ITR filing: My spouse is a homemaker, she gets rental income of up to Rs 5 to 6 lakh yearly. Which ITR should she file?

My spouse is a homemaker. She has no source of income but receives rental income of up to Rs 5 to 6 lakh yearly. Which ITR should she file?

Reply by CA (Dr.) Suresh Surana

Section 139(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 mandates every individual taxpayer (not subject to tax audit) to file their return of income on or before 31st July of the Assessment year.

Currently, the Income-tax Law prescribes 7 income tax return forms and the eligibility criteria for each form type which needs to be considered before making a selection. ITR-1 or popularly known as Sahaj and can be filed by Resident and ordinarily resident whose total income from specified sources does not exceed Rs. 50,00,000 during the particular financial year. The specified sources being Income from Salary/Pension, Income from one house property and Income from other sources (except lottery and gambling income) and agricultural income up to Rs. 5000. It is pertinent to note that in certain cases, taxpayer is not eligible to file Form ITR1 (such as when they are holding unlisted equity shares or has any foreign asset or brought forward or carried forward losses).

In the given circumstance, the taxpayer being a homemaker with total income only comprising of rental income amounting to Rs. 5,00,000 to Rs. 6,00,000, would generally be required to furnish their return of income in ITR-1 (Sahaj) provided she is a resident and ordinarily resident and the rental income is sourced from only one house property.

(Views expressed by the investment expert are his/her own. E-mail us your investment queries at askmoneytoday@intoday.com. We will get your queries answered by our panel of experts.)