To file income tax returns, most people prefer to delegate the task to chartered accountants or tax consultants. But last financial year saw an 80 per cent jump in the number of e-return receipts over 2010-11.

Maharashtra is learnt to have generated 320,000 receipts, followed by Gujarat and Delhi. Other states such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh are also catching up. About 10 million taxpayers opted for filing returns electronically last year. This number may inch up by another 10-15 per cent this year as filing returns online has become compulsory for those earning above ~10 lakh.

Those yet to take the online route, could opt for the convenience of filing returns from anywhere in the country and making fewer mistakes.

You can file returns either through the income tax (I-T) departments website or other sites such as I-T department authorised e-return intermediary (ERI) Taxspanner.com, Taxyogi.com, Taxsmile.com, taxshax.com and myITreturn.com.

Personal finance website perfios.com and Aditya Birla groups myUniverse also offer this service. Some others like mutual fund portal Fundsindia.com offer this service with Taxyogi.com, and banks like Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, Syndicate Bank with Taxspanner.com.

Here is how to e-file returns: Register with the tax filing site you choose and fill in your details in the applicable income tax returns (ITR) form. There are various packages available with these sites, which you could choose from. For instance, Taxspanner.com e-file standard package is for employees who are interested in self-preparing and e-filing returns. E-file Plus package is for those who want to e-file themselves, but would like to take assistance of a tax professional to enter their data and review it. And, the eFile Premium package is for those who want to want keep their tax documents in a vault for up to or more than eight years, in case of scrutiny notice (see table for price).

Then there are packages for professionals or those having their own consulting firms and non-resident Indians.

Personal finance website Perfios charges ~140 for those with one Form 16 and ~150 extra for more than one Form 16. That is, in case you have changed jobs in a year.

The portals help you preview the form you fill and make changes if need be. For example, Taxyogi.com has an online chat service in case you get stuck midway.

Make the payment after reviewing your form. The ERI will provide the form in an XML file, which should be stored and uploaded on the I-T departments website. "Then ERIs upload your ITR form on the I-T department's website (www.incometaxindia.gov.in). An acknowledgment is sent to the registered e-mail address, that is, the Income Tax Return Verification form (ITR V).

Sign the printout and send it to the I-T departments Bangalore office, within 120 days of e-filing. Once you receive a confirmation, your e-filing is complete.

In case you have a tax liability at the time of filing, you may not be allowed to do so. Here, you need to either visit the NSDL website or approach a bank with whom you have a net banking account, select the required challan and make a payment for the dues. You will receive a challan identification number, acknowledging your payment, ensure you save a copy of that, he explains.

You can even sign ITR V digitally. Some websites like Stacos.com, myITreturn.com sister concern, offers digital signatures that authenticates your identity to the I-T department at a cost of ~650 for professionals and ~750 for individuals (for two years each). But, it's better to post the documents if you are opting for a digital signature just for filing returns as it would be cheaper.

These websites also provide other services like assisted filing of returns and tax planning. For instance, many allow you to email your Form 16, other details and file returns for you. Some other help you if your ITR V does not reach the I-T department or if you get a scrutiny notice.

To lure more taxpayers, tax filing websites have some more offers. Like, TaxSpanner.com has announced a Tax Back Offer under which one ITR (income tax return form) will be selected every week, and get the entire tax money back, which he/she pays for financial year 2011-12 and myITreturn will allow those who file returns in spite of earning less than ~5 lakh to file it for free

I-T Department Free

1 Keep all relevant documents handy like Form 16, PAN, all statements of income and investment

2 Register with the site you choose and fill in your details in the applicable ITR form online by choosing among various packages as per your requirements

3 Always preview the form you fill and make changes if needed

4 Make the payment after you have reviewed your form

5 In case you need to pay some tax, visit tin-nsdl.com and save a copy of the challans

6 The portal will email your ITR form

7 Upload this form at the I-T department's website after registering with it; download (ITR V) and take a printout

8 Sign the printout and send it to the I-T departments Bangalore office, within 120 days of e-filing