Personal Finance Checklist: Things to do before March 31

As the end of the fiscal year approaches, many people will be crunching spreadsheets and calling their chartered accountants. This article is a list of things you should do before March 31, 2022.

Having a financial strategy in place may frequently assist you to battle uncontrollable risks such as inflation. Furthermore, it enables you to manage your funds more effectively. Although there is no hard and fast rule for when to start organising your money, most people start at the start of the fiscal year.

Because of tax considerations, the fiscal year is usually used for financial planning. Tax planning should ideally begin long before the start of the new fiscal year. However, if you haven't prepared yet and have waited until the eleventh hour, here is a list of things you must accomplish before the end of the fiscal year.

Tax saving

Make time to evaluate your income for the year and determine how much you will need to invest in Section 80C tax-saving instruments. If you have previously made a required payment to tax-saving plans like the Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Pension System (NPS), Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) and others, you must do so before March 31, 2022, to keep them operational.

Filing of income tax returns

The deadline for filing income tax returns for the Assessment Year 2021-22 has been pushed up to March 15. Hence, to avoid fines make sure you file your income tax forms before the due date.

Making an advance tax payment

A person with a tax liability of more than Rs 10,000 is required under the Income Tax Act of India to pay advance tax in four instalments by March 15. If you are a salaried employee, your company may have already deducted it for you. Advance tax is required even for freelancers and self-employed individuals. If the tax is not paid on or before the deadline, a penalty of 1 per cent interest per month is applied for postponement in instalment.