How to File ITR Online for FY2025-26 (AY 2026-27): Step-by-Step Guide

The Income Tax Return filing window for Financial Year 2025-26 (Assessment Year 2026-27) is open. The deadline for most salaried taxpayers is July 31, 2026. Miss it and you pay a late fee of ₹5,000 under Section 234F — or ₹1,000 if your total income is below ₹5 lakh. The late return can still be filed until December 31, 2026, but the penalty applies from August 1 onward.

Filing your own ITR is not complicated once you understand what each step requires. This guide walks you through the complete process: choosing the right form, gathering documents, handling the old-vs-new regime choice, and verifying your return so it isn't rejected.

By the end, you'll be able to file your return without a CA for most standard salaried scenarios. Complex situations — business income, foreign assets, ongoing scrutiny — still warrant professional help, and this guide tells you which situations those are.

What you need to know first

The new Income Tax Act 2025 is in effect from April 1, 2026. The most important change for individual taxpayers: the new tax regime is now the default. If you want to use the old regime — and claim deductions like 80C, HRA, home loan interest, 80D — you must explicitly opt for it when filing.

Under the new regime, individuals with total income up to ₹12 lakh pay zero income tax because of the full rebate under Section 87A. Standard deduction under the new regime is ₹75,000 for salaried employees, meaning gross salary up to ₹12.75 lakh can result in nil tax. Above ₹12 lakh, the new slab rates apply unless you opt out.

The Income Tax e-Filing portal at incometaxindia.gov.in is the only authorised platform for self-filing. Third-party filing services exist, but your liability does not transfer to them — errors in the return are yours to correct.

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Step 1: Determine which ITR form applies to you

Choosing the wrong form is the most common first mistake. The department issues defective return notices under Section 139(9) when the wrong form is used — which requires a corrected re-filing and can attract scrutiny.

ITR Form	Who it's for	Ceiling
ITR-1 (Sahaj)	Salaried, one house property, interest/dividend income only	₹50 lakh total income
ITR-2	Salaried + capital gains, multiple house properties, foreign income	No ceiling
ITR-3	Business or professional income alongside any of the above	No ceiling
ITR-4 (Sugam)	Presumptive income under Sections 44AD/44ADA/44AE	₹50 lakh

Most salaried employees with a single employer, no capital gains transactions, and no business income use ITR-1. The critical disqualifier: if you sold mutual funds, shares, or property in FY2025-26 — even if the gain is small — you need ITR-2. Capital gains cannot be entered in ITR-1.

The CBDT notifies finalised ITR forms each year in March–April. The downloads section at incometaxindia.gov.in has the current AY 2026-27 forms once released.

Why this step matters: An ITR-1 filing that includes capital gain transactions will be flagged as defective. You must re-file in the correct form within 15 days of the defect notice — and if you miss that window, the original return is treated as invalid.

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Step 2: Collect your documents before opening the portal

Having documents ready before you start prevents mid-session errors. The portal has a 30-minute session timeout, and incomplete data entry leads to mismatches.

Everyone needs:

• PAN card and Aadhaar (must be linked — mandatory since July 2022; unlinked PANs face TDS at 20%)
• Bank account details for refund credit (IFSC code, account number, MICR)
• Login credentials for incometaxindia.gov.in

Salaried employees need additionally:

• Form 16 Part A — TDS deducted by employer. Employers must issue this by June 15, 2026 per CBDT rules. Don't file before receiving Form 16 — the TDS figures must match.
• Form 16 Part B — breakup of salary, exempt allowances, and deductions claimed by the employer
• Bank statements for April 2025 to March 2026 — to capture all interest income, including savings account interest (taxable above ₹10,000 for non-senior citizens under Section 80TTA)
• Form 26AS and Annual Information Statement (AIS) — both available on the portal under Services; these aggregate all TDS, TCS, and financial transactions reported against your PAN

For investments and capital gains:

• Mutual fund capital gains statement (download from CAMS at camsonline.com or KFintech for all folios consolidated)
• Equity sale contract notes from your broker, showing STCG and LTCG separately
• Property sale and purchase deed (for computing LTCG on real estate, indexation under old regime)
• Fixed deposit interest certificates from all banks

For HRA or home loan deductions:

• Rent receipts with landlord PAN (if annual rent exceeds ₹1 lakh, PAN is mandatory for HRA claim)
• Home loan interest certificate from your lender (showing principal and interest split for Section 24 and Section 80EEA)
• Property municipal address for the house property schedule

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Step 3: Verify your AIS and correct errors before filing

The Annual Information Statement is the most important document most taxpayers ignore. Access it at incometaxindia.gov.in → Services → Annual Information Statement.

The AIS aggregates everything reported against your PAN by employers, banks, brokers, mutual funds, and registrars. It includes salary, dividends, interest, capital gains, property transactions, and foreign remittances. The department's assessment system cross-checks your filed return against AIS automatically — discrepancies trigger processing holds or scrutiny notices.

Before filing, verify:

• TDS credited in AIS matches the TDS shown in your Form 16 and bank TDS certificates
• Interest income figures match your actual bank statements (banks sometimes mis-report account numbers or amounts)
• All dividend entries are correct — mutual fund and equity dividends are now taxable in your hands
• Capital gains from mutual funds and equities match your broker and CAMS statements
• No duplicate entries or entries belonging to another taxpayer (name/PAN mismatches at registrar level do occur)

If you find errors, submit feedback on each incorrect transaction using the AIS portal's feedback mechanism. You can mark entries as "Information is incorrect," "Information is not fully correct," "Information is duplicate," or "Information pertains to other PAN/year." The AIS updates periodically as feedback is processed. Per the AIS handbook published by the Income Tax Department, submitting feedback does not automatically correct the data — it creates a record that you disputed it, which the department considers during processing.

If you cannot get an AIS discrepancy corrected before the filing deadline, file the return with the correct figures and add a note explaining the discrepancy. Do not match incorrect AIS data in your return.

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Step 4: Choose your tax regime — and compute both before deciding

The portal will prompt you to select a regime early in the filing process. The default is new regime. Once you select and submit, the choice is locked for that assessment year for salaried employees (business income earners have different rules).

The break-even calculation: for a given income level, the old regime is better when your total deductions exceed a specific threshold. Below that threshold, the new regime wins.

Break-even deduction thresholds (approximate, FY2025-26):

Gross Salary	Old regime beats new regime if deductions exceed...
₹10 lakh	~₹1.5 lakh
₹12 lakh	~₹1.83 lakh
₹15 lakh	~₹3.58 lakh
₹20 lakh	~₹4.08 lakh
₹25 lakh	~₹4.08 lakh

These thresholds assume standard deduction (₹75,000 new regime, ₹50,000 old regime) is already accounted for. Deductions above the threshold that typically push you to old regime: home loan interest (up to ₹2 lakh under Section 24), 80C investments (up to ₹1.5 lakh), and 80D health insurance premiums (up to ₹25,000, ₹50,000 for seniors).

Run both scenarios in the Income Tax Calculator before choosing. The calculator handles both regimes, all major deductions, and surcharges — and runs entirely in your browser.

Why this step matters: Choosing the wrong regime can cost ₹10,000–₹80,000+ for higher-income earners with significant deductions. The decision takes five minutes with a calculator and cannot be reversed after filing.

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Step 5: File online at incometaxindia.gov.in

With documents ready and regime decided, the actual filing takes 20–40 minutes for straightforward salaried returns.

1. Log in at incometaxindia.gov.in using PAN/Aadhaar OTP or password
2. Go to e-File → Income Tax Returns → File Income Tax Return
3. Select Assessment Year: 2026-27, mode Online, and your ITR form
4. Select return type: Original (first filing for this year)
5. The portal loads pre-filled data from AIS and Form 26AS. Review each section carefully:
   • Personal information — name, address, email, mobile
   • Filing information — resident/non-resident status, employer category
   • Income details — salary from Form 16, house property, other sources
   • Deductions (if old regime) — 80C, 80D, HRA, home loan interest
   • Tax computation — tax liability, TDS credit, balance payable/refundable
6. Enter any data not pre-filled — savings account interest, capital gains from brokers, dividend income
7. Verify that TDS credit shown matches your Form 16 and 26AS. If TDS is missing, do not proceed without resolving — you'll lose the credit
8. If there is tax payable after deducting TDS and advance tax, pay it as Self-Assessment Tax via Challan 280 on the portal before submitting. The Challan 280 payment reflects in Form 26AS within 3–5 working days
9. Click Preview Return → review the full summary → Proceed to Validation → Submit

The portal generates an Acknowledgement Number and your ITR-V (a PDF of the filed return). Save both.

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Step 6: E-verify your return within 30 days

Filing and verifying are two separate steps. Submitting the return creates a provisional filing. Verification within 30 days of submission is mandatory — unverified returns are treated as not filed, and the late filing provisions apply from the original deadline.

Verification methods, in order of convenience:

Method	Time to complete	What you need
Aadhaar OTP	2 minutes	Mobile linked to Aadhaar
Net banking	5 minutes	Active net banking login
Pre-validated bank account	5 minutes	Bank account verified on portal
Demat account (CDSL/NSDL)	5 minutes	Active demat account login
Physical ITR-V by post	10–15 days	Print, sign in blue ink, speed post to CPC Bengaluru

The Aadhaar OTP method is fastest and works for most taxpayers. Go to e-File → Income Tax Returns → e-Verify Return, enter your Acknowledgement Number, and select Aadhaar OTP.

After successful e-verification, the portal status changes to Successfully e-Verified. You will receive a confirmation SMS to your registered mobile and email. Keep the acknowledgement number — you will need it to check refund status and respond to any department queries.

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Step 7: Track your refund

If TDS deducted by your employer or bank exceeds your final tax liability, the excess is refunded. Refunds are credited directly to the bank account you specified in the return.

Track at: incometaxindia.gov.in → Services → Refund/Demand Status, or at the NSDL Refund Status portal using your PAN and AY.

Status indicators to understand:

• Return Received — filed and received, not yet processed
• Return Processed — assessment done, no refund or demand
• Processed with Refund Determined — refund amount confirmed, credit typically arrives within 5–7 working days
• Defective Return — an error requires your response within 15 days
• Under Processing — selected for additional scrutiny, no timeline guaranteed

Typical processing timelines for e-verified returns: roughly 4–8 weeks under normal circumstances, though the CBDT does not guarantee specific timelines. Returns processed late carry interest at 0.5% per month on the refund amount, credited from April 1 of the AY or the date of tax payment (whichever is later), per Section 244A.

If your return shows "Defective," respond through the portal immediately. Missing the 15-day response window causes the return to be treated as invalid.

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Verifying the result: what success looks like

After e-verification, the portal should show:

• Successfully e-Verified — within minutes of Aadhaar OTP verification
• Intimation under Section 143(1) — email from the CPC (Central Processing Centre, Bengaluru) confirming processing. This email arrives 4–8 weeks after filing and is the official confirmation that your return was accepted without adjustment.

The 143(1) intimation shows the income and tax as per your return versus as per the department's computation. If both match, it shows "No Demand, No Refund" or "Refund Determined." If there is a discrepancy — typically from AIS mismatches or disallowed deductions — it shows a demand or a reduced refund with reasons.

Keep the 143(1) intimation. It is required if you ever need to prove your tax filing to a lender, visa officer, or employer.

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When self-filing is not appropriate

Self-filing via the online portal is designed for straightforward salaried returns. Seek professional help if:

• Business or professional income — ITR-3 and ITR-4 involve detailed profit-and-loss schedules, depreciation calculations, and potentially audit requirements under Section 44AB
• Foreign income or assets — Schedule FA (Foreign Assets) and FEMA compliance require careful handling; errors here attract high penalties
• Ongoing scrutiny or notices — responding to a department notice without professional advice is high risk
• Complex capital gains — multi-year indexed gains, unlisted shares, REITs, or property transactions with multiple improvements
• Unresolved AIS mismatches — if a third party has incorrectly reported a large transaction against your PAN and the feedback hasn't been resolved, file with professional guidance and a covering letter
• HUF income or inherited property — family tax structures have specific rules that differ from individual filing

For a single-employer salaried person with no capital gains and standard deductions, the self-service portal handles everything. The majority of India's roughly 85 million ITR filers each year are in this category.

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Calculate your exact tax before you file

Use the Income Tax Calculator to:

• Compute tax under both new and old regimes side by side
• Determine your exact break-even deduction amount
• Factor in 80C, 80D, HRA, and home loan interest under old regime
• Check whether your employer's TDS deduction was accurate (over-TDS = refund, under-TDS = self-assessment tax due)

The calculator runs entirely in your browser — no income figures are uploaded or stored. It takes three minutes and removes the guesswork from the regime decision before you open the portal.

My Take

The single biggest mistake I see when people come to me after receiving a notice is that they filed without reconciling their AIS first. The Annual Information Statement is not optional reading — it is the government's version of your financial year, and if your ITR doesn't match it, the system flags you automatically. My firm recommendation: download your AIS from the portal before you open Form 16, compare it line by line with your Form 26AS and bank statements, and submit AIS feedback for any incorrect entries. In my experience, borrowers who do this reconciliation step get their refunds credited 2–3 weeks faster than those who file straight from Form 16. If your AIS shows a transaction you don't recognise, dispute it through the feedback tool immediately — do not just ignore it and file.

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Grishma covers Indian markets and personal finance for Stax Tools. She tracks RBI policy, household budgets, and investment math for working Indian families.

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Sources & methodology

• Income Tax e-Filing Portal — incometaxindia.gov.in — filing process, ITR forms, AIS, Form 26AS, verification methods, and refund status tracking
• CBDT — Section 234F late filing fee provisions — ₹5,000 fee for late filing (₹1,000 for income below ₹5 lakh); deadline July 31, 2026 for non-audit cases under new Income Tax Act 2025
• Annual Information Statement Handbook — Income Tax Department — AIS feedback mechanism, transaction categories, and how mismatches are handled during processing
• Break-even deduction thresholds are calculated using the new regime slab rates and old regime slab rates for FY2025-26 (AY 2026-27) with standard deduction applied under both regimes (₹75,000 new, ₹50,000 old). Actual tax depends on total income composition, surcharges at higher income levels, education cess at 4%, and applicable rebates.
• Refund processing timelines are indicative estimates based on CPC Bengaluru historical averages; CBDT does not publish guaranteed processing timelines. Interest on delayed refunds under Section 244A applies at 0.5% per month or part thereof.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-15. Run the calculators with your own numbers for personalised figures.