e-filing ITR early for AY 2026-27? Here's what can go wrong for you

As the Income-tax Department has enabled Income-tax Return (ITR) filing early this year through online and Excel-based utilities, some taxpayers may be tempted to file their returns early and get done with the annual tax compliance exercise. Early filing also promises peace of mind, faster refunds, and one less deadline to worry about.

However, submitting returns too early, especially before June 15, can backfire for some taxpayers, especially salaried and pensioners. This article explains why.

First, why are we talking about June 15?

Data is not updated early, always

Important tax documents like Form 16, Form 26AS, and the annual information statement (AIS) are not always fully updated in the first few weeks of the assessment cycle.

When a taxpayer rushes to file his/her return before these documents are completely populated, s/he end up with increased chances of working with incomplete or incorrect data.

For example, one of the biggest risks one may face while filing early is incorrect income entries, which can lead to a tax notice.

• Employers typically issue Form 16 by mid-June

• Financial institutions continue updating interest income, dividend earnings, and tax deducted at source (TDS) details into AIS and Form 26AS through May.

• The last date for financial institutions to file their annual specified financial statement return is May 31. This data is auto-populated into AIS but may take some days to reflect correctly.

• Certain income adjustments, such as capital gains statements from brokers or corrected bank interest certificates may arrive only after early June.

While filing your ITR early, you may miss out on some of the key details, which can later trigger income tax notices.

Mismatched TDS

Many taxpayers also face a common problem of mismatched TDS claims. In case your return includes TDS credits that are not yet reflected in Form 26AS, the system may not validate them. This can lead to a lower refund, or worse, a tax demand notice.

It will be better to wait for the correct data, as correcting any data mismatch later may require filing a revised return, which means an extra layer of compliance.

Complicated deductions and exemptions

While many taxpayers finalise their investment proofs and tax-saving declarations toward the end of the financial year, these do not immediately align with employer-provided documents. Filing early without matching and verifying these details can result in errors in deduction claims, which may in turn lead to scrutiny by taxmen.

Filing a revised return can be cumbersome

Once you file your ITR, you can correct errors later by filing revised returns. However, you may find it cumbersome to do it again, as a revision would require another round of careful tracking of changes.

Should you delay?

The purpose of this article is not to convince you to do delayed filing. Instead, your focus should be on filing accurately, not just early. Waiting until mid-June would ensure that most financial data is reflected correctly across all official tax records. It will also give you some more time to reconcile key documents, verify your financial data for the previous financial year, and avoid tax blunders.