Last-minute ITR filing? These 9 checks could save you from notices and tax refund delays

Verify your name, PAN, Aadhaar details, address, mobile number and email ID. Ensure your bank account details are correctly added and pre-validated for refunds.

Don't rely only on Form 16 while filing your return. Compare your income with the Annual Information Statement (AIS), Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) and Form 26AS to ensure nothing has been missed.

Shourya Garg, Advocate at Garg & Garg Tax Associates, says many taxpayers assume AIS and Form 26AS should always match.

"Honestly, it is the AIS versus Form 26AS confusion that keeps coming up. A lot of taxpayers still assume these two documents will always match perfectly... The correct approach is to actually reconcile the two against your own records."

Salaried taxpayers must ensure that their salary income, exemptions and deductions match their Form 16.

Savings account interest, fixed deposit interest, recurring deposit interest, dividend income and rental income should all be reviewed before filing.

CA Abhishek Soni says one of the biggest mistakes this year is failing to report income from multiple sources.

"The biggest confusion this year is choosing the right ITR form and reporting income correctly... People are also confused about matching their income with AIS and Form 26AS and reporting income from multiple sources."

Verify whether you have correctly claimed deductions under sections such as:

80C for eligible investments

80D for health insurance premiums

80CCD(1B) for NPS contributions

Other eligible deductions

If you have sold shares or mutual funds, make sure you have correctly reported both short-term and long-term capital gains.

CA Abhishek Soni says first-time investors often struggle with:

• identifying whether gains are short-term or long-term

• choosing the correct ITR form

• calculating gains correctly

• reporting capital gains accurately

Choosing the wrong ITR form remains one of the biggest mistakes this filing season.

"The biggest confusion this year is choosing the right ITR form and reporting income correctly. Many taxpayers are unsure whether they can file ITR-1 or need to use ITR-2, especially if they have earned capital gains from stocks or mutual funds," said CA Soni.

Ensure the bank account selected for refund is correct. Check that the account is linked and validated on the income tax portal.

"People forgetting to e-verify after submission, which technically makes the return invalid until it is fixed," said Shourya Garg.

Biggest mistakes taxpayers are making

• Choosing the wrong ITR form

• Forgetting interest income

• Capital gains reported incorrectly

• AIS not matching personal records

• Forgetting e-verification

Don't wait until the last minute

With the July 31 deadline for filing income tax return (ITR) for Assessment Year 2026-27 (FY2025-26) just three days away, the income tax department has issued a timely reminder for taxpayers who wait for the last moment to finish the task.

According to the experts Upstox News spoke to, many filing errors happen because taxpayers leave their returns until the final few days.

Spending a few extra minutes reviewing your return before clicking 'Submit' could save you from delays, notices or the hassle of filing a revised return later.