Know The Difference Between Financial Year And Assessment Year In Income Tax Form

Every year, millions of Indian citizen carry the income tax filing routine to maintain their financial profile. The most important thing one need to know during income tax filing is the various terms encoded into the form. The two terms that always create confusion in the filer’s mind is Financial Year and Assessment Year.

In income tax filing, financial year or FY stands for the previous year for which you will have to file income tax. The Financial year starts from 1st April to 31st March and the assessment year is in which you file income tax returns for the income of that time period. For example, if 1st April 2015 to 31st March, 2016 is the financial year then the assessment year or AY for income tax filing will be 2016-17.  Or simply you can say that each year, the income tax department calculates tax liability for the previous year.
So, to avoid this confusion easily, you must be careful in noticing the difference between AY and FY in the form. Also, always remember that in the income tax filing form, AY is mentioned at the top and for other section it is FY. Other forms such as TDS form, Form 16A, Capital Gains form and Form 26AS always mention FY. So, the basic thing you need to remember is that, your income will be only assessed after the year ends.

Now, if you are worrying about the mistakes made during income tax filing by yourself, then check it by accessing the user account panel. For the mistakes you have done, you can file a revised ITR only if you have filed tax returns by the deadline. Doing this will withdraw your previous form.

But it is always recommended that you double check the form before income tax filing to avoid mistakes in recognizing FY and AY accurately.

Also Read : Reasons Why ELSS Mutual Funds Are The Best Tax Saving Instrument

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