Income Tax Department Introduces ITR-5 Excel Tool for Assessment Year 2024-25
News Article: ITR-5 Updates for Assessment Year 2024-25
The Income Tax Department has announced significant updates to the ITR-5 filing structure for the Assessment Year 2024-25. These changes aim to enhance transparency and compliance for non-corporate entities with evolving business activities and tax benefits under new government incentives.
The updated ITR-5 form now includes new sections for MSME registration and deductions under Section 80-IAC for startups. This will align tax reporting with government schemes that support these entities and facilitate the benefit of income tax exemptions available to such entities during their initial years.
In addition, the form now requires expanded disclosure for income from virtual digital assets like cryptocurrencies and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). This move reflects the growing importance of digital assets and ensures better tracking and taxation of such income sources.
The ITR-5 filing structure includes loss set-off, depreciation, deductions, exempt income, foreign assets, GST reconciliation, and tax relief. It also features detailed financial disclosures such as general information, balance sheet, manufacturing and trading accounts, profit and loss statement, and more.
The ITR-5 Excel Utility, designed for partnership firms, Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs), cooperative societies, Associations of Persons (AOPs), Bodies of Individuals (BOIs), artificial juridical persons, societies registered under the Societies Registration Act, local authorities, business trusts, investment funds, and certain other entities, is available for filing annual income tax returns.
It is important to note that the ITR-5 form is not meant for individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), companies, or those required to file ITR-7.
Taxpayers can e-verify or physically verify their returns by sending the signed form to the Centralised Processing Centre (CPC) in Bengaluru within 30 days. The deadline for filing returns for non-audit cases in AY 2024-25 is September 15.
The IT department announced the availability of the ITR-5 Excel Utility on social media platform X. Buyback losses can now be reported in the ITR-5 only if the related dividend has been taxed.
These updates to the ITR-5 form are part of the government's ongoing efforts to modernise and simplify the tax filing process, making it more accessible and efficient for all taxpayers.
[1] Source: Income Tax Department's official website [3] Source: Business Standard news article on ITR-5 updates for AY 2024-25
- The updates to the ITR-5 form provide new sections for MSME registration and deductions under Section 80-IAC for startups, demonstrating the government's support for non-corporate entities in the business sector and facilitating their access to tax benefits.
- In the context of the growing importance of digital assets, the updated ITR-5 form now requires expanded disclosure for income from virtual digital assets such as cryptocurrencies and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), ensuring better taxation of such sources.
