What is Moonlighting: The Income Tax Department is sending notices to the homes of people who make money through moonlighting. If you are also associated with this, then know your mistake.
Moonlighting Income Tax: In order to earn more money, people gradually start moonlighting. The Income Tax Department is now sending notices to people who have earned extra money over and above their salary but have not mentioned the amount while filing their Income Tax Return (ITR). That is, overall, money was made, but the government was not informed about it. Income tax notices were sent to persons who earned extra money from ‘moonlighting’. According to a media report, over 1,000 notices were sent for the financial years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021.
What is moonlighting?
Moonlighting means working a second job in addition to your primary employment. Second job is usually taken on their regular job without the consent of the employer. Ever since Wipro chairman Rishad Premji raised the issue, the debate over moonlighting work has grabbed headlines in the IT industry. Mumbai-based investment and tax expert Balwant Jain said that basically, moonlighting is when a person receives salary from two places, and taxpayers are expected to mention the same while filing their ITR. He further said that the Income Tax Act does not prevent you from working at two places. Project Insight of the Income Tax Department has the latest data analytics which helps the department to identify tax evaders whose income tax return filings and expenses do not match with what they show.
Why is the Income Tax Department sending the notice?
Many professionals earned extra money in addition to their regular salary (also known as moonlighting income), but they forgot to mention this earning while filing their taxes. The tax authorities have now sent notices reminding them to include this additional income. This highlights how important it is to be honest and thorough when reporting income for taxes.
