For years, filing your Income Tax Return (ITR) has felt like a job that only a Chartered Accountant could handle. Most people pay professional fees, fearing of making mistakes or just getting lost in complicated forms. But now, times have changed. With pre-filled ITR forms, the process is simpler, faster, and far less intimidating.
Most of the details are already pulled and all you need to do is review, edit, confirm, and submit. This means you can skip the middleman, save money, and file your return from the comfort of your home. Of course, CAs are still useful for complex cases, but for most salaried individuals, self-filing is now within easy reach.
Would you need a CA?
Since the process has become so seamless and easy for individuals to file their ITR, not everyone requires a CA nowadays. However, if you are someone who has a complex income source, like if you have income coming from foreign assets, businesses, or capital gains, you might need a CA to file your ITR. In fact it is advisable also if you want to avoid missing a step or any other minute detail.
But salaried people who have a straightforward income can file ITR on their own since the data is limited, simple and easy to comprehend.
How to file ITR yourself? Follow these steps:
- Visit the official website – incometax.gov.in
- Click on ‘e-File’and choose ‘Income Tax return’
- Click on ‘File Income Tax Return’
- Choose your assessment year and select online mode
- Choose the type of ITR form based on your income (Like ITR 1,2 or 3..)
- Pre-filled information will appear on your screen
- Check this information thoroughly, edit to add any deductions or additional income
- Now check tax calculation
- After checking, if it’s payable, click on ‘Pay Self-assessment Tax’
- Then check the form, validate and see declaration, and finally click on submit
- After following the above steps, e-verify the ITR. You can do this via net banking or Aadhaar OTP or any other valid method.
Do not skip the last step because if you don’t e-verify, your ITR filing will no be considered complete.
Documents required to file ITR
Some documents that are needed at the time of ITR filing include:
- Form 16 (for salaried people)
- Form 26AS, AIS, TIS – These help in informing you about the amount of tax that is deposited in your name and also, which financial activities are recorded.
- PAN and Aadhaar card (both should be linked)
- bank account details (more specifically for ITR refund)
- Tax saving investment proof, like PPF, LIC, health insurance etc.
- In case you have taken a house loan, do keep the Home loan interest certificate handy