ITR Filing Procedure for Legal Heir on Deceased Earnings

An Individual shall have to pay due to tax even if he has died. Doesn’t it seem awkward and unreasonable? But Yes it is the truth and it is a legal compulsion also given the fact that a deceased has a legal heir

If a person dies suddenly and he has the tax liability then his legal heir has to pay the tax on behalf of the deceased person. For the general public, taxes, and death both are bitter truths and inevitable. 

The income tax return has to be filed given the fact that the income before allowing the capital gains and other chapter IV deductions crosses the exemption limit. Moreover, in certain cases, an individual legal heir has to file income tax return even if the income is lower than the exempted limit. This is applicable in the following circumstances:

• If the deceased owns a foreign asset
• Spent Rs 2 lakh or more on a foreign trip
• If the deceased has deposited more than Rs 1 crore in the current account during the present financial year or 
• Has paid electricity bill more than Rs 1 lakh.

Coming to Legal Heir, he is responsible for filing Income Tax returns in the above-mentioned facts and circumstances. Otherwise, the legal heir may have to face consequences in the form of penalties or fines. However, if there is any error then the same can be revised later on.

“As per section 159 of the income tax act, the legal representative of the deceased person is responsible to pay any sum that the deceased would have been liable to pay if he or she had not died," said Sudhakar Sethuraman, partner, Deloitte India.

E-filing Process of ITR for Legal Heir

For the purpose of filing the Income Tax Return of the deceased, the legal heir shall have to register himself as “deceased (legal heir)" on the web portal of the income tax department. Details such as the first name, middle name, and surname, PAN of the deceased, date of death, his or her bank account details shall have to be required to be filled in. Moreover

• The Permanent Account Number(PAN) of the  legal heir,
• Copy of the legal heir proof and 
• A copy of the death certificate 
• Ashall be required for filing ITR of the deceased.

After the submission button is clicked, the request shall go to the legal heir, and finally, after registration, the income tax return could be filed. As manually online e-filing is very difficult so Genius software (IT + TDS) is helping tax professionals to easily e-file income tax return forms. The software has many user-friendly features and follows CBDT guidelines.