Many people look forward to receiving a refund when it comes down to filing your income tax return. However, there are situations where you may end up owing additional taxes instead. It may happen if you underpaid taxes throughout the year and had changes in your deductions or experienced an increase in your income. If it occurs, you will be required to pay the outstanding balance to the Income Tax Department.
Whether you’re filing an original income tax return (ITR), a revised ITR, or an updated income tax return (ITR-U), these situations may occur. In such cases, you may encounter penalties and interest charges if payments are delayed or if the return is filed late.
In this post, We’ll dive into the steps to make income tax payments online.
What is e-Tax Payment?
To put it simply, e-tax payment refers to the online service that allows taxpayers to pay their income tax consistently using their net banking accounts. If you have a bank account with a net banking facility or your bank offers an e-pay tax option, you can use this facility to settle your tax dues without visiting a bank in person.
Thanks to the Income Tax Department, the entire process is so streamlined that people can now visit the official website of the income tax department to pay taxes directly. Through the e-tax payment system, you can pay multiple taxes, including direct taxes, GST, customs duties, state taxes, ESI, EPF, and e-freight charges. Furthermore, it enables users to track and review their previous and current challans.
Benefits of e-Tax Payment
Let’s take a look at the potential benefits of e-tax payment online.
- Time-Savings & Convenience
One of the biggest benefits of online tax payment is that it offers convenience. Furthermore, you can make your tax payments anytime, from anywhere, without needing to visit a bank or a tax office. Thus, it may eliminate the hassle of standing in long queues and waiting for your turn, which may allow you to complete the process in the comfort of your home or office.
- Automatic Record Updates
Another major benefit of online tax payment is that the moment you pay your taxes online, the records are automatically updated in the tax department system. Thus, it means that you don’t have to worry about manually informing the authorities or taking extra steps to ensure payment is properly recorded. Furthermore, it reduces the chances of errors or delays in updating your tax records.
- Instant Receipt Generation
One of the major highlights of the e-tax payment is that once the payment is made, you shall receive an instant electronic receipt as proof of payment. Furthermore, this receipt serves as an official confirmation that your tax obligations have been fulfilled, which may provide peace of mind and immediate documentation for future reference.
- Online Verification of Payment Status
Last but not least, once you have made the payment, you can easily verify its status online. Thus, it ensures transparency as you can track whether your payment has been processed successfully and confirm that your tax records are up to date. Furthermore, it adds a layer of confidence which means that you can monitor the progress of your tax payment at any time.
What is the Step-by-Step Procedure for e-Tax Payment?
Here are the steps to make online tax payments in two different ways:
Without Logging in:
- In the first step, you will need to visit the official website of the e-filing portal. Under “Quick Links”, you will then need to click on “E-Pay tax”.
- After that, you may need to fill in your PAN details and then complete the OTP verification received on your mobile number. Then, click on the “Continue” button.
- Once the OTP verification is done, a success message with your PAN and name will be displayed on the screen. After that, you will need to click on “Continue” to proceed.
- In the next step, you will need to click on “Proceed” under the window “Income Tax”.
- Once you’re done, you will need to select your assessment year and type of payment (Minor Head) as self-assessment tax (300) or “advance tax (200)” as required and then click on the “Continue” button.
- After that, you will need to fill in the accurate details of tax payment under the relevant categories and click on “Continue”.
- The moment you click on the “continue” button, you will see the option to select a payment mode (Net Banking/Debit Card/Payment Gateway) from the list given under online payment. Then click on the “Continue” button.
- After that, you will need to verify the details. Once you are done, click on “Pay Now.” If you encounter an error, verify the details again and then click on “Pay Now.”
- In the second last step, you will need to tick the checkbox after reviewing the terms and conditions and then click on “Submit to Bank”.
- In the final step, when you successfully make the payment, you can easily download the Challan Form (CRN) for your records and complete the process.
With Login:
If you are already a member, then you may need to change the initial steps. Otherwise, the end steps are almost the same. Let’s take a look at the steps for income tax payment online.
- In the first step, you will need to visit the Income tax department’s online e-filing portal. Then, at the top, you will see a login option. Click on “Login” and then enter your credentials.
- In the next step, when you are on the dashboard, you will need to click on “e-pay tax” under “e-File”.
- After that, on the “e-pay tax” page, you will need to click on the “new payment” option to initiate the online e-tax payment.
- On the new payment page, click “proceed” under the “income tax” window.
- After that, you must select the assessment year and choose the type of payment as either “Self-Assessment (300)” or Advance Tax (200). Once you are done, click on the continue button.
- In the next step, you must enter the correct details for the tax payment in the relevant fields and then click “Continue.”
- When you are on the select payment mode page, you need to choose the preferred payment method.
- After that, you will need to review the details carefully. If everything is correct, you will need to click on “Pay Now” to proceed. If there’s an error, edit the information, verify again, and then click ‘Pay Now.’
- After reviewing the terms and conditions, you will need to check the box and then click “Submit to Bank” to proceed with the payment.
- In the final step, you can download the challan form for your records.
Frequently Asked Questions
Listed below are the frequently asked questions related to the income tax payment online.
Yes, paying online taxes may help you save time and can be done anytime. Unlike paying at a bank, where the payment takes time, online payments are credited instantly without any delay.
When it comes to paying taxes online, you need a quick and stable internet connection and a bank account with net banking enabled. If you don’t have net banking, you can use someone else’s account but ensure that the payment is made under your name and PAN to receive proper credit.
No, once the challan is generated, you cannot change the payment method. If you want to use a different method, you will need to generate a new challan and the old one will expire in 15 days.
Only companies and certain taxpayers under Section 44AB are required to pay taxes online. Other taxpayers can still pay at designated banks using physical challans, through paying online is quicker and easier.
No, the e-filing portal does not allow refunds or reversals for mistaken payments. However, you can claim the extra amount as a tax credit when filing your income tax return for the relevant year.
