When senior citizens must file income tax return before the due date

ITR filing is not required when a person's total income is below the basic exemption limit, which is ₹3 lakh for senior citizens under both the new and old tax regimes for FY 2024-25. The basic exemption limit under the old regime for super senior citizens aged 80 or above is ₹5 lakh.

Banks deduct a tax on interest from senior citizen deposits when it crosses the ₹50,000 limit. However, senior citizens having income below the taxable limit can avoid TDS deductions on their interest income by submitting Form 15H, preferably at the start of the financial year.

For example, if the annual interest income from bank deposits is ₹2 lakh for a senior citizen, then the bank will deduct TDS @ 10% on ₹1.5 lakh (₹2 lakh-₹50,000). The TDS would be 10% of ₹1.5 lakh or ₹15,000. However, a refund of this TDS can be claimed by filing the ITR. This is required even when the total income is not taxable or below the basic exemption limit.

What about senior citizens aged over 75 years?

However, they are required to submit a declaration to the bank, which in turn become responsible for tax deduction after considering various deductions and rebates. In such cases, the bank will not deduct TDS if the total income is not taxable.

"Once the specified bank... deducts tax for senior citizens above 75 years of age, there will be no requirement to furnish income tax returns by senior citizens," the Income Tax department says.

However, if, for any reason, the bank has deducted the TDS then ITR needs to be filed for a refund.

In case the senior citizen aged 75 and above has interest income from multiple banks, then s/he will need to go by the regular ITR filing procedure for tax refund.