Under the old tax regime, a senior citizen must file an ITR if his/her income exceeds Rs 3 lakh, whereas the threshold limit is Rs 5 lakh for super senior citizens. Under the new tax regime, the basic exemption limit is Rs 2.5 lakh, which is the same for senior and non-senior citizens. Despite having income below the taxable limit, there are a few circumstances when they must file the ITR. Let’s find out when senior citizens should file the ITR despite having income below the taxable limit.

When You Own Foreign Assets Or Have Overseas Investments

Many senior citizens want to return to India and spend their retirement life close to their family members. However, when doing so, if they have assets or investments held in a foreign country, they must file the ITR in India despite having an income below the taxable limit.

To Claim TDS Refund

After retirement, senior citizens mostly rely on regular incomes earned from corpus invested in assets such as fixed deposit (FD) interest or shares dividends. However, such incomes are often liable to TDS, subject to threshold limits as prescribed for specific asset classes. Senior citizens are required to file the ITR to claim such TDS amount back. If the TDS amount is not significant, they may choose to let the TDS amount forego by not filing the ITR.

If Involved In Transactions Listed In The Exception List

Despite having income below the taxable limit, senior citizens could be required to file the ITR if they are involved in a transaction which falls in the exceptions list. The exceptions include depositing more than Rs 50 lakh in one or more savings accounts during the relevant financial year, having an expense of more than Rs 2 lakh towards foreign travel, electricity bills exceeding Rs 1 lakh during the relevant financial year, etc.

Benefits Of Filing ITR

Filing an ITR can help senior citizens stay eligible for loans from banks. If the ITR is filed, it can be easier for the senior citizens to explain things if they get a notice from the IT department. Filing an ITR every year can keep you financially more organised and maintain all the records in one place.

The author is an independent financial journalist