🧾 Basic Tax Words You’ll Hear Everywhere
Income
Money you earn. Salary, freelance, rent, interest, side hustle, lucky cash gifts from relatives. Tax doesn’t care how tired you were earning it.
Gross Income
Your total income before any deductions. Basically the number that makes you feel rich for 2 seconds.
Net Income
What’s left after deductions and tax. Reality check version.
Assessment Year (AY)
The year when tax is calculated on last year’s income. Yes, tax lives in the past.
Financial Year (FY)
The year you actually earned the money. April to March, because logic took a holiday.
đź’¸ Tax Saving & Deductions
Deduction
Legal ways to reduce taxable income. Not cheating. Government-approved relief.
80C
Most popular tax-saving section. PPF, ELSS, LIC, tuition fees. Limit â‚ą1.5 lakh. Everyone uses it. Nobody reads the fine print.
80D
Health insurance deduction. One of the few sections that actually makes sense.
Exemption
Income that isn’t taxed at all. Rare. Cherish it.
Standard Deduction
Flat deduction for salaried people. No proof needed. Tax department being nice for once.
🏠Salary & Rent Related
HRA (House Rent Allowance)
Tax benefit if you pay rent. Requires rent receipts. And sometimes landlord’s PAN, because trust issues.
Rent Agreement
Paper that proves you actually pay rent. Verbal agreements don’t impress the tax department.
🧠Filing & Compliance
ITR (Income Tax Return)
Form where you declare income and tax. Mandatory if income crosses basic limits or if the department feels curious.
Due Date
Last date to file return. Miss it and penalties say hello.
Belated Return
Late filing. Comes with fees and regret.
Revised Return
You filed wrong. This is your apology letter.
🔍 Tax Notices & Refunds (The Panic Zone)
Tax Refund
Extra tax paid by you. Government returns it slowly. Very slowly.
Tax Notice
Email or letter asking questions. Not always bad. But it ruins your day.
AIS (Annual Information Statement)
All transactions the department knows about you. Spoiler: they know more than you think.
Mismatch
When your numbers don’t match theirs. Guess who has to explain.
🧾 Other Common but Confusing Terms
TDS (Tax Deducted at Source)
Tax cut before money reaches you. Salary, rent, professional fees. Silent deduction, loud confusion.
Advance Tax
Tax paid in parts during the year if income is high. Especially for freelancers. Ignoring it invites interest.
Capital Gain
Profit from selling property, shares, gold, etc. Short-term vs long-term matters a lot.
Slab Rate
Tax rate based on income levels. Higher income, higher tax. Simple, painful.
One brutal truth
If you understand these terms, you already know more than 70% of taxpayers.
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