ITR filing 2023-24: Keep this list of crucial documents at hand while filing income tax returns

ITR filing 2024: Gather these documents before kicking off the exercise

July 31 – the due date for filing income tax returns for the financial year 2023-24 – is now just over a month away.

If you do not want last-minute income tax e-filing portal glitches due to heavy traffic flows closer to the due date or your busy work schedule to delay the process of filing returns on time, you need to act now.

You need not log in to the income tax department’s official e-filing portal (incometax.gov.in) and start the process right away. You can start with step one – gathering all the documents critical to the process.

Here’s a list of essential documents that you must start obtaining right away:

The relevant ITR form – ensure that you file returns using the right form, else your return will be considered defective

• Bank TDS certificates
• Bank account statements
• Aadhaar and PAN – ensure that these two are linked
• Form-26AS
• Annual Information Statement (AIS)
• Tax return filing documents that salaried individuals need
• Form-16 issued by employers – all the forms if you have switched jobs during the FY
• Past tax returns filed
• Salary slips, including income earned abroad, if any
• Rent agreements and receipts to claim HRA
• Foreign bank account statements if you were deputed abroad
• Transaction statements of foreign investments made to make the relevant disclosures
• Form 67 if you are claiming credit of taxes paid in a foreign country with which India has double taxation avoidance treaty
• Details of your assets and liabilities if your income exceeds Rs 50 lakh and you have to file returns using ITR-1, which contains AL (asset-liability) schedule

Also read: Why you should file your ITR by July 31

Do note that you need not attach these documents with your ITR form when you submit returns. However, preserve these documents to address any queries that may arise due to any mismatch in Form-16 and Form-26AS or AIS. This is particularly the case if you have chosen the new regime in your proposed investment declarations submitted to the employer but wish to switch to the old regime while filing returns.

• Confirmation of having invested in equity-linked saving schemes (ELSS)
• National Pension System (NPS) own contribution proof
• Premium receipts of life insurance premiums paid

• Health insurance premium receipts

• Interest certificate from the bank that has extended the education loan

• Interest certificate from your bank to claim deduction of up to Rs 2 lakh under section 24(B)

Also read: Calculate your tax payable for FY 2024-25

• Receipts of donations to charitable institutions eligible for deductions under section 80G
• Earn income from other sources? Keep these documents at hand
• Capital gains/loss statements issued by mutual fund house or intermediaries, stock brokers etc
• Bank account statements and TDS certificates
• Virtual digital assets (VDA) transaction statements to make appropriate disclosures, particularly in the VDA schedule