Income Tax Return (ITR) filing: These documents will come in handy for hassle-free tax returns

The Income Tax department has made various changes in the Income Tax Return (ITR) filing last year. Many forms like ITR1, ITR2 and ITR4 has been enhanced. Not only that, even tax deducted at source (TDS) has witnessed changes in Form 16 and Form 26AS. Every move is taken to ensure transparency and give more flexibility to taxpayers. That said, once again the tax season is here, and every taxpayer is busy gathering vital documents in order to file their tax return. While some taxpayers knock on the doors of Chartered Accountant s(CAs) for filing their ITR, on other hand, some do it on their own. With new changes in place, it is important you do not make mistakes and have every document ready. 

Archit Gupta, Founder & CEO at ClearTax said, "We are already heading towards the due date for income tax return (ITR) filing i.e. 31 July 2019 for the financial year 2018-19 (AY 2019-20). Many of you think that there is still a lot of time until the due date and then tend to delay the filing. However, a delay till the last few days may only make the income tax filing more chaotic and hassled given the income and information disclosure requirements of the income tax returns."

List of documents required for ITR filing

Don’t you think maintaining and organising all the documents necessary for the tax filing can reduce most of the chaos? To help you file your tax returns, here is a list of documents you have to gather and keep ready.

Form 16

Every salaried individual with a taxable income will receive a TDS certificate from the employer called Form 16. It includes a detailed break-up of your salary and the deductions made on it. The government has modified Form 16 such that it is in sync with income tax returns notified for the financial year 2018-19.

The form 16 consists of two parts--Part A and Part B. Part A provide details such as the tax deducted (TDS) by the employer, Permanent Account Number (PAN) of the employer and employee, and TAN of the employer. On the other hand, Part B includes information on various components of salary i.e., basic salary, allowances, perquisites and profits in lieu of salary. It also consists of details of exempt allowances such as house rent allowance, and details of deductions claimed on investments such as provident fund contribution, life insurance premiums and repayment of housing loan. Some websites allow you to upload your Form 16 and prepare your return automatically.

Form 16A/Form 16B/Form 16C

Banks provide a TDS certificate in Form 16A when they deduct tax on your interest income from fixed deposits. Similarly, when you sell a house, the buyer will provide to you a TDS certificate in Form 16B. And, Form 16C is provided by the tenants to their landlord in case of monthly rent payments made above Rs.50,000. All of these forms can help cross verify the income earned by you and TDS deducted on it for the purpose of your tax return. 

Form 26AS

It is a consolidated TDS summary statement aggregating all TDS credits standing against the PAN of the taxpayer for a financial year. Form 26AS can be downloaded from your income-tax login. 

The form includes:

• Tax deducted by banks
• Tax deducted by the employer
• Self-assessment taxes paid by you
• Tax deducted by other organisations based on your incomes 

Advance taxes deposited by you

It is important to review this form to make sure all the TDS deducted on your income is included here. The income tax department allows credit of the TDS which appears in this form. It may also help you include incomes in your tax return, which you may have missed but TDS was deducted on them. 

Investment proofs for tax deductions

You are entitled to claim deductions for investments made such as public provident fund, life insurance premiums and payment of tuition fees for children, housing loan repayments. You need to keep all the relevant receipts and documentary evidence with you while filing returns.

Capital gains

You may earn capital gains on the sale of capital assets/investments such as immovable property, mutual funds, equity shares. You are required to declare and disclose the gains/losses while filing your income tax returns. You are required to keep the documents such as sale deed, purchase deed, transaction statements etc., handy for the purpose of filing of your income tax return.

Housing loan statement

In case you have taken a housing loan, you need to obtain your annual home loan statement from your bank or financial institution. This statement will facilitate you to claim a deduction for interest paid on home loan and repayment of principal on the home loan.

Interest certificates

In case you earn interest from fixed deposits with a bank or post office, you should obtain an annual interest certificate from the bank or post office. The certificate will enable you to declare the interest income while filing your income tax return. In case of interest earned on savings accounts, you should have your passbook updated or obtain your annual bank statement.

Other necessary documents

You should also keep certain other documents handy to facilitate the process of your tax filing: 

• Aadhaar card
• PAN card
• Bank account details
• Salary slips
• Previous year’s ITR receipt

You have to make sure that all the information mentioned in all of the documents mentioned above is valid and accurate. There may be cases where errors occur regarding your name, PAN, address, or in figures related to income/deductions/TDS. In the case of errors, you have to contact the issuer of the document and have them corrected before the filing of your income tax returns.