The Income Tax Department has already notified the new Income Tax Return (ITR) forms for assessment year 2016-17.

Individuals looking at filing returns can do an easy check and obtain their annual tax liability on a computer-based calculator hosted by the IT department.

Individuals have to feed all the relevant information with regards to the basic details and information, as notified for the current assessment year by the government.

Also, the e-filing facility for ITR-1 (for individuals having income from salaries, single house property and other sources) and ITR-4 (for individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) having income from a proprietary business or profession) is expected to go online and get enabled this week, the other ITRs will be hosted soon after, a senior IT department officer said.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes had notified the new forms on March 30 and ITRs can be filed till the stipulated deadline of July 31.

Here are reasons to file your income tax returns early:

1) Ability to modify returns

In case there are some errors, when filing tax returns, they can be modified. Once the deadline has passed, you cannot modify your income tax returns.

2) Early refund

The earlier you file your income tax returns, the earlier you will receive your income tax refund. Of course, the department does provide you with interest, but, that is not as competitive as market rates.

3) Last minute rush

The later you file your returns the more complicated it gets. In the sense there is a possibility of servers hanging and other technical issues, especially in the month of July.

Of course, it may not be possible to file returns in the month of April, as many salaried individuals wait for form 16. Also, one may may not be able to see the exact amount of TDS deducted and deposited, as this may take time to be updated on the Income Tax Website.

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