Do You Need To File ITR If There Is No Taxable Income? Normally, if the income of senior citizen individuals is below the taxable limit, they can choose not to file the ITR. However, there are many situations when they should file the ITR even if their income is below the taxable limit. Let’s check out the benefits of filing ITR by senior citizens with non-taxable income.

Claiming The Refund Of The TDS Amount

Senior citizens usually get a big amount as interest income from avenues like FDs or dividend income from investments in stocks. Such incomes are often subject to TDS (Tax deduction at sources). If the senior citizen’s income is below the taxable limit, they can claim the TDS that happened during the relevant financial year. However, to claim the TDS refund, they need to file the ITR.

Planning To Apply For A Visa

After retirement, you might have planned to travel abroad using your retirement corpus. For travelling abroad, you need to apply for a VISA for the country where you want to travel. Many countries require the applicant’s ITR before allowing the VISA. So, even if your income is non-taxable, file an ITR if you want to travel abroad.

For Getting A Loan

Though you have retired, you may still need a loan. You may need a loan to meet financial emergencies, buy a new car, for achieving certain financial goals or for any other reason. To get a loan, you need to fulfil the bank’s eligibility criteria and submit all the mandatory documents. Banks usually use applicants’ ITRs to verify their income and ascertain their loan repayment capacity. So, despite non-taxable income, senior people planning to apply for a loan must file the ITR.

Other Reasons For Filing ITR

There are more reasons to file the ITR even if you have non-taxable income. If you want to carry forward losses to next year under the head capital gains, you need to file the ITR. The ITR document can be used as proof of your income. Filing an ITR can help you avoid scrutiny from the income tax department.

Apart from the benefits mentioned above, while filing the ITR, senior citizens can recall several crucial financial transactions that happened during the past financial years. As a law-abiding citizen and to set an example for the next generation, you can file the ITR even if your income is below the taxable limit.

The author is an Independent Financial Journalist