When filing your income tax returns, you need to have all the required documents in place. The last day for filing your IT returns is 31 July, but you need to get all the required documents in order in advance to make the IT return filing a seamless process. This is why the Government allows you a window of fourth months to get all these documents in order.
These documents are a very important part of the return filing process for a couple of reasons. First, they are proof of the source of your income. Then there are documents which are a proof of any refund you are eligible for.
Without these documents in place filing your IT returns could be difficult. Remember that you do not need to submit these documents to the Income Tax department but need to keep them ready to prepare the IT returns. Also, you may require to preserve them in case of any scrutiny by the Income Tax department at a later date. In this article, we take a look at the various documents you would need to file your IT returns.
Documents needed for Salaried Employees
If you are a salaried employee, the most important document to file your ITR is Form 16. Essentially Form 16 is a certificate provided by your employer that provides details of the salary you have earned during the year and the TDS that has been deducted. Form 16 takes into account your salary, allowances and deductions.
You also need to keep your salary slips ready. This is required as you may need to specify the nature of your salary income such a basic, dearness allowance, house rent allowance, and so on.
Documents related to interest income
According to Income Tax laws, interest from the fixed deposit and recurring deposit is taxable, and you pay taxes as per applicable tax rates Interest on a savings account is also taxable, post deduction that is available under section 80TTA with a maximum of Rs 10,000 per year. Banks do not deduct TDS on the savings account interest. Here are the documents related to interest income that you need to keep ready while filing your IT returns.
-Bank statement or passbook for interest on your savings account. You can request the bank statement from your bank or log in to your internet banking account to access it.
-Interest certificates or TDS certificates from banks and Post offices
Form 16A/Form 16B/Form 16C: Form 16A, 16B and 16C are also significant documents one should be aware of.
Form 16 A: Form 16A reflects the TDS deduction for income other than salary. These could be returns on investments on fixed deposits, mutual funds, gold, bonds, and so on.
Form 16B: Form 16B is a TDS certificate which reflects that the amount deducted as TDS on the property by the buyer has been deposited with the Income Tax Department.
Form 16C: Form 16C is the TDS certificate that reflects the amount of TDS on rent. This applies to individuals and HUFs who pay a rent of more than Rs 50,000 per month.
Form 26AS: Form 26AS is a consolidated record of the various taxes deducted from your income by the deductor which could be your employer, bank, or a tenant as the case may be and deposited with the Government. Form 26AS also contains details of advance tax or assessment tax that you would have paid. You can cross check TDS deductions mentioned in form 16A and Form 16B by referring to Form 26AS. Form 26AS can be downloaded through netbanking if your PAN is mapped to that particular account.
Documents Required to claim the Expenses as Deductions and other investment documents
The Income Tax Act allows one to claim various deductions as expenses. You would need to submit relevant documents to your CA while filing. In case one is a salaried person and has already submitted these documents to the employer, they are not further needed during filing of income tax returns as the employer would have issued Form 16, and there is already proof for the same. However, if one is not a salaried person, these are some of the documents that would be required to claim deductions under Section 80C. This would, however, depend from person to person.
-Life Insurance premium receipts
-Public provident fund contribution receipts
-Receipt of subscription to ELSS mutual funds
-Receipt of provident fund contribution
-Senior Citizen Savings Scheme receipts
-Receipt of 5 year Bank FDs
-Receipt of tuition fees
-Receipt of investment in the National Pension Scheme
-Receipt of contribution made to ULIPs
-Receipt of principal repayment on your home loan
Apart from the above, you can also claim a deduction on health insurance premiums under section 80D of the Income Tax Act for a maximum of up to Rs 25,000 year. If you are paying the health insurance premium for your parents, you can claim an additional Rs 25,000 or Rs 30,000 if they are senior citizens. So these premium receipts also become important. If you have paid interest on education loan, you can claim deductions too, so relevant documents are required. Loan statement from bank or NBFC that shows interest on the loan for the first home is also important.
However, it is important to remember that the Union Budget 2019 is going to be presented in the first week of July and some of the information mentioned above may be subject to change.
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