There are certain documents required to be submitted and held as evidence under Income Tax Act, 1961 and Income Tax Rules, 1962. Every person eligible to pay Income Tax is required to act and submit such documents to Income Tax Department. The income tax filing procedure, as well as the documents required for tax filing, varies depending on the income earned per year as well the income source such as business profit, salary, interest income, investment profit, etc.
Read on to know in detail about the documents required for filing Income Tax Returns in India:
Essential Documents for Income Tax Return Filing
Here is the checklist of the most important documents required to file your Income Tax Return for AY 2025-26:
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PAN Card
PAN Card is a government-issued identity card and contains a unique 10-digit alphanumeric code, known as Permanent Account Number. It is the first and one of the most important documents required to file an ITR. PAN is also required for TDS deduction and must be linked to your bank account for direct credit of income tax refund (in case any). Also, as per the latest amendment by the government, taxpayers can now use their Aadhaar number to file their ITR instead of PAN.
Aadhaar Card
The UIDAI-issued Aadhaar card contains the biometric and demographic details of residents of India and acts as a unique identity proof for various purposes. As per Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act, individuals have to provide their Aadhaar card details while filing their Income Tax Return. In case they don’t have their Aadhaar card but have applied for the same, they will have to provide their enrolment ID in their IT return. Also, linking PAN and Aadhaar is mandatory and helps in verifying your ITR online via an OTP. If you haven’t linked already, click to know how to link Aadhaar with PAN card.
Form 16
Form 16 or Salary Certificate is issued to you by your employer and provides details relating to salary paid, taxes deducted and deposited during the financial year. The employer needs to mandatorily issue Form 16 in case he/she has deducted taxes. Form 16 consists of two parts- Part A and Part B, both of which have the TRACES logo and unique ID. It is a mandatory document required from a salaried individual to file an ITR.
Month-wise Salary Slips
Your month-wise salary slips are also essential for ITR filing if you are salaried individual.
Form-16A/ Form-16B/ Form- 16C
Form 16A is a TDS Certificate issued by banks, contractors, etc. when TDS is deducted on payments such as income received from fixed deposits, recurring deposits, etc. Buyers of land and property need to furnish Form 16B to those from whom they make their purchase for deducting TDS. It is mandatory to deduct TDS in case the property is sold for an amount exceeding Rs. 50 lakh. On the other hand, those earning a rental income of Rs. 50,000 or more, should get Form 16C from their tenant. According to the latest income tax laws, tenants paying rental of Rs. 50,000 or more have to deduct TDS from the annual rental amount paid.
Bank Account Details
It is mandatory to provide details of all active bank accounts in the ITR. You are required to provide details such as your bank name, account number, IFSC, account type and the number of account that you hold. Bank details are used to validate your income details, high volume transactions, etc. You also need to select one primary account from the accounts mentioned wherein the Income Tax refund may be credited (in case any) by the Income Tax Department.
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Bank Statement/Passbook
Bank account statements/passbook is required at the time ITR filing to know interest earned on savings account, interest income on fixed deposits, etc. during a financial year.
Investment Proofs
Tax savings investment and expenditure proofs such as receipt of life insurance premium paid, receipt of medical insurance, Public Provident Fund passbook, fixed deposit receipt, home loan repayment certificate/receipt, donation paid receipt, tuition fee paid receipt, mutual fund consolidated account statement, education loan repayment certificate, etc. are essential to claim deduction when filing ITR. However, these deductions can be claimed only if you opt for the old tax regime when filing ITR.
Generally, these proofs are declared and submitted by employees to their employers to avoid higher TDS on their salary. The proofs submitted are mentioned in Part B of Form 16 and the Income Tax department uses this information and pre-fills it in the ITR form. However, in case you miss declaring any tax-saving proof, then you can claim it at the time of ITR filing
Form 26AS
Form 26AS can be downloaded by individuals from the new income tax portal. It is an annual tax statement like a tax passbook that has details of the taxes deposited and deducted with the government against your PAN. You must ensure that the taxes deducted during the financial year are reflected against your PAN in Form 26AS. If there is a mismatch, you must get it rectified at the earliest by getting in touch with the deductor, otherwise you will not be able to claim tax credit for the TDS deduction.
Interest Income and Other Interest Certificates
Individuals also need to provide a breakup of the interest income that they earn from different sources such as fixed deposits, savings accounts, etc. Thus, it is crucial to collect interest certificates from banks, post office and other financial institutions and report correct income details in ITR as well as claim tax deductions and exemptions. You can also check your updates bank passbook(s) in case interest certificates are not available.
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Capital Gains from Sale of Property, Mutual Funds, Shares
Sale of property, shares or securities will result in capital gains or losses. For this, you need to have documents like property sale deeds, broker statements, etc.
Details of Investment in Unlisted Shares
In case you were holding unlisted shares during the financial year, you need to disclose the same in your ITR. In this case, you also need to file your tax return using ITR-2 instead of ITR-1
Home Loan Statement
In case you have taken a loan from a bank or any other financial institution, then you also need to have your loan statement for the previous financial year. Your loan statement contains a breakup of the loan principal and interest paid by you and is needed as a proof and for providing information while filing your ITR.
Rental Income
If you earn income from your house/property, the same needs to be reported while filing ITR. Also, in case you pay rent, you need to collect rent receipts from your landlord. You need not submit these when filing your ITR but should be kept safe to be submitted to your employer or Income Tax Department in case of future requirements.
Foreign Income/Dividend Income
In case you have earned income in/from a foreign country during a job deployment or otherwise you need to have and furnish the same when filing your tax return. Also, in case you have invested in mutual funds or shares and have earned dividend income on the same, you need to report it while filing your ITR.
Documents Required for Different Income Sources
| Type of Income/Tax Saving Investment | Name of Document |
| Salary Income | Form 16 |
| Capital Gains Income | ● Purchase and Sale deeds of immovable property
● Contract note/Demat account statement for securities sale/purchase ● Purchase and sale proof/receipts of all applicable capital assets |
| Income from other Sources | ● Interest or TDS certificate for bank FD interest
● Bank account/bank passbook statement for interest earned from savings account ● Dividend warrant in case of dividend income ● Rent agreement and TDS certificate (if applicable) ● Any other documentary proof (as applicable) |
| Income from Business or Profession | ● Balance Sheet
● Audit records (if applicable/mandatory) ● TDS certificates ● Income Tax payment (self- assessment tax/advance tax) challan copy |
| Tax Saving Investments | ● Receipt of life insurance premium paid
● Receipt of medical insurance ● Public Provident Fund passbook ● Fixed Deposit receipt ● Home loan repayment certificate/receipt ● Donation paid receipt ● Tuition fee paid receipt ● Mutual Fund Consolidated Account Statement (CAS) ● Education loan repayment certificate |
| HRA Exemption | Rent paid receipt |
| Tax deduction on Medical Expenses | Bills of medical expenses incurred |
| Leave Travel Allowance | Applicable tickets and ticket purchase receipts |
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Other Additional Documents Needed to File an ITR
- Maintenance of accounts by certain persons carrying on profession or business under section 44AA
Every person has to maintain books of account and other documents as may be required to calculate total income in accordance to provisions of the Act.
| ● Purchase Bills | ● Sales Bills | ● Debit Note |
| ● Credit Note | ● Inventory Registers | ● Party Ledgers |
| ● Fixed assets Registers | ● Investments Registers | ● Bank Statements |
| ● Bank Pass Book | ● Confirmation of Accounts | ● Production Flow Chart |
| ● Stock Register | ● Audited Annual Accounts | ● Tax Audit Report |
| ● Details about related Party Transactions | ● Electricity Bills | ● Water bills |
| ● Other utilities bill | ● Contract note related to Investments | ● Daily Voucher such as Cash receipt voucher, Cash Payment Voucher, Bank Payment Voucher, Bank receipt Vouchers |
| ● Import or export related papers such as clearing and forwarding bills, bill of entry, custom duty payment challan, Invoice, exchange rate etc. | ||
- Every person also has to keep followings along with the details furnished in Point 1 above.
| ● TDS Return copy | ● TCS Return copy | ● Annual Return copy |
| ● Service Tax Return copy | ● Excise duty Return copy | ● CST/VAT Return copy |
| ● Other Statutory Returns copy | ● Copy of payment challan of all statutory obligations | ● Certificate of exemption for TDS |
| ● Other certificates related to exemption or tax benefits under different provisions of the Act. | ||
- Every person has to keep the followings documents, such as:
- Memorandum and Articles of Association, if applicable
- Partnership deed, if applicable
- Trust deed, if applicable
- Limited Liability partnership deed, if applicable
- Registration Certificates, if applicable
- Import export code number certificate, if applicable
- Excise Registration number certificate, if applicable
- Service Tax Registration number certificate, if applicable
- CST / VAT Registration number certificate, if applicable
- Shop & Establishment number certificate, if applicable
- Professional Tax number certificate, if applicable
- Every person, who avails the loan facilities, has to keep in record the following, wherever applicable:
- Loan agreement with financial institution or bank
- Loan confirmation letter
- Loan disbursement letter
- Repayment of loan receipts
- Loan closure letter
Note:
“Person” has been defined under Income Tax Act, 1961 as:
an individual,
- a Hindu undivided family,
- a company,
- a limited liability firm,
- a firm,
- a one-person company,
- an association of persons or a body of individuals, whether incorporated or not,
- a local authority, and
- every artificial juridical person, not falling within any of the above category.
The Income Tax Department identifies the person by their PAN
Do note that all ITR forms are annexure-less forms, that is, you need not submit any documents when you file your ITR. However, you may be required to submit certain documents such as your investment proofs, etc. to your employer as and when required. You must also keep the relevant documents handy so that you can submit the same in case there is a scrutiny by the Income Tax Department.
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FAQs
Q1. Can I use PAN and Aadhaar interchangeably while filing my ITR?
Yes, as per the latest provisions, you can now file your income tax return by quoting your PAN or Aadhaar interchangeably.
Q2. Do I have to submit documents at the time of filing my tax return?
No, there is no need to produce documents at the time of filing your tax return. However, in case there is a scrutiny, you may be required to submit these documents.
Q3. Is it possible to file my ITR without Form 16?
Form 16 is a basic document for salaried individuals to file an ITR. Earlier, it was difficult for a majority of salaried individuals to file an ITR without Form 16. However, now there are various other documents that can be used as reference to file ITR even if you don’t have Form 16.
Q4. What documents are required to file an ITR for agricultural income?
No documents are needed to file returns for agricultural income. However, in case of exempt agricultural income, you need to provide details in Schedule EI (Exempt Income) of the ITR form.
Q5. Do I have to provide any documents for claiming section 80DD in Income Tax Return?
No, you need not provide any documents at the time of filing your income tax return. The disability or severe disability certificate has to be provided only when the Income Tax Department asks you to submit it.