Income tax return is a statement of income and tax that needs to be submitted by taxpayers to the Income Tax Department in the prescribed form. The different forms available include ITR - 1 SAHAJ, ITR - 2, ITR - 3, ITR - 4 Sugam, ITR - 5, ITR - 6 and ITR - 7. Insurance agents are required to file their returns using ITR - 3. In this article, we will look into how insurance agents need to go about filing income tax returns.
Insurance agents typically earn money in the form of commissions from the sale of insurance policies. Now, similar to how income tax is levied on salaries, it is charged on the insurance commission earned by the agents. Section 194D of the Income Tax Act, 1961, pertains to the TDS applicable on insurance commission. As per this Section, tax deduction must be undertaken by an entity responsible to make payments to a resident, in terms of remuneration or reward, be it by commission or otherwise, for the purpose of i) petitioning or obtaining insurance business or ii) continuance, renewal or revival of policies of insurance.
Total taxable income is calculated by first adding up the income from different heads and then subtracting the deductions under Chapter VI-A. The result will be the total taxable income. To ascertain the tax liability, one must apply the tax rates (to the total taxable income) relevant for the financial year when the income has been calculated.
To find out the taxable commission, individuals are advised to use the Income Tax Department's Taxability of Agent Commission facility available on its website.
Mr. Arjun made Rs. 50,000 in first year commission and Rs. 8,000 in renewal commission. Upon entering these details in the online calculator, he got the following results:
Insurance agents earning commission are required to file their returns using ITR - 3. It is essential to note that an entity whose income is by way of commission or brokerage cannot adopt the presumptive taxation scheme of Section 44AD. Now, given that insurance agents typically earn money in the form of commission, they cannot adopt the presumptive taxation scheme of Section 44AD.
Some of the details that need to be filled in ITR - 3 are:
Source: Income Tax Department
There are two ways by which returns can be filed through ITR - 3. Once the returns are filed, the taxpayer will receive an acknowledgement in ITR V from the Income Tax Department. A signed copy of the form has to be sent to the Income Tax Department’s CPC office in Bangalore.
Ans: An individual who is earning income in the form of commission or brokerage cannot adopt the presumptive taxation scheme of Section 44AD. Given that insurance agents make money by way of commission, they will not be able to adopt the presumptive taxation scheme of Section 44AD.
Ans: Section 44AD is designed to provide relief to small taxpayers involved in any business, other than the following:
Ans: Since LIC agents receive commission from insurance company, they can file their returns using ITR - 3.
Ans: Tax can be deducted by an entity who is responsible to make payments to a resident, in terms of reward or remuneration, whether by commission or otherwise, for the following reasons:
Ans: The deductor is required to deduct TDS at the rate of 5% in case of persons other than a company and 10% for domestic company.
Ans: If an insurance agent's tax on total income is nil, he or she can submit Form 15G and Form 15H to prevent TDS deduction on income. Form 15H can only be submitted by senior citizens i.e. those above the age of 60 years, while Form 15G can be filled by everybody else.
