ITR Filing8 June 2025 15 min readBy Taxpex Editorial
Documents Required for ITR Filing 2026 — The Complete Checklist
Salaried, freelancer, NRI, trader or business owner — the exact document stack our CAs collect before opening the ITR utility. Print this, tick as you go, and cut your filing time from days to hours.
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Most ITR filings get delayed not because the return is hard, but because documents are scattered across five email inboxes, three bank apps, a broker portal, an insurance PDF you saved last April, and a rent receipt your landlord keeps forgetting to send. This is the master checklist Taxpex CAs share with every client — categorised by profile, prioritised by importance, and updated for AY 2026-27.
Print it. Tick as you collect. When every box is ticked, filing itself takes 60–90 minutes for a salaried employee and 3–6 hours for a business owner. Without this discipline, filing balloons to a multi-week saga of remembering, digging, following up and reconciling.
Illustration
Illustration of a document checklist with categories PAN and Aadhaar, Form 16, Form 26AS, AIS, capital gains statements, deduction proofs, arranged in a vertical stack with check marks
The master ITR document checklist — one physical or PDF folder per category is the working method.
Key takeaways
The **three data-source documents** (Form 26AS, AIS, TIS) are non-negotiable — download them before you touch the ITR utility.
**Form 16** is convenience, not a legal requirement — you can file with salary slips + 26AS if the employer delays it.
**AIS reconciliation** eliminates ~90% of future mismatch notices — treat any AIS entry above ₹1,000 as needing verification.
Old-regime filers need **deduction proofs preserved for 6 years** in case of scrutiny — not just receipts, but bank statements showing the payment.
Capital gains filers need **AY-specific broker statements**, not calendar-year P&L reports — the two rarely match.
Category 1: Core documents (everyone, every filing)
**PAN card** — must be linked with Aadhaar. Unlinked PAN is treated as inoperative and blocks refund credit.
**Aadhaar card** — for OTP-based e-verification and pre-fill data.
**Bank account details** — IFSC of the account you want refund credited to. Pre-validate it on the portal under 'My Bank Account' before filing.
**Email address and mobile number** linked with PAN — used for portal OTPs, notice delivery and refund SMSes.
**Login credentials** for incometax.gov.in — if you've never logged in, register first (takes 10 minutes with Aadhaar-OTP).
Pro tip
Pre-validating the bank account is the single most common source of refund delays. Log in → Profile → My Bank Account → Add and validate. Validation happens via ₹1 challan credit from the department, usually within 1–2 working days.
Category 2: Income proof documents
For salaried employees
**Form 16 Part A** — TDS certificate showing quarter-wise TDS deducted by employer. Downloadable from TRACES if employer doesn't share.
**Form 16 Part B** — salary breakup with exempt allowances (HRA, LTA), perquisites, deductions claimed at source.
**Salary slips** for the entire year — needed to cross-check HRA computation, professional tax, and allowance breakups.
**Employer offer letter or CTC letter** — helpful for cross-reference if Form 16 is delayed.
**Section 89 relief workings** (Form 10E) — for any salary arrears or advance received during the year.
For freelancers and consultants
**Bank statements** for all accounts used for professional receipts — full FY, not just year-end.
**Invoice register** — client-wise summary of receipts, ideally reconciled against bank credits.
**Form 16A** from each client who deducted TDS (typically for Section 194J at 10% and 194C at 1–2%).
**GST returns** (GSTR-3B) if registered — for turnover reconciliation with ITR.
**Books of account** if not under 44ADA presumptive — journal, ledger, P&L, balance sheet.
**Expense receipts** — hosting bills, subscriptions, phone, internet, professional membership dues, laptop AMC, courier — anything you'll claim as business expense.
For business owners (non-presumptive)
**Complete books of account** — cash book, bank book, ledger, P&L, balance sheet.
**Tax audit report (Form 3CD)** if turnover crosses ₹1Cr (or ₹10Cr for cashless businesses).
**GSTR-3B and GSTR-1 summaries** — for turnover reconciliation with ITR.
**Stock statements** at year-end (31 March 2026) for inventory-based businesses.
**Depreciation schedule** with asset-wise WDV, additions, deletions, and the Section 32 rate applied.
**Loan confirmations** for all unsecured loans above ₹20,000 — party name, PAN, amount, interest, TDS.
For capital gains and investments
**Broker capital-gain statement** — AY-specific, not calendar-year. Zerodha, ICICI Direct, Groww, Upstox all provide these under 'Tax P&L' or 'Capital Gains Report'.
**Mutual fund CAS** (Consolidated Account Statement) from CAMS or KFintech — covers all folios you've held during the year.
**Property sale/purchase deeds** with stamp duty valuations and indexed cost of acquisition.
**Cryptocurrency/VDA gain workings** — party-wise, coin-wise, with acquisition and sale timestamps.
**Section 54/54F/54EC exemption workings** if you sold a property and reinvested — sale deed, purchase deed of new property, or 54EC bond investment certificate.
**Long-term capital gains grandfather statement** — for pre-2018 equity holdings, the fair market value on 31 January 2018 acts as the deemed cost of acquisition under Section 112A.
For other income
**FD interest certificates** from each bank — with TDS deducted amount.
**Savings account interest summary** — from bank passbook or app (needed for Section 80TTA/TTB claim).
**Dividend received summary** — from broker or company registrar; taxable at slab rate from AY 2021-22.
**Rental agreements** and tenant TDS certificates (Form 16C) if rent exceeds ₹50K per month.
**Family pension statements** if applicable.
**Gift receipts** — for gifts above ₹50,000 from non-relatives (taxable) or above ₹2L from relatives (disclosable in AIS).
Category 3: Tax credit and disclosure documents
**Form 26AS** — the tax-credit statement showing all TDS, TCS, advance tax, self-assessment tax, refunds and Statement of Financial Transactions (SFT) entries. Downloadable from the income tax portal via the 'e-File → View Form 26AS' route (redirects to TRACES).
**AIS (Annual Information Statement)** — the comprehensive statement of all financial transactions reported to the IT Department under Rule 114E: salary, interest, dividend, MF/equity trades, rent received, foreign remittances, high-value card spends.
**TIS (Taxpayer Information Summary)** — the category-wise aggregated view of AIS that gets pre-filled into your ITR.
**Challan copies** for any advance tax or self-assessment tax paid — Challan 280, with BSR code, date and challan serial number.
Watch out
Reconciling AIS with your actual income before filing eliminates about 90% of the future mismatch notices. Any discrepancy above ₹1,000 should be either (a) corrected via the AIS feedback module, or (b) explained inside the ITR in the appropriate schedule. Never ignore an AIS discrepancy — it comes back as a notice 12–18 months later.
Category 4: Deduction proofs (old regime only)
If you're filing under the old regime, deduction proofs are the difference between a smooth filing and a nightmare scrutiny two years later. The department can ask for these anytime within 6 years — organise them as PDFs by section, tagged with year, and back them up.
**PPF passbook** — Rule of ₹1.5L annual cap applies across all PPF accounts you hold.
**ELSS mutual fund investment** statements — 3-year lock-in must be respected.
**EPF contribution** — employee portion (12% of basic) shown in salary slip and Form 16.
**Home-loan principal repayment** certificate from the lender.
**Children's tuition fees** — school receipts (max 2 children, full-time education in India).
**5-year fixed deposits** in a bank — with tax-saver FD tag.
**Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana** — passbook with contribution history.
**NSC (National Savings Certificate)** and post-office deposits.
Section 80D — health insurance
Health insurance premium receipts for **self + spouse + children** (up to ₹25K; ₹50K if senior citizen).
Health insurance premium receipts for **parents** (up to ₹25K; ₹50K if senior citizen parents).
**Preventive health check-up** bill up to ₹5,000 (within the overall 80D cap).
For very senior citizens (80+) without insurance: **medical expenditure bills** up to ₹50K allowed under 80D.
Other Chapter VI-A deductions
**80E** — education loan interest certificate from bank (deductible for 8 years or until interest is fully paid, whichever earlier).
**80G** — donation receipts with the donee's PAN and 80G registration number. From FY 2021-22 onward, only donations to institutions with Form 10BE (Donation Certificate) qualify.
**80CCD(1B)** — NPS additional contribution up to ₹50K, via PRAN statement.
**80CCD(2)** — employer NPS contribution, reflected in Form 16 (allowed in both regimes).
**80TTA** — savings interest up to ₹10K for non-seniors.
**80TTB** — interest up to ₹50K for senior citizens (savings + FD + RD combined).
**80DDB** — treatment of specified diseases (with prescription from specialist as per Rule 11DD).
**80U** — disability certificate under Persons with Disabilities Act.
Section 24(b) — home-loan interest
Home-loan interest certificate from the lender showing **principal and interest breakup**.
Occupancy proof of the property.
Co-owner ratio if the loan is joint.
Under-construction period interest workings — 1/5th deductible for 5 years after completion.
Category 5: HRA and other exemption proofs (old regime)
**Rent receipts** for each month (or a consolidated statement signed by landlord).
**Landlord's PAN** — mandatory if annual rent exceeds ₹1 lakh.
**Rent agreement** — helps in scrutiny but not strictly required.
**HRA computation** — the lower of (a) actual HRA received, (b) 50%/40% of basic salary, (c) rent paid minus 10% of basic.
**LTA travel proof** — boarding passes and tickets (twice in a block of 4 calendar years).
**Uniform allowance / academic allowance / conveyance** — if exemptions claimed under Rule 2BB.
Category 6: Special-situation documents
NRIs
**Passport with entry/exit stamps** — for residential status determination.
**NRE / NRO / FCNR bank statements**.
**Form 67** — for DTAA credit; must be filed before ITR.
**Tax Residency Certificate (TRC)** from the country of residence.
**PAN of employer** if working abroad for an Indian employer.
Company directors
**DIN** and list of companies where you hold directorship.
**Unlisted equity share holdings** — company name, PAN, number of shares, acquisition cost, market value.
**Director loan account** balances at year-end.
**Sitting fees** and commission received (with TDS).
F&O and intraday traders
**Broker P&L** for F&O (turnover computation basis).
**Speculative income statement** for intraday equity.
**Contract notes** — sample from each broker if using multiple.
**Bank statements** showing margin funding / interest on margin.
**Section 44AD/44AB decision workings** based on turnover.
Share these documents on WhatsApp — our CA prepares your ITR computation in 24 hours, verifies AIS mismatches, and files with regime optimisation. Starts at ₹799.
How long to preserve ITR documents
Under Section 149 of the Income Tax Act, reassessment can be opened up to **10 years back** in cases where undisclosed income exceeds ₹50 lakh — and up to 3 years back for smaller cases. Practically, preserve all ITR-related documents for at least 8 years, and permanent records (property deeds, PPF passbooks, NSC certificates) for the life of the asset.
Document type
Minimum retention
ITR-V and computation
8 years
Form 16, 16A, 26AS, AIS
8 years
Bank statements
8 years
Capital gains workings
8 years post-sale
Property purchase / sale deeds
Permanent
Deduction proofs (80C, 80D)
6 years
Tax audit reports
8 years
Foreign asset disclosures
16 years (Black Money Act)
FAQ — ITR documents
Can I file ITR without Form 16?
Yes. Compute gross salary from salary slips, TDS from Form 26AS, and file. You can also demand Form 16 from your employer under Section 203 — the penalty for delayed issuance is ₹100 per day under Section 272A(2)(g). Missing Form 16 is never a reason to miss the ITR deadline.
Is a rent agreement mandatory for HRA claim?
Not strictly, but strongly recommended. What is mandatory is (a) rent receipts for the period claimed, and (b) the landlord's PAN if annual rent exceeds ₹1 lakh. A written rent agreement makes the claim defensible in scrutiny and helps avoid the department treating your HRA as sham.
Do I need broker statements for equity mutual funds?
Yes — for both units sold (capital gains) and units held (grandfathering under Section 112A). The most reliable source is CAMS/KFintech Consolidated Account Statement (CAS), which covers all your MF folios in one PDF. Get the AY-specific version — request 'CAS from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026' for AY 2026-27.
How do I access Form 26AS?
Log in to incometax.gov.in → e-File → View Form 26AS → confirm the redirect to the TRACES portal. Select the AY (2026-27), format (HTML/PDF), and download. Cross-check every TDS entry against your Form 16 / 16A.
What if there's a discrepancy between Form 26AS and my salary slip?
Contact the employer immediately. The most common cause is delayed TDS return filing by the employer (Form 24Q filed after the ITR season starts) — usually resolved within 15–30 days. Do not proceed with ITR until Form 26AS matches your Form 16.
Is AIS mandatory to review before ITR filing?
It's not legally mandatory, but skipping AIS review is one of the most expensive filing mistakes. AIS contains transactions from banks, brokers, MF houses, sub-registrars, credit card companies and Customs. Any unreported entry there triggers a mismatch notice under Section 143(1)(a) within weeks of filing. Review AIS end-to-end before submission.
Can I claim deductions without proofs during filing?
Yes — during e-filing, no proofs are uploaded. Proofs are demanded only if the return goes into scrutiny under Section 143(2) or the CPC raises an adjustment under 143(1)(a). But if you can't produce the proof when asked, the deduction is disallowed with penalty (up to 200% of tax under Section 270A). Never claim a deduction without a bulletproof paper trail.
Where do I find dividend income for ITR?
Three sources: (a) your broker's dividend received summary, (b) direct email from the company or registrar (Kfintech/Link Intime), and (c) AIS Section 'Dividend from listed/unlisted shares'. Cross-verify across all three — small dividends (₹50–₹500) frequently slip through and cause AIS mismatch.
Conclusion — one Google Drive folder saves you every year
The single best filing habit you can build is to create a Google Drive folder every 1 April called 'Tax FY [year]', with sub-folders for each category above, and drop documents in as they arrive across the year. By March, when the tax season starts, you'll already have 80% of the stack. Filing then becomes a 90-minute exercise instead of a two-week hunt.
If the checklist above feels overwhelming, that's exactly what a CA-assisted service exists for. Share your PAN and the documents you have — Taxpex CAs identify what's missing, pull it from portals where possible, and drive the missing pieces from your employer or broker. You focus on your work; we file your return.
Topics covered
documents for itr filingitr filing checklistform 26asais tis itrdocuments needed to file itritr documents 2026
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Written by
Taxpex Editorial
Senior contributor at Taxpex Consultancy. Reviewed by a practising Chartered Accountant. Published on 8 June 2025 · Updated on 8 June 2025.
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EMI is computed using the standard reducing-balance formula: EMI = P × r × (1+r)^N / ((1+r)^N − 1), where P is the principal, r the monthly interest rate and N the tenure in months.
EMI is computed using the standard reducing-balance formula: EMI = P × r × (1+r)^N / ((1+r)^N − 1), where P is the principal, r the monthly interest rate and N the tenure in months.
EMI is computed using the standard reducing-balance formula: EMI = P × r × (1+r)^N / ((1+r)^N − 1), where P is the principal, r the monthly interest rate and N the tenure in months.