I am an 81-year-old pensioner: Can I file a belated ITR and claim a refund for excess TDS?

An 81-year-old pensioner, retired from VSSC/ISRO and receiving a Central Government pension, has raised a query regarding filing a missed Income Tax Return and claiming a refund of excess TDS deducted by the bank. He has also sought clarification on surcharge deduction, applicability of Form 12BBA, and whether he can avoid filing ITR in future by submitting the required form to the bank.

Today's Q&A explains such details in response to a query by a reader.

However, in case any tax is payable, you can file an Updated ITR within four years from the end of the assessment year. Since no tax is payable for the financial year 2024-2025 for which you have failed to file your ITR, you cannot even file an Updated ITR now.

The banks only deduct tax at source at 10% on the amount of interest being paid to a resident taxpayer. While deducting tax at source, the banks do not take into account surcharge if the amount of interest does not exceed 50 lakhs, so the question of the bank deducting surcharge does not arise.

In case the bank has really deducted surcharge, you can approach the bank for clarification. You can claim the refund for the excess tax deducted, including the surcharge, by filing your ITR.