• Notification Date: 18-03-2024
• Notification No: N/A

5 Important Personal Finance Tasks to Complete before March 31

The current financial year 2023-24 is coming to a close. March 31, 2024 marks not just the end of FY2023-24, but is also the deadline for many personal finance-related tasks, especially for investments, tax filing, and tax saving. Let’s look at the top five tasks you must not miss doing before this financial year concludes.

Filing Updated ITR:

March 31, 2024, is the deadline to file an updated income tax return for FY 2020-21 (AY 2021-22). This deadline can be utilised by taxpayers who may have missed filing their returns for the said financial year previously, have missed reporting a part of their income or have provided incorrect income details when filing earlier.

Invest in Tax-saving Instruments for FY 2023-24:

If you have opted for the old tax regime and want to invest in a tax-saving instrument for FY 2023-24, you must do it before Mar 31, 2024. There are plenty of tax-saving instruments under Section 80C, such as Public Provident Fund (PPF), Equity-linked Saving Schemes (ELSS), and term deposits that can help you achieve your tax-saving goals. Expenses such as health insurance premiums, education loans, and home loans are some other provisions that can get you a tax deduction on your income, and reduce your tax liability. Also explore other sections, such as 80D, 80G, and 80CCD(1B) which offer tax-deduction provisions under the old tax regime.

TDS filing Certificates for a Tax Deduction:

Taxpayers must issue Tax Deductible at Source (TDS) filing certificates for tax deductions made under various sections for January 2024. Specific deadlines applicable to different sections are mentioned below:

March 17 – TDS certificates for tax deducted under Section 194-IA, Section 194-IB and Section 194 M for January 2024.
March 30 – Filing challan statement for tax deducted under Section 194-IA, Section 194-IB and Section 194M in February 2024.

Minimum Investment Deadline:
Government-backed saving schemes like PPF or the Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme (SSY) require a minimum investment of Rs.500 and Rs.250, respectively in a year. If you fail to make this minimum deposit in a financial year, your account could be marked as default, for which a penalty may be levied. So, if you have invested in either of these schemes but have not made a deposit in them during the current financial year, you have until Mar 31, 2024 to do so to avoid a default penalty.

FasTag KYC:

In a recent announcement, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has extended the deadline for users to update their FASTag KYC details from February 29 to Mar 31, 2024. Depending on the issuer of your FASTag device, you can visit the Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL) portal or the National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) website to update your FASTag KYC details. Failure to do so before the deadline will result in your FASTag accounts and devices becoming invalid.

With the current financial year about to end, now is the right time to start planning your finances for the upcoming year. Take stock of your income, debts, as well as your goals and responsibilities so you can strategise suitably to fulfil your goals, and attain financial freedom.