If You Do Not Have to Pay Any Tax

You would usually come under this category if your only source of income is from salary and the required tax has been deducted at source by your employer. Your employer must deduct the necessary tax at source from your income. You would not have to pay any tax over and above that on your salary income.

Also Read: What is My In-hand Salary?

For the assessment year 2007-08, you can file your returns by March 31, 2008. Since you are not being taxed, there is no interest payment involved either.

If You Have to Pay Tax

You could have income from other sources (like renting your house), or income from interest or dividends. In such a case, you will attract a penalty interest at the rate of 1% per month if you do not file taxes by March 2008.

However, if you do not pay by March 31, 2008, you would attract a fine. "Irrespective of whether your income is taxable or not, you better pay your taxes by March 31, 2008, or else you must pay a fine of Rs 5000. The final date for actually filing your returns is March 31, 2009," informs Tax expert Sandeep Shanbhag.

Tax expert Subhash Lakhotia has a few words of wisdom. "The income tax department does not give any pardon to anyone who fails to file his return. Whether your case is genuine or not is not considered. If you have not got all your documents on time, it is advisable to file your return and submit the documents at a later date," he says.

Finally, if you want to speed things up, you can always log on and file your returns online.