Simple Checklist to Make Filing Your Taxes Easier

The tax filing season is back, and below is a curated checklist to help file your ITR.

Step 1: Keep your documents handy

• Permanent Account Number (PAN) (your PAN is your user ID for logging into the income tax website).
• Aadhaar card
• Copy of your previous year’s tax return
• Bank statements and Passbooks
• Form 16 issued by your employer
• Monthly wise salary slips
• Investments Proof
• Summary of the interests earned from your income that is in your savings account
• TDS (Tax Deduction at Sources) Certificates

Step 2: Visit the e-filing portal

• Register or Login to e-File your returns.

• Click on ‘Taxpayer’ and then enter your PAN details, click on ‘validate’ and ‘Continue’. 

• You then need to enter your personal details such as – name, address, gender, residential status, DOB 

• Once done, enter your email address & mobile number. Verify the same by entering the OTP (One-Time Password) you have received on your registered email address and mobile number.
• A new window will display when the OTP has been verified, inviting you to double-check the information you have provided. If any of your information is inaccurate, you can make corrections, and a new OTP will be given to validate the same.
• The final step is to create a password and a secure login message. After this, you will receive an acknowledgement message confirming that the registration procedure was successful.

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Step 3: The next step is to e-file your income tax returns –

• Go to the official e – Filing website and click the ‘Login’ button.

• Log in by entering your Username, click on Continue, and then your Password.

• Go to the ‘e-File’ tab and then to ‘File Income Tax Return.’

• Select the Assessment Year for which you wish to file your Income Tax Returns and click on ‘Continue’.

• You’ll be asked whether you want to file your taxes offline or online. We have selected online, as the former takes a little more time than the latter.

• Choose if you want to file your taxes as an Individual, a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), or others. Here, we have selected ‘Individual’ as an option.

• Select the Income Tax Returns (ITR) that you want to submit. You can refer to the table given below to understand the ITR forms. Here, we have selected ITR Form 1. Once done, you need to fill in your details as per the form selected by you.

• The following step will question you whether you filed your returns beyond the basic exemption limit (A basic exemption limit reduces the amount of income that is subject to Income Tax, for example – the basic exemption limit for individuals under the age of 60 is ₹2,50,000 under the old tax regime) or because of Section 139’s seventh clause (1).The Seventh Proviso to Section 139(1) is all about the compulsory filing of return of income in case of high-value transactions or expenditure.

• The last step is to fill in your bank details. And then, you will be directed to a new page to file your returns. There, you have to confirm the summary of your returns & validate it. Once this process is done, you need to send the hardcopy of it to the IT Department.

• Yayy, and your Income Tax Return is filed!