Keep These Documents Ready For Hassle-Free ITR Filing

Filing the Income Tax Return is a mandatory task as per the Income Tax Act, 1961, for individuals whose income in a financial year exceeds the exemption limit.

The ITR filing needs meticulous planning and preparation in advance. As the new financial year 2025-26 has started from April 1, it’s time to put all your documents together to file the ITR. All the financial transactions made between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025, will be accounted for while calculating the income tax liability for FY25.

The individual taxpayers, whose accounts don't need audit as income tax laws, need to file the ITR for Assessment Year 2025-26 by July 31. In the ITR filing, the taxpayers need to report income from various sources such as direct earnings, gains from different assets, capital gains from investments, bonuses and income from other sources.

The ITR filing is mandatory for individuals whose income exceeds the exemption limit. Tax evasion is considered a criminal offence and can lead to penalties and legal action by the Income Tax Department.

Instead of waiting till the July 31 deadline, it's advisable to gather all your income and investment proofs for ITR filings. Advance preparation will help in avoiding the last-minute rush and any error in ITR filing.  

• PAN Card: Permanent Account Number or PAN card is required for filing ITR in India as it is used to verify a taxpayer's identity. It is a unique alphanumeric number assigned to each taxpayer, which has to be submitted on the tax portal while creating an account.

• Form 16: Form 16 is a detailed tax deduction statement issued by an employer to their employees. This document provides details of the income earned by an employee and the tax deducted at source on that income for a particular financial year. Form 16 is crucial for salaried taxpayers as it contains the details of the tax paid in advance.

• Form 26AS: This is a consolidated tax statement that can be obtained from the e-filing portal of the I-T Department. It is a useful document as it provides details of TDS, tax collected at source, advance tax payments and self-assessment tax, among other things.

• Annual Information Statement: This is another statement available on the income tax website. It contains a comprehensive summary of various financial transactions. This includes transactions related to bank interest, mutual funds, stocks and more.

• Updated Bank Details: Indian taxpayers must also update their bank account details on the e-filing portal. These details are used by the income tax officials to process any refunds and verification of tax-related transactions.

• Updated bank passbook: This document helps taxpayers verify their income from interest and other transactions. This is central to ensuring that ITR is accurately reported to avoid any penalties.

• Home loan statement: There are several tax provisions, which offer deductions to taxpayers to reduce their taxable income on the repayment towards home loans. For claiming these deductions, it is important to have all the necessary documents ready.  

• Other income statements: Tax laws also offer deductions on other transactions, such as medical insurance and rental income. Hence, these documents are also needed to save taxes by reducing one's taxable income.

It's important to note that various exemptions and deductions can only be claimed under the old tax regime. The new tax regime offers reduced tax rates but no deductions. The taxpayers should keep the documents ready as per the regime they choose for ITR filing.