A Comprehensive Checklist Of Documents Required To File Income Tax Returns
Come July and the yearly ritual of filing your income tax returns begins in full swing. To help you tackle this season better, here is a compilation of essential ITR filing documents that you must collect in advance to file hassle-free returns.
General Documents Required
Firstly let us look at all the general documents required to file income tax return in India that would be needed to proceed with the task of filing:-
- PAN Number
- Aadhaar Number
- All the bank account details of the assessee;
- TDS certificates (Form 16, Form 16A, Form 26AS, etc.);
- Tax Payment Challans
- Investment Proofs (Investments and deductions that can be claimed under section 80C, 80D, 80E, 80TTA, etc.)
Apart from the documents mentioned above, let us take a look at some specific documents that you may require to furnish details of based on your nature of income for the financial year.
Documents Required In Case Of Salary Income
Salaried people need to disclose a plethora of papers to file their income tax returns. Some of the most significant documents required for ITR filing are discussed below:-
| Document Required | Details |
| Form 16 (Popularly known as Salary Certificate) |
A salaried assessee receives a salary certificate (Form 16) at the end of the financial year from his employer. This includes all the details of salary paid, deductions, and tax deducted over the period. A person can still ask for a salary certificate even if no tax has been deducted. Also, in the case of multiple jobs, all Form 16 generated from all the employers will have to be considered for the purpose of filing the tax. The employer deducts a part of the salary of the employee for the purpose of contributing to the Provident Fund. Employee pension is considered a deduction that forms a part of 80C. Therefore, we must be careful to claim the same. |
| Pension Certificate | Pension is considered to be a part of the salary and, thereby is taxable in the hands of the receiver. Therefore it is important to keep this certificate handy. |
| Arrears in Salary | In case an employee has received arrears of salary for a particular year, the tax liabilities get raised in that year. Over and above that, he needs to file Form 10E. |
| Full & Final Settlement (F&F) | This is required for the purpose of computation of salary in case someone has changed the job. |
| Rent Agreements / Rent receipts | As there is a provision for claiming HRA, rent receipts or agreement has to be kept handy in case someone wants to claim HRA, especially if the employer has not considered the same. Income tax authorities might need this to approve the claim. |
| Travel Bills | Travel bills qualify as an exemption even if the employer does not consider so. We can show the payment and get a refund on the same. |
| Withdrawal of PF | In the case of withdrawal of PF in dire situations, the amount withdrawn is taxable in the hands of the employee. Therefore, this document becomes important. |
| Gratuity/ Leave Encashment | Keeping the records of leave encashment and gratuity is important for the purpose of reflecting this in the total amount earned during the financial year. |
| Joining Bonus/ Relocation Bonus |
Many companies have a policy of providing either a joining or a relocation bonus to an employee. Taxability in this purpose is borne by the employee and therefore it is important for the calculation of one’s tax liability |
| Foreign salary slips and Tax Returns | These are required if there is any foreign income accrued during any financial year. Therefore receipts from any foreign income along with the taxes deducted should be kept handy in case we qualify as an ordinary residents of India.
Also in case of claiming a foreign tax credit (FTC), we need to fill out Form 67 and should, therefore, keep all the income proofs and tax returns filed in the foreign countries for the purpose of filing ITR. |
Documents Required In Case You Have Income From Other Sources
Over and above the income received from salary, there is income from other sources such as the bank’s interest, etc.
Following are the details and documents required for ITR return to furnish and support as proof of our income from other sources.
| Documents Required | Details |
| Bank Passbook/ Post Office Savings Passbook/ Statements and Interest Certificates |
Interest accrued for the financial year needs to be reported in the ITR. This interest includes both savings bank interest as well as interest received on fixed deposits. We need to disclose the savings bank account number, IFSC code, name of the bank, FD details, etc. |
| Dividends/ Warrants |
Dividends in India are tax-free up to an amount of INR 10 lakhs. Though dividends are tax-free, it is important to keep records of dividend warrants. This is because in case the dividend received exceeds INR 10 lakhs, we need to pay tax @ 10% on the amount. |
| Form 26AS | It depicts the details of the tax deducted from various sources and deposited into the government coffers. |
| Accrued Interest | Accrued Interest from National Savings Certificate and other such schemes must also be kept for reference and tax filing. |
| Lottery Income | Lottery income is taxable @ 30% flat, and therefore, this should be kept handy for computing the final income and filing the tax return. |
| Agricultural Income | Income received from agricultural sources needs to be shown in the tax return, and hence all the bank statements and receipts reflecting this should be kept handy. |
| Clubbed Income | Clubbed income means the income of our dependents, which we will be declaring as our income. |
Documents Required In Case Of Income From House Property
House Property is one of the key ways of getting deductions in Income Tax returns thereby saving us from a large incidence of taxes. There are key ITR documents required to get the deductions and file tax returns. Let us discuss these.
| Documents required | Details |
| Rent Agreement | If we are receiving rent from the house property and the same is being declared to the employer, it will appear in our Form 16. But we still need to show that in our ITR. Therefore, the rental agreement is of utmost importance. |
| Interest Certificate from Bank | In the case of home loans, bank details highlighting the principal as well as the interest payment need to be taken to claim any deduction. |
| Property Address | Address of the property needs to be shown to claim a deduction |
| Co-Owner Details | Co-owner details if any need to be furnished and thereby the amount of deduction claimed can be increased. |
| Receipts of municipality taxes paid | The receipts of municipal taxes paid need to be kept handy in case of any scrutiny. |
| Form 16A on rent | All taxes deducted apart from salary are reported in Form 16A. Therefore any taxes deducted on rent received are shown in this form and therefore should be kept for future reference. |
| Details of Pre-construction Interest | For computing the correct tax to be paid, details on interest paid on pre-construction should be highlighted. This interest can be claimed in five equal instalments. |
| Details proving ownership | Documents highlighting our ownership details should be kept in store because it will only decide whether we are eligible to claim a deduction on home loan interest or not. |
| Home Loan Processing charges & Foreclosure charges | The charges highlighted here are considered to be finance costs and can be claimed as deductions under section 24(B) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. |
Documents Required In Case Of Capital Gains
We must disclose all the capital gains earned during the period be it short term (STCG) in nature or long term (LTCG).
|
Documents Required |
Details |
| Purchase and Sale Deed | Property details along with the stamp valuation details have to be kept for ITR purposes. Also, any receipts for the costs of improvement should be kept. These are necessary to calculate the right amount of taxes and claim deductions wherever possible. |
| Transfer expenses incurred | Expenses incurred in case of transfer of any capital asset are tax-deductible and hence should be kept to show proof of this expense. Other expenses such as brokerage, commissions, etc. are also included. |
| Purchase deed in case of reinvestment | There is a provision to claim exemption on capital gains in case the proceeds are invested to buy another house property or invested in specific bonds (for example NHAI bonds) etc. Therefore, to claim the exemption we need to showcase these documents.
It is important to fill in all the details in the ITR within the due date to claim these exemptions. |
Documents Required For Tax Saving Investments
There is a multitude of avenues present for tax-saving purposes. Most of these fall in Chapter VI of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Regardless of the investments we make, it is required to furnish all the details and documents required for income tax filing.
|
Documents Required |
Details |
| Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS), the contribution made towards PPF, EPF, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, tax-saving fixed deposits, Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) | All these can be claimed under section 80C. But we need to keep all the details/ documents handy. |
| Receipts of donations made | These should be kept along with the PAN, name, and address of the donor to claim the deduction. |
| Education Loan interest paid receipts | Receipts for payment of education loans should be taken from the bank. All interest paid on education loan is deductible under section 80E up to a period of 8 years. |
| Receipts for medi-claim insurance (Both for self and family) | Deduction under section 80D is applicable in case of medical insurance paid for self and family. |
| All other investment receipts | The receipts of all other investments made during the year should be kept handy to claim deduction wherever possible. |
Conclusion
It is advisable to collect all documents required for IT return in advance before you begin filing. Please note that these may not be the complete documents you require and you may have to furnish additional details as per your case. Please consult a qualified tax consultant in case you have doubts.
Disclaimer: The information related to the tax filing presented in this blog post is generic in nature. Please seek professional advice from a tax consultant in case you have doubts.