Filing an income tax return is a yearly obligation for most earning individuals and every registered business in India. The e-filing portal has made the process considerably simpler, but choosing the wrong form or missing a disclosure still leads to notices and delayed refunds.

Before you start

Keep your PAN, Aadhaar, Form 16 from your employer, Form 26AS, the Annual Information Statement (AIS), bank interest certificates and any capital gains statements within reach. Cross-checking your Form 26AS and AIS against your own records is the single most useful step you can take, because mismatches are the most common reason a return gets flagged.

Choosing the right ITR form

Salaried individuals with one house property and no capital gains generally use ITR-1. If you have capital gains, more than one property or foreign assets, ITR-2 applies. Business and professional income moves you to ITR-3 or ITR-4 depending on whether you opt for presumptive taxation.

Filing the return

Log in to the income tax e-filing portal, select the assessment year, and choose whether to file under the old or new regime. The portal pre-fills much of your data from Form 26AS and AIS. Review every pre-filled figure rather than accepting it: pre-filled data is a convenience, not a guarantee of accuracy.

Verify within 30 days

An unverified return is treated as never filed. Verify through Aadhaar OTP, net banking or a digital signature within 30 days of submission. Once verified, refunds are typically processed within a few weeks.

If your situation involves capital gains, foreign income or business receipts, a short conversation with a Chartered Accountant before filing usually costs less than correcting a return afterwards.