With the govt having mandated compulsory e-filing of income tax returns of all assesses with Income over Rs. 5 Lakhs pa, manual filing of income tax returns has reduced drastically as a huge portion of the taxpayers would now be filing their income tax returns online.

For filing income tax returns online, an income tax software is required in which all details pertaining to the income earned would be furnished and on furnishing the income details, the tax would be automatically calculated by the Income Tax Return filing Software as per the Slab Rates. The Income Tax Return filing software will ensure that the return is complete in all aspects and it would then be uploaded on the income tax website.

Recommended Read:

  1. Income Tax Slab Rate
  2. Procedure for efiling your Income Tax Return online

Income Tax Software of Govt for Free

To promote and encourage the taxpayers to file their income tax returns online, the Central Board of Direct Taxes has released a free Java based income tax software which can be downloaded for free from the income tax website. This Java based software is updated by the govt for every financial year to incorporate any changes in tax laws.

Contrary to public opinion, this free income tax software is complete in all respects and is one of the best income tax software available in the market. Different software have been created for different types of income tax return (Eg: ITR 1, ITR 2 etc) and this income tax return software can be downloaded for free from the Income Tax Website.

Recommended Read:

  1. Which Income Tax Form should you submit?
  2. How to file an Income Tax Return

Income Tax Software of private vendors

Several private vendors have also created their own income tax software. These softwares are legally authenticated by the Govt. and can perform all functions which the govt income tax java utility can perform.

These private software are useful in case of you are filing complex income tax returns like those of big businesses. But such private income tax return filing software’s are not free and you have to purchase them by paying a yearly/ one time fee.

So in case you are filing returns of individuals or small businesses, it is beneficial to use the free excel utility of the govt and in case you are filing complex returns of big businesses, it is beneficial to use the income tax software of private vendors.