A 4-Point Checklist for Income Tax Return Filing

2025-07-21

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Key Takeaways

Keep essential documents ready such as PAN, Aadhaar, Form 16, and investment proofs before you begin.
Choose the correct ITR form based on your income type whether salaried, self-employed, or business owner.
File your return through the official online portal or offline utility tools, and remember to verify it within the deadline.eases.
Claim deductions under Sections 80C, 80D, and 80TTA using eligible investments, insurance premiums, and education expenses.

Dread filing your income tax return and falling under scrutiny for incorrect ITR? Worry not. Here is the step-by-step process to file your income tax return. Apart from filing the necessary details, you should also check if your investments fall under tax-saving schemes or not. Some of the best tax-saving investments will allow you to claim a deduction of up to ₹1.5 lakhs under Section 80C and 80D.

4 Quick Steps to File an Income Tax Return

Correctly file your Income tax return by following these 4 easy steps:

Step 1 - Collect All Relevant Documents

Ensure the following documents are ready before you start filing your income tax return:

PAN Card (Permanent Account Number): This document will work as a User ID for you at the time of signing on the income tax website.
Aadhaar Number: The second important document you require to file an income tax return is the Aadhaar number. This is applicable for Individual taxpayers only.
IT Return Copy: The third essential document for filing an income tax return is a copy of your last year's tax assessment.
Form 16 & TDS Certificates: The fourth important document is Form 16 issued by your employer.
Investment Proofs: The fifth required document while preparing the IT return is the interest certificate to show the amount of income you earned during the said financial year on balance in the savings accounts/fixed deposits/recurring deposits, etc.

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Step 2 - Prerequisites for Filing the Return

Begin your IT filing with proper registration and verification, following these steps:

Visit the website https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/ and create your profile.
Keep your operational email ID and mobile number ready to verify the profile through OTPs and complete registration.
Add your Aadhaar number in the form and verify the same.
Under the e-File section, choose Income Tax Returns, followed by File Income Tax Return.
Select the correct Assessment Year and applicable filing status, like Individual or HUF.
Choose the right ITR form according to your type of employment, such as salaried, self-employed, businessman, or corporate. ITR 1-SAHAJ is the application that a salaried individual is required to fill out.

Did You Know?

More than 93% of income tax returns were filed online in FY 2023–24 using e filing 2.0.

Source: The Economic Times.

Know Your ITR Form

As you proceed with the ITR filing, you will come across different ITR forms. Here is a brief overview of each form to assist you in finding the applicable form for you:

ITR-1 SAHAJ form is designed for resident individuals (other than those who are not ordinarily resident) with a total income of up to ₹50 lakh. Income sources that are eligible are income from salary or pension, income from a single house property (except where losses are brought forward from earlier years), income from other sources, like interest (except winnings from lotteries and income from racehorses), and agricultural income of up to ₹ 5,000.
ITR-2 is the ITR form for an individual or a Hindu Undivided Family who have an income of more than ₹50 lakhs. Applicable sources of income include salary, house property, pension, and other sources, including lottery winnings and income generated from race horses, capital gains, foreign income, directorship holdings in a company, and equity shares (unlisted) holdings. Agricultural income exceeding ₹5,000 also falls under this form.
ITR-3 is the form for individuals and HUFs having income from all sources as mentioned under ITR-2, and also profits and gains of business or profession, and income from partnership in a firm.
ITR-4 SUGAM form is for Individuals (with resident status), HUFs and Firms (other than LLPs) having total income up to ₹50 lakh and with income from business and profession which is computed under sections 44AD, 44ADA or 44AE, and all income as mentioned under ITR-1.
ITR-5 is for persons other than- (i) individuals, (ii) HUFs, (iii) companies and (iv) persons filing Form ITR-7. It is applicable for LLPs, AOPs, and BOIs.
ITR-6 is for companies that are not claiming any exemption under Section 11.
ITR-7 is for persons and companies required to furnish a return under Sections 139(4A), 139(4B), 139(4C), or 139(4D) only.

Step 3 - Filing the Return

Here are the two methods of return filing. Proceed with whichever is convenient for you:

Online Method: You can e-file the income tax return. Also, save the draft every time after updating details to avoid loss of data.
Offline Method: For filing income tax returns offline

Download the ITR Utility, which is available under the ‘Download’ section of the income tax website.
Install and import the pre-filled JSON.
Fill in the required details and validate the form.
Generate the JSON and upload it onto the e-Filing portal; log-in required.

Important Forms

You will need these two forms:

Form 26AS: Download the form from the income tax website to view your tax credit. This form shows the overall amount of tax that is deducted, along with the paid amount.
Form 16: This is the TDS certificate, and you need it to claim relevant tax-saving benefits. .

Important Factors to Remember

Make sure the deductions you claim while filing the IT return are as per Form 16.
Make sure you mention income from other sources.
Make sure you have included the interest income earned during the said financial year on the balances in all savings accounts. You are eligible for a deduction of up to ₹10,000 as per Section 80TTA.
Premiums for eligible insurance policies are deductible under sections of the Income Tax Act. Make sure such policies are as per the specified requirements for tax relief.

Step 4 – Electronic Verification of the Return

The final steps involve the verification of the return, which can be done both online and offline. Here’s what you need to remember:

The income tax return is valid only after the completion of the verification process.
You have two options to verify the same. One method is to perform physical verification, and the second is e-verification through aadhaar OTP or net banking login
In the case of physical verification of the return, you need to print the acknowledgement of ITR-V and sign it with a blue ball pen. You will need to send the signed copy to the Centralised Processing Centre in Bengaluru through courier
This process must be completed within 30 days of filing your return

After receiving your physical verification request, the Income Tax Department will send you an email as an acknowledgement of your request. This email will be sent to the email that you have filled out at the time of filing your income tax. The income tax department will also send an SMS to acknowledge your physical verification using the mobile number you mentioned while filing the income tax return.

Tax Saving Investments

To lower your tax outflow, you can invest in multiple tax-saving schemes every year. These schemes will allow you a tax rebate under Sections 80C and 80D. Some of the best tax-saving investments are:

Term Insurance Premium: Term life cover is one of the essentials of your financial plan. The premium is eligible for Section 80C and 10(10D) deduction.
Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs): Invest in a mix of insurance and equity. The five-year lock-in period helps with long-term financial goals. Premiums on ULIPs, up to ₹1.5 lakh in a financial year, are eligible for a tax deduction under Section 80C, lowering taxable income.
Life Insurance Savings Plans: One of the safest long-term investments with guaranteed returns. These schemes also offer tax advantages under Section 10(10D), Section 80C, Section 80CCC, and Section 80D. .
Retirement Plans: Your investments in any retirement plans, whether from life insurance companies or the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), like NPS and PPF, will also avail you of the tax benefits within Section 80C limits.
Health Insurance Plans: Paying premiums for a health insurance cover for your family and parents is eligible for deduction under Section 80D. You can claim a deduction of up to ₹75,000 if your parents are senior citizens. In the case of senior citizens, Section 80D also allows medical expenses within the year for the deduction.
Other Small Savings Schemes: Post office schemes like a senior citizen savings account, National Saving Certificate (NSC), and a 5-year tax-saving deposit, also allow deduction under Section 80C.
Tax Saving Mutual Fund: Equity-linked saving scheme or ELSS is a pure equity mutual fund that also falls under the purview of Section 80C. The scheme has a short lock-in period of 36 months. However, this lock-in period will be counted separately for each investment, even if you invest in the same scheme.

Apart from these investments, you can claim the following expenses as deductions from your gross total income:

Tuition fees for a full-time education course
Home loan principal repayment

With these steps and these many tax-saving schemes, you can not only save money on tax but also file your tax return with ease.

Conclusion

So there you have it: a simple 4-point checklist to file your income tax return without the stress. Just gather your documents, pick the right form, file with care, and don’t skip the final verification step. And while you're at it, make the most of those tax-saving investments. Filing taxes might not be fun, but saving money definitely is. Ready to tick it off your to-do list?

Glossary

e filing 2.0: The advanced income tax filing platform by the government of India for simpler and quicker ITR filing.
Income Tax Slab: The structure of tax rates against various ranges of income under the New and Old tax regimes.
Section 80C: A provision of the Income Tax Act for deduction up to ₹1.5 lakh for particular investments.
ULIP: Unit Linked Insurance Plan brings insurance together with equity/debt investment.
Section 10(10D): Tax-free maturity benefits from life insurance policies, subject to specific conditions.

FAQs

You can invest in Public Provident Fund, Employee-Linked Savings Scheme, National Savings Certificate, and more. There are several options to invest under Section 80C in addition to insurance, using which you can claim a tax deduction of up to ₹ 1.5 lakh.

The combined total tax deduction for both 80C and 80CCC cannot exceed ₹1.5 lakh.

Canara HSBC Life Insurance offers you various tax-saving insurance products online. The application process is easy and helps you get the most out of your insurance premiums and maturity payouts.

Disclaimer - This article is issued in the general public interest and meant for general information purposes only. The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company Limited or any affiliated entity. We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability, or availability with respect to the blog or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained in the blog for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk. You should consult with a qualified professional regarding your specific circumstances before taking any action based on the content provided herein.

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