Income Tax Notices: What Each One Actually Means

An income tax notice raises the pulse of even the most careful taxpayer. Most are routine and answerable in a single filing. Knowing which is which saves a great deal of unnecessary worry.

The routine ones

An intimation after processing simply compares your return against the department's computation. Where the figures agree, no action is needed. Where they do not, the difference is usually a mismatch in tax credit or a mechanical arithmetic point, and it is corrected by a rectification request.

The ones needing a considered reply

A notice seeking information or documents before assessment sets a deadline that is short and real. A notice proposing to reassess income that has escaped assessment is more serious and comes with its own procedure and time limits, including an opportunity to object before proceedings begin.

How to respond well

1. Read what is actually asked. Most poor replies answer a different question.
2. Note the deadline the day you receive it, and diarise a week earlier.
3. Attach only what is asked for, indexed and legible.
4. Never ignore it. An ex-parte assessment is far harder to undo than a timely reply.

Send us the notice and your last two returns and we will tell you within a day whether it is routine or needs a full response.