources”.

With IT filing made easy and online, the income tax departments go a step further for pensioners with their exemptions. Pensioners can also enjoy assistance by filing their taxes on pen and paper to make their work easy.

Finance Act 2021 introduced a new Section 194P under the IT Act 1961, according to which senior citizens aged 75 and above are exempted from filing income tax returns, effective 1st April 2021.  

However, senior citizens above 75 years who are exempted from filing ITR must satisfy the following conditions: 

• The person should be a resident in India during the previous fiscal year. 

• The source of income should be only from pension and accrued interest on savings accounts, both from the same bank. 

• A declaration needs to be given to the bank that the only source of income is from pension and accrued interest. The declaration will also have details of chapter VI-A deductions and rebates allowed under section 87A of the income tax law. 

• The declaration should be submitted to the bank specified by the Central Government. These banks will be responsible for TDS deductions of senior citizens over 75 years after considering deductions under chapter VI-A and rebate under section 87A as mentioned in the declaration.

However, citizens between the years of 60 and 75 need to file their income tax returns based on the ITR-1 or ITR-2 or ITR-4 forms.

Senior citizens should file their income tax online under the ITR forms mentioned in the above table. There is an offline method available to fill the form, but this is open only to super senior citizens above the age of 80.

Online ITR Filing for Senior Citizens

Senior citizens need to fill in the corresponding forms via the online portal provided by the government. Here are the steps to do the same.

• Step 1: First, you need to visit the government portal for ITR. 

• Step 2: Log in using your PAN card, password, and Captcha code. 

• Step 3: Go to the "e-file" tab and select the "Income Tax Return." 

• Step 4: On the income tax return page, you need to fill up the following a) Assessment year b) ITR Form Number c) Submission mode as "Prepare and Submit Online" d) Filing type as "Original/Revised Return."

• Step 5: You will be redirected to the ITR form, where you can fill in all the details. 

• Step 6: Once you have filled in the form you can then choose a verification option. 

• Step 7: After selecting how you want the form to be verified, submit and view it online.

Offline ITR Filing for Senior Citizens

Senior citizens above the age of 80 or super senior citizens can file their income tax returns by submitting all the necessary documents to the Income Tax Department of a city or locality. This offline option is open only to these people.

The documents that are necessary for senior citizens to file their ITR forms are as follows:

• PAN card  

• Aadhaar card

• Bank passbook 

• Capital gains statement

• Documents relating to a property 

Yes, it is possible to file the ITR for senior citizens for previous years. You can submit it up to three years overdue.