Which ITR form should a salaried person file?

Most salaried individuals with one Form 16 and no capital gains file ITR-1 (Sahaj) — for income up to ₹50 lakh from salary, one house property, and other interest income. If you have capital gains (equity, mutual funds, property), file ITR-2. If you also have business or freelance income, file ITR-3 or ITR-4. The IT portal recommends a form during filing — the recommendation is usually correct.

What's the deadline to file ITR?

July 31 of the assessment year for individuals (e.g., July 31, 2026 for FY 2025-26 income). Late filing attracts a fee under Section 234F (₹1,000 if income below ₹5 lakh, ₹5,000 above). Belated returns can be filed by December 31 with the late fee. After December 31, you lose the right to file for that year — never miss this deadline.

Do I need a CA to file my taxes?

Not for simple salaried returns with one Form 16, no capital gains, and no business income. The IT portal pre-fills most data, you verify, add anything missing, and submit. Total time: 30-60 minutes. Engage a CA only if you have complex situations: multiple Form 16s with different employers, significant capital gains across multiple sources, foreign income/assets, business income, or large investment redemptions.

What if I made a mistake in my filed return?

File a revised return under Section 139(5) before December 31 of the assessment year. The revised return completely supersedes the original. You can revise multiple times. If the deadline has passed, your only option is responding to any notice the IT department raises about the discrepancy.

How to File Your ITR Yourself: A Step-by-Step Indian Guide

Filing your income tax return yourself is one of those tasks that sounds harder than it is. The Income Tax portal pre-fills most of your data, walks you through screen by screen, and validates errors before you submit. For most salaried individuals, the entire process takes 30–60 minutes once a year.

This guide walks you through the actual steps — and the small details that trip up first-time filers.

Before you start: documents to gather

Form 16 from each employer for the financial year
Form 26AS — download from incometax.gov.in (e-File → Income Tax Returns → View Form 26AS)
AIS (Annual Information Statement) — also from the IT portal
Bank account statements for interest income (FDs, savings)
Capital gains statements from your broker / mutual fund platform
Receipts for tax-saving investments (80C, 80D, etc.) not already declared to employer
Aadhaar and PAN

Cross-reference everything before opening the portal.

Step 1: log in to the IT portal

Go to incometax.gov.in → Login.

Username = your PAN. If first-time, register with PAN + Aadhaar verification.

Enable e-verification through Aadhaar OTP — needed at the end.

Step 2: select the correct ITR form

For most salaried individuals with no capital gains: ITR-1 (Sahaj).

Eligibility for ITR-1:

Total income up to ₹50 lakh
Income from salary, one house property, other sources (interest, etc.)
NOT eligible if you have capital gains, business income, foreign assets, agricultural income above ₹5,000

If you have equity / mutual fund redemptions: file ITR-2.

If you have side freelance / consulting income: ITR-3 or ITR-4 (presumptive).

The portal will recommend a form based on your declared income sources. The recommendation is reliable.

Step 3: choose the assessment year and tax regime

Assessment year is the year AFTER the financial year. For income earned in FY 2025-26, AY is 2026-27.

Choose between:

Old regime: with traditional deductions (80C, 80D, HRA, etc.)
New regime: lower slab rates, but most deductions removed

The portal computes both and shows which is better. Pick the one with lower tax liability — but if you've already declared one regime to your employer (and Form 16 reflects that), staying with the same regime is simpler.

Step 4: review pre-filled data

The IT portal pulls data from Form 26AS, AIS, and TIS:

Salary details (from your employer's TDS filings)
TDS already deducted (salary, FD interest, contract payments)
Interest income from banks
Equity dividends, MF dividends
Big-ticket transactions (large credit card spend, property sale, etc.)

Verify each pre-filled number against your records. Small discrepancies are common — your job is to correct them. Common issues:

FD interest reported in 26AS but not in your tally
Bonus / arrears that don't match Form 16
Side income (freelance, FD interest from family accounts in your name)

Step 5: fill missing income

Add anything not pre-filled:

Interest from savings accounts (>₹10,000 is taxable; declare full amount)
Capital gains (if any — equity > ₹1 lakh long-term gains are taxable at 10%; short-term at 15%)
Rental income, freelance income, foreign income

Honesty matters. The IT department's AIS captures most third-party-reported income. Discrepancies trigger notices.

Step 6: claim deductions

Under Chapter VI-A:

80C (₹1.5 lakh): EPF (auto-included from salary), PPF, ELSS, life insurance premium, home loan principal, NSC, kids' tuition
80CCD(1B) (₹50,000): NPS additional
80D: health insurance premium (₹25,000 self/family + ₹25,000 parents; ₹50,000 if senior)
80E: education loan interest (no upper limit, 8 years)
80G: donations
80TTA / 80TTB: savings account interest (₹10,000 / ₹50,000 for seniors)
24(b): home loan interest (up to ₹2 lakh self-occupied; full amount for let-out)

Claim only what you actually paid AND can prove if asked. Keep receipts for 7 years.

Step 7: verify tax computation

Portal computes:

Gross total income
Less: deductions
Taxable income
Tax payable per slab
Less: TDS already deducted
Final tax payable OR refund due

If refund: it gets credited to the bank account you specified, usually in 30–90 days.

If additional tax payable: pay through "self-assessment tax" (Challan 280) before submitting return.

Step 8: submit and e-verify

Submit the return.

E-verify within 30 days of submission. Without verification, the return is considered not filed. Easiest method: Aadhaar-based OTP, takes 30 seconds.

Save the acknowledgment (ITR-V) — keep both digital and printed copies.

Common mistakes to avoid

Mismatched personal info: Aadhaar, PAN, bank account, address must all match.

Choosing wrong tax regime: review the portal comparison; switch if needed.

Forgetting interest income from savings accounts: even if small, declare it.

Missing capital gains from MF SIPs: each MF unit redemption is a capital gain event. Brokers issue annual statements; use them.

Not verifying Form 26AS: if your employer's TDS deposit hasn't reflected in 26AS, the credit won't apply. Get this fixed before filing.

Filing under wrong PAN/spelling: sounds basic; happens often.

Skipping e-verification: return is invalid without it.

When you should engage a CA

Multiple Form 16s from job-changes mid-year (computation gets messy)
Significant capital gains across stocks, MFs, property
ESOPs exercised or sold
Foreign income / foreign assets
Notice received from IT department
Business or large freelance income
Property sale with capital gains > ₹50 lakh

The CA fee (₹2,000–10,000) is worth it for these situations.

What to read next

Understanding your Form 16 — read this before filing.
How to save tax legally in India — for next year's lower tax bill.
Old vs new tax regime basics — choosing the right regime.
Tax saving investments 80C guide — what counts under 80C.

Filing your own ITR is a quiet victory in financial literacy. You stop being mysterious about your own taxes, you spot-check what your employer reports, and you save the CA fee for years where the situation actually warrants their expertise. Once you've done it once, the second year takes 20 minutes.