The ITR filing season for AY 2026-27 has started. Most ITR notices come from incomplete or wrong information at filing time, almost always because a document was missed during preparation. Use this checklist to organise your pre-filing collection. Walk through every section that applies to your income profile.
Before You Start
- Confirm your PAN is linked with Aadhaar. An inoperative PAN cannot file ITR.
- Decide which tax regime you will use. New regime is the default; switching to old regime requires a conscious choice (Form 10-IEA for business income filers, ITR selection for salaried).
- Identify the correct ITR form. ITR-1 for simple salaried with up to 2 properties; ITR-2 for capital gains and multi-property; ITR-3 for business; ITR-4 for presumptive.
- Note the deadline applicable to you: July 31, 2026 for ITR-1/2/4 (non-audit); August 31, 2026 for ITR-3, ITR-4 (non-audit); October 31, 2026 for audit cases.
Core Documents (Every Filer Needs These)
- PAN card (have the number ready)
- Aadhaar card (linked with PAN)
- Bank account details with IFSC for refund credit
- Form 26AS downloaded from TRACES portal for AY 2026-27
- Annual Information Statement (AIS) from incometax.gov.in
- Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) from incometax.gov.in
- Bank statements for all savings, current, FD, and recurring deposit accounts for FY 2025-26
Salary Income Documents
If you have salary income (employed at any point during FY 2025-26):
- Form 16 from every employer for FY 2025-26 (issued by June 15, 2026). Note: Form 16, not Form 130; Form 130 applies from FY 2026-27 onwards.
- Salary slips for every month, especially March 2026 (year-end bonus calculations)
- Rent receipts and rental agreement if claiming HRA, with landlord PAN if annual rent exceeds Rs 1,00,000
- Travel proof for LTA claims (flight or train tickets)
- Medical bills for any reimbursement above the standard deduction
- Form 12BB submitted to your employer for the year
- If you changed jobs: ensure the second employer accounted for the first employer's exemptions correctly. If not, plan to recompute at filing.
House Property Documents
For each house property you own (let-out or self-occupied):
- Property address and ownership documents
- Annual gross rent received (if let out)
- Municipal tax receipts paid during FY 2025-26
- Home loan interest certificate from your lender (Form 24 or equivalent)
- Pre-construction interest details if claim spans multiple years
- If sold during FY 2025-26: sale deed, capital gains computation, indexation details, exemption claims under Section 54/54F/54EC
Capital Gains Documents
For investments and asset sales during FY 2025-26:
- Capital gains statements from your broker (Zerodha, Groww, ICICI Direct, etc.)
- Mutual fund consolidated statement (CAS) from CAMS or KFintech
- Demat account holdings statement
- Sale and purchase deeds for property transactions
- Stamp duty and registration receipts (cost addition for capital gains)
- Cost of improvement records for property
- Buy-back loss documentation if you participated in a share buy-back during FY 2025-26 (the loss is allowed only if the corresponding deemed dividend is disclosed under Income from Other Sources)
- Schedule of foreign assets for Schedule FA (mandatory disclosure for residents)
- Form 67 if claiming foreign tax credit
Business and Professional Income Documents (ITR-3 / ITR-4)
For proprietary business or professional income:
- Books of accounts: cash book, ledger, journal
- Profit and loss account for FY 2025-26
- Balance sheet as of March 31, 2026
- Bank statements for all business accounts
- GST returns: GSTR-1, GSTR-3B for all months, GSTR-9 if applicable
- GSTIN-wise turnover reconciliation
- TDS certificates received: Form 16A from every client/customer who deducted TDS on your invoices
- TDS certificates issued: confirm Form 24Q/26Q quarterly filings done
- Advance tax challans for FY 2025-26 (4 instalments)
- Tax audit report (Form 3CB-3CD) if turnover exceeds audit threshold
- Depreciation schedule: opening WDV, additions, deletions, depreciation as per Section 32
- Closing stock valuation records
- If presumptive (44AD/44ADA/44AE): turnover and gross receipts records (no books required if profits at presumptive rate)
Other Income Documents
- FD interest certificates from every bank
- Savings account interest (visible in bank passbook entry; matched against AIS)
- Dividend statements from every listed equity holding and mutual fund
- Bond interest certificates
- PPF passbook (interest is exempt but reported)
- Lottery, horse race, or game show winnings receipts
- Family pension receipts
- Income from partnership firm: profit share, remuneration, interest on capital
Deduction Proofs (Old Regime Only)
If choosing the old regime, collect proofs for every Chapter VI-A claim:
Section 80C (Up to Rs 1.5 Lakh)
- PPF deposit receipt or passbook entry
- ELSS investment statement
- LIC and other life insurance premium receipts
- EPF contribution shown in salary slip
- 5-year tax-saving FD certificate
- Tuition fee receipts (up to two children)
- Home loan principal repayment statement from lender
- Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana passbook entry
- NSC certificates (purchase and reinvested interest)
Section 80CCD(1B) (Up to Rs 50,000 NPS Tier I extra)
- NPS contribution receipt under Tier I
Section 80D (Medical Insurance)
- Health insurance premium receipt for self, spouse, children
- Health insurance premium for parents (Rs 25,000 / Rs 50,000 for senior parents)
- Preventive health check-up receipts (within Rs 5,000 limit)
Section 24(b) (Home Loan Interest)
- Interest certificate from lender (separately from principal certificate)
- Possession certificate or completion certificate (date of possession matters)
Other Deductions
- Section 80E education loan interest certificate
- Section 80G donation receipts (with 80G certificate of receiving organisation)
- Section 80GG rent receipts (only if no HRA from employer)
- Section 80TTA savings interest (Rs 10,000 limit)
- Section 80TTB savings and FD interest (Rs 50,000 limit, senior citizens only)
- Section 80U disability certificate
Reconciliation Steps Before Filing
Once documents are collected, perform these reconciliations in order:
- Form 26AS reconciliation. Match every TDS entry against your records. Total TDS in 26AS should equal sum of all Form 16 + Form 16A + Form 16B + Form 16C entries.
- AIS reconciliation. Walk through every category in AIS: salary, interest, dividends, mutual funds, securities, property, foreign remittance. Submit feedback for any incorrect entry.
- Bank interest reconciliation. Total all bank interest from passbook entries; match against AIS bank interest entry. Any gap means a missing FD or savings account.
- Capital gains reconciliation. Match broker P&L against AIS securities transactions. Verify cost of acquisition and date of acquisition for every entry.
- GST turnover reconciliation (business filers). Match GSTR-1 / GSTR-3B sales totals against your books and AIS GST turnover.
For more on reconciliation, see our AIS, Form 26AS, and TIS pre-filing guide.
ITR Form Specific Reminders
ITR-1 (Sahaj)
- Confirm total income is up to Rs 50 lakh
- Confirm up to 2 house properties (the limit was expanded from 1 in AY 2026-27)
- No capital gains, no business income, no foreign assets
- If any of the above is true, use ITR-2 or ITR-3
ITR-2
- Confirm no business or professional income
- Schedule CG (Capital Gains) is the largest section. Fill carefully.
- Schedule FA (Foreign Assets) is mandatory if you hold any foreign asset, even with no foreign income
- See our ITR-2 AY 2026-27 dedicated guide for the form-specific changes
ITR-3
- Reconcile GSTIN-wise turnover before filing
- The August 31, 2026 deadline (non-audit) is now permanent under the Finance Act 2026
- See our ITR-3 AY 2026-27 guide
ITR-4 (Sugam)
- Confirm presumptive eligibility under Section 44AD (turnover up to Rs 3 crore if 95% digital), 44ADA (gross receipts up to Rs 75 lakh), or 44AE (heavy goods vehicles)
- Up to 2 house properties now allowed in AY 2026-27
Common What-Not-to-Miss Items
- Joint accounts where you are the second holder. Interest is split per ownership, but check AIS to confirm reporting.
- Closed bank accounts during the year. Get a closure statement to capture pre-closure interest.
- Old PPF account. The interest, even if not credited to your bank, must be tracked. Withdraw passbook entry.
- Demat dividend reinvestment. Some funds auto-reinvest; the dividend is still taxable in the year of declaration.
- Property purchased above Rs 50 lakh during FY 2025-26. Buyer's TDS under Section 194-IA appears in your AIS as buyer; ensure the seller's TDS report matches the deed.
- Foreign ESOPs vested but not sold. Reportable under Schedule FA and depending on tax treaty interpretation, may have a value impact.
Final Pre-Filing Checks
- Tax regime chosen and finalised
- All TDS entries in 26AS match your records
- AIS feedback submitted for any incorrect entries; TIS updated
- Pre-fill in ITR matches your records
- Bank account active for refund credit, IFSC verified
- Aadhaar linked with PAN
- Self-assessment tax (if any) computed and challan generated
- Backup of all documents stored digitally (the IT Department can ask for these any time within the next 8 years)
File With Tax Garden
If document collection feels like a part-time job (it is, for most working professionals and small business owners), Tax Garden's tax compliance services absorb the full cycle: document collection via secure portal, AIS reconciliation, regime comparison, return preparation, and filing. Flat-fee, no surprises.
For broader pre-filing reference, see our Tax Compliance Calendar FY 2026-27, Section 80C deductions list, and old vs new tax regime comparison.
Sources
This checklist is verified against incometax.gov.in (AY 2026-27 ITR form schemas, Schedule VIA deduction rules, Schedule FA disclosure requirements), the CBDT notification dated March 30, 2026 with corrigendum dated April 10, 2026 on the AY 2026-27 ITR forms, the Finance Act 2025 and Finance Act 2026 amendments to deadlines, and confirmatory coverage from ClearTax, Tax2Win, IndiaFilings, and Taxmann.