iTax Return Filling: How to File Your Income Tax Return Online
What you need, how the online process works, and the points where people most often go wrong.
A Straightforward Guide to Filling Your Return
If you are searching for help with iTax return filling, you are looking for the same thing most people are – a clear explanation of how to fill in and submit your income tax return online, without wading through circulars.
The whole process runs through the income tax e-filing portal. Much of the form is pre-filled from information the department already holds about you, which makes filing quicker but also means anything you enter differently is immediately visible to them.
This page walks through the process end to end. If your situation turns out to be more involved than a simple salary return – capital gains, business income, property sales or foreign assets – MPVD & Associates can prepare and file it for you.
What You Need Before You Start
Gathering these first turns filing into a short job rather than a frustrating one.
- PAN and Aadhaar – linked, since verification depends on it.
- Form 16 – from each employer you worked for during the year.
- Annual tax statement and information statements – downloadable from the portal, showing income reported against your PAN and tax deducted on it.
- Bank interest details – savings and fixed deposit interest, which is taxable even where no tax was deducted on it.
- Investment and deduction proofs – insurance, provident fund, tuition fees, housing loan interest certificate and medical insurance premiums.
- Capital gains statements – from your broker or fund house if you sold shares, mutual funds or property.
- Bank account details – pre-validated on the portal, otherwise any refund cannot be credited.
The most commonly forgotten item is savings and deposit interest. It is taxable whether or not tax was deducted, it appears in the department’s information statements, and omitting it is a straightforward way to attract a notice.
Where People Go Wrong
Using the Wrong Form
Selecting a simple form when you have capital gains, foreign assets or business income can render the return defective, with a notice and a resubmission to follow.
Forgetting Interest Income
Savings and fixed deposit interest is taxable even where no tax was deducted, and it already appears in the department’s records.
Not Verifying the Return
A submitted but unverified return is treated as never filed. Verification has to be completed within the time allowed after submission.
Accepting Pre-Filled Data Blindly
Pre-filled figures are a starting point, not a final answer. They can be incomplete or wrong, and the responsibility for the return remains yours.
Choosing the Regime by Habit
The old and new regimes give different results for different people. Picking the same one as last year without checking can cost real money.
Unvalidated Bank Details
A refund cannot be credited to an account that has not been pre-validated on the portal, which is a frequent cause of refunds appearing to be stuck.
Filling Your Return Online, Step by Step
Step 1 – Log In and Check Your Details
Log in to the e-filing portal with your PAN. Confirm your contact details and bank accounts are current, and that at least one account is pre-validated so a refund can reach you.
Step 2 – Download Your Statements
Download the annual tax statement and the information statements. These show what income has been reported against your PAN and what tax has been deducted. Read them before you start filling anything in.
Step 3 – Choose the Right Return Form
Select the form matching your income. Salary and one house property need a simpler form than capital gains, business income or foreign assets. If unsure, this is the point at which advice is worth taking.
Step 4 – Fill In and Check Against Your Records
Work through the schedules, correcting pre-filled data where it is wrong or incomplete. Add interest income, claim your deductions, and compare the tax under both regimes before choosing.
Step 5 – Submit and Verify
Submit the return and then verify it – electronically through Aadhaar OTP, net banking or the other methods available. Until it is verified the return does not count as filed.
When to Handle It Yourself and When to Get Help
If you have salary from one employer, some bank interest and standard deductions, filling the return yourself is perfectly reasonable. The portal handles that case well.
It is worth involving a professional where you have sold shares, mutual funds or property during the year, run a business or profession, own more than one property, hold foreign assets or income, have changed jobs mid-year, or have received a notice about an earlier year. In those situations the cost of getting it wrong exceeds the cost of getting help. Our income tax return service covers all of them.
Getting Help From MPVD & Associates
If you would rather not do it yourself, or your return is more complicated than a simple salary case, we prepare and file it for you.
- Tailored checklist. You are told exactly which documents your situation needs, not handed a generic list.
- Reconciled before filing. Your figures are checked against department records so mismatches do not surface later as notices.
- Both regimes computed. You see the numbers and make an informed choice.
- Reviewed by a Chartered Accountant. Before anything is submitted.
- Follow-through. Verification completed, refund tracked and any intimation dealt with.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our experienced company audit and taxation professionals help you navigate complex tax laws and regulatory requirements. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.
Need Help Filling Your Return?
If your return is more than a simple salary case, or you would simply rather it were handled properly, send us your details and we will prepare and file it for you.