As the end of the financial year approaches, it’s crucial to complete certain tasks before March 31.
If you miss out on these, you won’t get another chance and may face penalties. Here are five important tasks that you need to take care of before the start of the new financial year:
1. Tax-Saving Investments
If you are following the old Income Tax regime, you need to make tax-saving investments before March 31 to claim deductions for the financial year.
Under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, you can claim deductions up to ₹1.5 lakh on eligible investments.
Any tax-saving investments made after March 31 will not be eligible for deductions in the FY25 tax return.
2. Updated ITR (ITR-U) Filing
You can file an updated income tax return till March 31 to correct any mistakes in your return for the financial year 2021-22.
If you missed filing your income tax return for FY22 or failed to file a belated return, you can still file an updated return by March 31.
3. Invest in Mahila Samman Savings Certificates
The government introduced the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate scheme for women, which offers an attractive interest rate of 7.5% with a tenure of two years.
However, this scheme will no longer be available after March 31, 2025. If you want to invest in it, make sure to do so before the deadline at any post office.
4. Deposit in PPF and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana
If you’re a subscriber to the Public Provident Fund (PPF) or Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, you need to make a minimum deposit before the financial year ends.
In PPF, the minimum deposit required is ₹500, and for Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, it is ₹250. Failure to make these deposits will make your account inoperative.
5. Benefit from Tax-Loss Harvesting
Tax-loss harvesting allows you to offset gains by selling stocks or mutual funds that are at a loss. This can help reduce your overall tax liability.
Short-term capital losses can be used to offset both short-term and long-term capital gains. However, long-term capital losses can only offset long-term capital gains.
Make sure to complete these tasks before March 31 to avoid any penalties and take full advantage of available benefits!
