Understanding IT Declarations: Declared vs Approved Amounts, Status, and Cut-Off

Introduction

When you submit your Income Tax (IT) declarations in Keka, the declared values influence your monthly TDS (Tax Deducted at Source). But the final tax deducted depends on what’s actually approved after proof submission. This article helps you understand the difference between declared and approved amounts, how to view each, what declaration statuses mean, and what changes during the proof cut-off period.

Know the Difference Between Declared and Approved Amounts

• Declared Amount: This is what you plan to invest or spend, submitted at the start of the financial year. It’s used for preliminary tax calculations until you upload supporting documents.

• Approved Amount: This is the portion of your declared amount that gets accepted after reviewing your proofs. It follows:

  • Statutory deduction limits

  • Valid submitted proofs

  • Applicable tax regulations

Your final TDS is always calculated based on approved amounts only.

Understand Why Approved Amount May Be Lower

Approved amounts might be less than what you declared because of deduction limits set by law.

Example:
If you declare ₹1,50,000 under Electric Vehicle Loan, but the maximum allowed deduction is ₹1,00,000, only ₹1,00,000 will be approved.

What you’ll see:

• Your Declared amount

• Your Approved amount

• Reason for the difference (if applicable)

View Declared vs Approved Tax Computations

Keka gives you two views to compare your tax computation:

• Declared View: Shows tax liability based on all declared amounts.

• Approved View: Shows tax liability based only on approved amounts.

Use these views to understand how your TDS might change over time.

What Changes During the Proof Cut-Off Month

Until your declarations are approved, your tax calculations are based on declared amounts.
Once your proofs are reviewed (typically in February), the system switches to approved amounts for tax calculations.

This switch may lead to a higher projected TDS if:

• You haven’t submitted proofs

• Your proofs are invalid or incomplete

To reduce confusion, both declared and approved values are shown clearly during this period.

Acknowledge the Cut-Off Period Alert

During the approval month, when you visit the IT Declarations page, you’ll see a mandatory pop-up:

Heading:
Proof Cut-Off Date Is Arriving!

Message:
Last day to submit proofs for FY 2025–2026: 12 Feb, 2026
From now on, tax will be calculated based only on approved declarations.
You may notice a higher TDS—this is what will apply if your proofs aren't approved before February payroll.

Option:
You can still switch to Declared View to see earlier projections.

Call to Action:
I Acknowledge

Note: You must acknowledge this pop-up before continuing. It cannot be dismissed otherwise.