July is the month for filing Income tax returns (ITR) annually. If you have already paid your taxes and want to file an ITR or discover some unpaid tax amount at the last moment, there is no need to worry or rush to the banks or tax advisors to make the payment. You can do it online easily. The Income Tax Department’s e-Pay website allows you to pay tax with or without logging-in. You can easily generate a tax challan, make payment, and track your transactions.

Every Indian citizen, whether salaried or self-employed, must pay tax if their income exceeds the exempted limit during a financial year. However, you must know the tax liability before filing an ITR. Then, you can pay the amount via net banking, RTGS, NEFT, debit or credit cards, UPI, or bank branches. The portal has 28 designated banks for net banking, but if you don’t have an account with them, you can still pay tax using a debit or credit card or via the UPI of other banks.

You will also need to generate a challan reference number (CRN) on the e-Pay site to pay the tax due. Here is the complete process to pay your taxes online:

Also Read: ITR Filing For Senior Citizens: How To Calculate Taxable Income And Maximise Deductions

Step 1: Open the official income tax filing website and click on the e-Pay Tax option on the left side.

Step 2: Enter your PAN and mobile number for a six-digit OTP. Write the OTP in the box provided, then click ‘continue’ to proceed to the next screen.

Step 3: Select ‘Income Tax’ from the options given, the relevant year from the ‘assessment year’ option and ‘self-assessment tax-300’ from the ‘type of payment’ from the dropdown menu (This is for the tax for the previous financial year and when you are filing it by 31st July)

Step 4: On the next screen, fill in the tax details correctly, such as surcharge, cess, interest, penalty, and other categories, and click on ‘continue’.

Step 5: The next screen will show five options for payment. Select the relevant option and click to continue. If your bank is an authorised bank, select the net banking option.

Step 6: The next screen will show the challan details on a single page; check the details and modify them if required.

Step 7: Click on the ‘Pay Now’ option to pay.

Also Read: ITR Filing: Delay In Submitting Income Tax Returns Can Cost You; Here’s How

Step 8: Tick the pop-up box after reading the terms and conditions

Step 9: The following screen will be your bank’s portal. Log in with your ID and password and authorise the payment.

Step 10: A challan identification number (CIN) will be generated, which you will need when filing the ITR.

Transactions via net banking, debit card, and ‘pay at bank counter’ mode are free, but if you use RTGS/NEFT or authorised banks’ payment gateways for tax payment, they may charge you.

The ‘pay at the bank’ option is only for authorised banks. The taxpayer needs to print out the challan, attach a check or a demand draft or cash if the tax amount is less than Rs 10,000, and submit it to the bank. For other banks, a taxpayer must take a printout of the challan and submit it to their bank with the RTGS/NEFT request form. However, if you are a senior citizen and are uncomfortable with net banking, you can pay taxes offline by visiting your bank branch.