ITR Filing 2025: The must-have documents for your income tax return filing

ITR Filing 2025: The deadline to file your income tax returns (ITRs) is September 15 this year. This is a change from the usual July 31st deadline. With most people having already received their Form-16, experts are urging taxpayers to begin the filing process now.

Filing early helps you avoid the common mistakes that can happen when you rush to meet the deadline. The income tax department is also sending out reminders to ensure everyone is aware of the new date.

Even though the e-filing portal has pre-filled ITR forms, some incomes, such as capital gains, need to be manually filled. These are some of the important documents you must keep handy while filing ITR.

• PAN card

• Aadhaar card

• Bank account details (including IFSC codes, account numbers)

• Form 16 (issued by your employer for salaried individuals)

• Form 16A

• Form 26AS

• Capital gains statements (from sale of shares, mutual funds, or property)

• Tax saving investment proof

"The 2025 Income Tax Return (ITR) documents are an essential move towards good financial management. To experience a smooth and trouble-free filing, taxpayers need to get a few key documents ready prior, such as securely integrated PAN and Aadhaar cards (if they have), Form 16, Bank statements, Form 26AS and the Annual Information Statement for income tracking declaration of transactions," said CA Siddharth Maurya, Founder & Managing Director of Vibhavangal Anukulakara Private Limited.

In addition to these, you will also need investment proofs for deductions as well as supporting documents like Rent receipts for HRA claims or interest certificates in case of housing/education loans.

Maintaining these papers helps not only in the accurate declaration of income and deductions but also ensures timely filing before the due date of September 15, 2025, thereby preventing errors and penalties, which improves financial credibility, he added.

[Also Read: Step-by-step guide to filing ITR online on Income Tax e-filing portal ] (lhttps://upstox.com/news/personal-finance/tax/step-by-step-guide-file-itr-online-by-self-on-income-tax-e-filing-portal-for-fy-2024-25-ay-2025-26/article-169794/)

ITR filing deadline

The ITR filing due date for FY 2024-25 is September 15, 2025.

In December 2024, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) launched an electronic campaign to help taxpayers resolve discrepancies between their Income Tax Returns (ITRs) and their Annual Information Statements (AIS). This initiative focuses on the financial years 2023-24 and 2021-22.

The campaign specifically targets two groups:

Taxpayers with Mismatches: Individuals whose income and transactions reported in their ITRs don't match the information in their AIS.

Non-Filers: People who have taxable income or high-value transactions in their AIS but haven't filed an ITR for the relevant years.

As part of the campaign, informational messages have been sent to these individuals via SMS and email. These messages serve as a reminder and a guide, encouraging those who may have underreported their income to file a corrected or belated ITR.

The final deadline to file these returns is December 31, 2024. This effort is part of the government's e-Verification Scheme, 2021.