Is it your dream to be an Income Tax Officer in India? ITO is a powerful, authoritative inspector of the Indian income tax department who deals with various tax-based matters of the Central Board of Direct Taxes.
In short, they are regarded as “Tax Specialists.” So, are you wondering the plausible criterion to become an Income Tax Officer? To gain access to the income tax department, you need to clear the SSC CGL or UPSC exam.
These officers have superior analytical skills and an improved level of numeracy that is necessary to examine suspected tax fraud. The Income Tax Department functions under the Finance Ministry and the Revenue Department.
Therefore, the designation Income Tax Officer is the highest post under the Ministry board. If you are ready to take the plunge in the aforementioned exam and be an Income Tax Officer in India, check out everything shown below for your convenience.
How to Become Income Tax Officer in India?
Aspirants should appear in the Combined Graduate Level (CGL) exam conducted by the Staff Selection Commission. So, if your age is below 30 years, you are eligible to partake in the exam.
The appointment of the Income Tax Officers is done via SSC CGL, which is considered the main exam for appointing Grade C and B inspectors for the income tax department. Apart from this exam, aspirants may also choose the UPSC exam for Indian Revenue Services in order to get appointed as a Group A officer.
Eligibility Criterion
In order to be appointed as an Income Tax Officer under the Central Government of India, you must fulfill adequate requirements. The detailed eligibility criteria are shown below:
Educational Qualification
Aspirants should have a Bachelor’s Degree in any stream from an accredited University or anything similar degree.
Syllabus
The exam is conducted in two modes:
Preliminary Exam:
The syllabus of prelims includes Arithmetic, General Awareness, and General Intelligence. So, the detailed eligibility criteria are shown below:
| Section | Subject | Total Number of Questions | Total Marks | Time |
| Part A | General Awareness and General Intelligence | 100 | 100 | 2 Hours |
| Part B | Arithmetic | 100 | 100 | 2 Hours |
Mains Exam:
SSC CGL Mains exam includes Reasoning and Awareness (General Studies), Arithmetic Abilities, Communication Skills and Writing, English Comprehension, Language. So, the detailed eligibility criteria of the Mains exam are shown below:
| The subject of Mains Exam | Total Marks | Time Duration |
| Reasoning and Awareness (General Studies) | 200 | 3 hours |
| English Comprehension | 100 | 2 hours 20 minutes |
| Language | 100 | 2 hours 20 minutes |
| Communication Skills and Writing | 200 | 2 hours 20 minutes |
| Arithmetic Abilities | 200 | 4 Hours |
Aspirants who have successfully cleared all the Prelims and Mains exams will be called for a face-to-face interview. Here, the interviewer assesses the candidate’s knowledge about taxation and mental fitness.
Age Limit
Candidates’ age limit should not be more than 30 years. If you are a general category candidate, you must apply for the post in this condition of not exceeding the age limit. However, the detailed list of age limits and the relaxations for every candidate is shown below in a tabular format:
| Sl. No. | Category | Age Relaxation |
| 1 | SC/ST | 5 Years |
| 2 | OBC | 3 years |
| 3 | PH + OBC | 13 years |
| 4 | PH + Gen | 10 years |
| 5 | PH + SC/ST | 15 years |
| 6 | Ex-Servicemen (SC/ST) | 8 years |
| 7 | Ex-Servicemen (Gen) | 3 years |
| 8 | Ex-Servicemen (OBC) | 6 years |
- Physical Fitness
- Height: 5 cm
- Physical Test:
- Cycling: 8 km in 30 minutes
- Walking: 1600 meters in 15 minutes
- Chest: 81 cm, completely expanded with a minimum augmentation of 5 cm
Salary of Income Tax Officer?
Major perks and advantages are there for becoming a successful Income Tax Officer. Along with the fixed salary package, the officers also earn enormous and amazing allowances.
According to the selected grade, there could be a minimum variation in the salary. Let’s look at the salary structure and incentives of an Income Tax Officer below:
| Categories | City 1 | City 2 | City 3 |
| Basic Pay | 44900 INR | 44900 INR | 44900 INR |
| HRA | 10776 INR | 7184 INR | 3592 INR |
| DA | 7633 INR | 7633 INR | 7633 INR |
| TA | 3600 INR | 1800 INR | 1800 INR |
| DA on TA | 612 INR | 306 INR | 306 INR |
| National Pension System Deduction 10% (Basic + DA) | 5253 INR | 5253 INR | 5253 INR |
| Net Earnings | 67521 INR | 63929 INR | 60337 INR |
| CGHS | 350 INR | 350 INR | 350 INR |
| CGEIS | 30 INR | 30 INR | 30 INR |
| Government Contribution | 7355 INR | 7355 INR | 7355 INR |
| Total Deduction | 5633 INR | 5633 INR | 5633 INR |
| A total package of an Income Tax Officer | 61888 INR | 58296 INR | 57407 INR |
Apart from the pay scale of income tax officers, they get numerous career development and promotion scopes. A table is shown below for the salary of income tax officer’s promoted roles and salaries.
| Rank | Salary Per Month |
| Income Tax Officer | 9300 INR to 34,800 + Grade amount of 4800 INR/5400 INR |
| Assistant Commissioner | Rs. 15,600 to 39,100+Grade pay Rs. 5,400 |
| Deputy Commissioner | Rs. 15,600 to 39,100 |
| Joint Commissioner | Joint Commissioner Rs. 37400 to 67,000 + Grade pay Rs. 8,700 |
| Commissioner | Rs. 37,400 to 67,000 + Grade pay Rs. 10,000 |
| Principal Commissioner | Rs. 67,000 to 79,000 |
| Chief Commissioner | Rs. 75,550 to 80,000 |
| Principal Chief Commissioner of IT | Rs. 80,000 |
Selection Process
The detailed selection procedure of the SSC CGL exam to be an income tax officer comprises 4 crucial stages. If you can successfully clear every stage and score cut-off marks, you will be eligible to crack this exam.
| Tier | Question Type | Mode |
| Tier – I | Objective Multiple Choice Questions | Online computer exam |
| Tier – II | Objective Multiple Choice Questions | Online computer exam |
| Tier – III | Descriptive Paper in Hindi or English | Manual mode (Pen and paper method) |
| Tier – IV | Computer Skill Test or Proficiency Test | Whatever applicable |
The total marks for Tier 1 + Tier 2 + Tier 3 are 700. You should target the highest possible score to acquire the post of Income Tax Officer. The cut-off score is pretty high as every candidate is longing for this post.
Moreover, this post comes under pay level 7 with 4600 as a grade pay scale. So, you need to be highly consistent with your daily preparation and study rigorously to eliminate the weaker areas.
This is how you can become the highest scorers to get this job. However, the detailed SSC CGL cut off out of 700 are demonstrated below for your convenience:
| Candidate’s Category | Cut Off marks |
| General | 578.75 |
| SC | 515.25 |
| ST | 511.50 |
| OBC | 557.75 |
| HH | 473.00 |
| OH | 489.50 |
| Ex-Serviceman | 482.50 |
Conclusion
To conclude, you can be an Income Tax Officer in India after successfully passing the selection criteria mentioned above. Always remember that your immense perseverance and indomitable willingness can fetch success. With the government undertaking countless measures to handle illegitimate wealth, the major requirement of the Income Tax Officers is drastically increasing.
Hopefully, this article helped you discover the adequate answers to be an Income Tax Officer. You can follow the detailed procedures mentioned above for your career development. Do you like this article? Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe! Have any questions? Kindly let us know by commenting below!