This July, there are four financial landscape changes to take into account

This July, there are four financial landscape changes to take into account

From completing income tax returns for FY23 to asking for a better pension based on your wage to risking repercussions for failing to link your PAN with your Aadhaar. 

To avoid a fine, you must file your income tax returns by July. You must be aware of the repercussions if you don't link your PAN and Aadhaar by June 30. If you are one of their clients, you should be informed of how the merger of HDFC Bank and HDFC would affect depositors and debtors.

Do your taxes right now

For the finicial year 2022–23 (assessment year 2023–24), income tax returns must be filed by July 31. 

If the date is missed but the process is finished by December 31, you will be required to pay a penalty of Rs 5,000. However, the late filing cost is only allowed to be up to Rs 1,000 if your income is less than Rs 5 lakh.

Apply by July 11 for a greater pension based on your actual earnings

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has widened the higher pensions option selection deadline from June 26 to July 11.

Employees who continued to work but weren't able to take advantage of the higher pension choice previously and were members of the EPFO and EPS before September 1, 2014, are eligible to apply for this facility. The information will need to be verified for retirees who choose the higher pension option and retired before this date.

To claim a greater pension based on your actual pay, you must decide whether or not to file a joint application with your employer. By using the online tool offered on the EPFO member portal, you must finish this process by June 26.

Your company now withholds 12% of your basic pay as an employee provident fund (EPF) payment. The company also makes a matching contribution in the same amount to your retirement fund. The balance of the employer's payment (8.33 percent) goes into your provident fund, with a portion going to the employees' pension system (EPS). However, the statutory wage ceiling of Rs 15,000 is used to determine this contribution. Therefore, now, Rs 1,250 (8.33 percent of Rs 15,000) of your employer's contribution goes towards EPS. This sum is added to the pool established under EPS to provide member-employees with at least 10 years of service and their dependent family members with regular pension income.

However, as a result of a Supreme Court decision from November 2022, you can now opt to contribute 8.33 percent of your actual wage to the pension pool, which could result in a greater pension after retirement. In addition, 1.16 percent of the employer portion of your contribution will go into the EPS, with the remaining 2.51 percent going to your EPF.

This decision must be made by July 11th. If your application has problems, you can remove it and submit it again. You are unable to do this, though, if your company has already approved the application. Officers from EPFO will then review and accept your request for a higher pension.

Employees find it challenging to exercise their option, however, as a number of dark areas regarding the procedure and ultimate pension formula still exist.

The last day to link your Aadhaar to your PAN is June 30, 2023. Your 10-digit PAN will stop working as of July 1 if you have not acted promptly.

There will also be further consequences. If the tax department owes you a refund for extra taxes you paid, the reimbursements won't be given to you, and if there's interest owed on that amount, it won't be paid while the PAN is still inactive.

Additionally, increased rates will apply to tax deducted at source (TDS) and tax collected at source (TCS).

You won't be able to file your income tax returns if your PAN is inoperative. According to Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) regulations, the linkage is also necessary in order to invest in mutual funds and equities. Financial and requests for services for a PAN that is not connected to Aadhaar will not be processed.

For domestic Indians with "not registered" their PAN and Aadhaar, IDCW (Income Distribution cum Capital Withdrawal) would still be paid, but at a higher rate of taxation of 20% rather than 10%.

merging HDFC Bank and HDFC as of July 1

As of July 1, the largest private sector bank in the nation, HDFC Bank, and a mortgage lender, Household Development Finance Corporation, have combined.

Account holders and borrowers must monitor changes to operational policies, deposit rates, and home loan rates after a merger. You should also be aware of whether the current HDFC Ltd branches in your area will be closed or transformed to full-service bank branches.