Important documents & things one should have while Filing Income tax return in India

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Under the Indian Income tax act, section 139 decides and states as to who is required to file their income tax return in India and there are various sections which can exempt someone from filing of Income tax return such as section 115A, 115G etc.

Hence, before filing return of income one need to have in his/ her possession various documents and details as mentioned below. As of now the various documents mentioned below are for Individuals but there are various documents which are common for all type of entities and person.

The important documents and information one needs to have before filing their Income tax return if as under:

1. Form 16.

2. Form 16A.

3. Form-26AS or annual information statement.

4. Bank Statement of all bank accounts held by you during the Financial year.

5. Housing loan interest certificate.

6. Donation receipt.

7. Rent Receipt for claiming exemption under section 10(13A) and section 80GG.

8. Receipt of various investment made under section 80C, 80D etc.

9. Capital gain tax statement:

1. Form 16: What is Form-16?

Form-16 is a certificate issued by an employer to its employee annually. It provides a detailed summary of the amount paid or credited to the employees, the TDS on same and deductions claimed on account of investments made by employee.

Where can I find my Form-16?

Form-16 is issued by employer to employee annually. Hence, employee cannot download it by himself.

What does Form 16 look like?

Here is a sample of a Form-16

How will Form 16 help me?

You can fill the Income Tax return with the values shown in your Form-16. In case the values are prefilled in the Income Tax return you can cross check the same with your Form-16.

Can a salaried employee show salary Income even if his employee has not provided him Form 16?

Yes, an employee can still file his salary income in his Income tax return even if the employer has not provided him Form 16 as there could be various reasons for not issuing Form 16 and Form 16 is not a mandatory requirement to show salary income.

2. Form 16A: What is Form-16A?

Form-16A is a certificate issued by a tax deductor on deduction of tax for payments made towards commission, professional fees, bank interest, etc i.e. any payment other than salary immovable property. It also ensures that the taxes deducted have been deposited with Government. Form 16A is issued quarterly by the tax deductor.

Where can I find my Form-16A?

The deductor will issue Form-16A quarterly. Hence, the deductee cannot download it by himself.

What does it look like?

Here is a sample of a Form-16A

How will it help me?

You can fill the Income Tax return with the values shown in your Form-16A. In case the values are prefilled in the Income Tax return you can cross check the same with your Form-16A.

Is it important to have Form 16A?

Yes it is advisable to always ask your deductor to issue Form 16A as some time the credit is not visible in Form 26AS or sometime deductor can later revise his TDS return and remove your TDS credit. Thus, it is advisable to keep Form 16A so that TDS credit can be claimed based on that document.

3. Form-26AS: What is Form-26AS?

Form-26AS displays various taxes that are deducted on your income by your employer, bank or your tenant. It also displays your advance tax, self assessment tax, tax collected at source, refund, etc that have been paid during the financial year.

Where can I find my Form-26AS?

To read step by step procedure of downloading Form-26AS CLICK HERE: How to download Form 26AS on the new e-filing website i.e. e-filing 2.0 | Step by step guide – Taxontips

What does it look like?

Here is a sample of a Form-26AS

How will it help me?

You can cross check the amount of income, tax deducted/ tax collected, advance tax, self assessment tax, interest on refund shown in the return with the values shown in your Form-26AS.

Income tax department has recently replaced Form 26AS with Annual Information statement and hence in future you might have to check Annual Information statement instead of Form 26AS. To know more about Annual Information statement CLICK HERE: Annual Information statement (AIS) has been rolled out by CBDT on compliance portal to replace Form 26AS – Taxontips

4. Bank Statement of all bank accounts held by you during the Financial year:

How will it help me?

Details of all Bank Accounts held in India at any time during the previous year (excluding dormant accounts) are required to be mentioned in the income tax return. You can get the details of interest on savings account, interest on fixed deposit, etc. which will help you to compute income from other sources. Also, you can cross check the bank details such as IFS code, Bank account number etc. as shown in the return with the details mentioned in bank statement.

What does it look like?

Here is a sample of Bank Statement. The statement might look different for different banks but this is just a sample statement.

5. Housing loan interest certificate: What is Housing Loan Interest Certificates?

It is summary of the interest and principal amount repaid by you towards your home loan for the given financial year. It serves as a proof of home loan repayment.

Where can I find my Housing Loan Interest Certificates?

Please approach your bank/ financial institution from whom home loan is taken. You can get it at the end of every financial year.

What does it look like?

Here is a sample of Housing Loan Interest certificate.

How will it help me?

You can get the details of interest paid on home loan for claiming deduction in income from house property and deduction under section 80EE, 80EEA.

You can also get details of principal amount repaid towards home loan for benefit under section 80C.

6. Donation receipt:

How will it help me?

You can get the following details of donation for claiming deduction under section 80G and 80GGA:

1. a) Name of donee;
2. b) Address of donee;
3. c) PAN of donee;
4. d) Amount of donation along with mode (cash/ any other); and
5. e) Qualifying limit for eligible amount of donation

Not all the donations are entitled for 100% deduction with or without qualifying conditions. Some are entitled for 50% deductions as well and hence deduction should be claimed as per the provisions of section 80G of Income Tax Act, 1961 accordingly.

For claiming the deduction under section 80G for the donation made towards PM’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM Cares), the deduction amount can be seen directly from Form- 16 if contributed through salary deduction or through employer.

What does it look like?

Here is a sample of Donation Receipt. The look of receipt might change from institution to institution but do check that it mentions that donation is eligible for deduction under section 80G.

7. Rent Receipt for claiming exemption under section 10(13A) and section 80GG:

How will it help me?

You can get the details of rent paid during the financial year for claiming the exemption of House Rent Allowance under section 10(13A) or deduction under section 80GG. It also serves as proof of payment of rent.

What does it look like?

Here is a sample of Rent Receipt

8. Receipt of various investment made under section 80C, 80D etc:

How will it help me?

You can get the details of premium paid towards life insurance, health insurance, etc. for claiming the deduction under section 80C and 80D. It also serves as proof of such payments.

What does it look like?

Here is a sample of Investment Premium

9. Capital gain tax statement:

How it will help me?

If you earned any income from sale of listed shares or mutual fund then you need to ask the share broker for capital gain statement for the year because based on that you need to show your capital gain income in the Income tax return.

There are various other small things like interest certificate from banks showing your entire year interest income or donation receipt from political party etc.

Can somebody else file income tax return on my behalf?

Yes, the return can be filed by a “representative assessee” on your behalf. Representative assessee is a specific person such as guardian, trustee etc. authorized by the Income Tax Department to register as a representative assessee on Income Tax website.

A representative assessee can file the return on behalf of tax payer in the following conditions:

1) Death;

2) Mental disability;

3) Lunacy;

4) Tax payer being minor; or

5) Tax payer being non -resident and out of the country. as per the provisions of section 160 of Income Tax Act, 1961.

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