Is a senior citizen exempts from filing Income-tax return (ITR)?

Ans. Income-tax Act, 1961 provides no exemption to senior citizen or very senior citizen from filing of return of income. However, to provide relief to the senior citizens (whose age is 75 years or more) and to reduce the compliance burden on them, the Finance Act, 2021, has inserted a new section 194P.

This provision requires a banking company to deduct tax under this provision if deductee is maintaining an account with it in which he is receiving his pension income. The tax is required to be deducted under this new provision if the recipient is a resident individual whose age is 75 years or more at any time during the year and the following conditions are fulfilled:

a) Total Income of the deductee consists only income in the nature of pension and interest received or receivable from any account maintained with deductor (such bank); and

b) Deductee has furnished a declaration to deductor containing prescribed particulars.

If the above conditions are satisfied, the deductor shall compute the income of deductee after giving effect to the deduction allowable under Chapter VI-A and rebate under section 87A. Tax on such income is required to be deducted on the basis of rates in force.

If tax is deducted from the income of such senior-citizen, he shall not be liable to furnish the return of income for the previous year in which tax has been deducted.