income tax return
The process of filing Income Tax Returns (ITR) for the financial year 2025-26 (assessment year 2026-27) is going on. The last date for individual taxpayers filing ITR-1 and ITR-2 is July 31, 2026, while for those filing ITR-3 and ITR-4, the last date is August 31, 2026. Experts say that even a small mistake made while filing returns can land taxpayers in trouble like notice from the Income Tax Department, delay in refund or additional tax and penalty.
Choosing wrong ITR form may prove costly
While filing ITR, it is very important to first select the correct form. Different ITR forms have been prescribed depending on the income and profession of each taxpayer. For example, ITR-1 is for salaried employees and people with limited income, while ITR-3 is applicable for those earning income from business or profession. If a person fills the wrong form as per the nature of his income, the Income Tax Department can declare his return as defective. In such a situation, the taxpayer may receive a notice and may have to file the correct return again.
Fill the assessment year information correctly
Many times taxpayers get confused between financial year (FY) and assessment year (AY). The correct assessment year for FY 2025-26 is 2026-27. If wrong assessment year is selected in the return, there may be problem in return processing. Apart from this, selecting the wrong year may cause errors in the tax records, which may have to be clarified later. Therefore, before submitting the return, please check this information once.
Don’t make mistakes in personal details
It is very important to fill personal information correctly like name, address, mobile number, email ID, PAN number and date of birth in the ITR form. This information should match the details entered in the PAN database. If any discrepancy is found in the information, the processing of the return may be affected. At the same time, taxpayers receiving refund should also fill information like bank account number and IFSC code carefully. Refunds may get stuck or returned due to incorrect bank details.
Disclose all sources of income
Many taxpayers report only salary income and forget to include income from other sources. This is one of the most common and serious mistakes. It is important to disclose interest received on savings account, interest on fixed deposits, rental income, capital gains from shares or mutual funds and all other sources of income. Even if some income is tax-free, it still has to be reported in the return. Hiding income increases the chances of getting a notice in case of mismatch with the department’s data.
Take care of the format while filling the information
The information given in the ITR form has to be filled in a prescribed format. Filling dates, bank details, income figures and other details in the wrong format may lead to errors in the return. For example, the date should always be entered in the DD/MM/YYYY format. Similarly, other columns should also be filled as per the instructions. It is better to double-check all the information before submitting the return.
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