Documents for individual Income Tax Return (ITR) filing

• Gather clear scans or PDFs (or originals when only paper exists) for each item that applies to you. Legible documents reduce errors when figures are typed into the ITR.
• The e-filing portal does not ask you to upload every proof with the return in normal cases. These documents are what you provide to your tax consultant / our team so they can compute taxable income, claim deductions you are eligible for, and match TDS with what employers and banks have reported.
• If something on this list does not apply (for example, you have no capital gains), skip that block.

The department prescribes different ITR forms. Broadly (subject to annual notifications and your facts):

• ITR-1 — Often used when income is mainly salary, one house property (in permitted situations), and other sources within prescribed limits, and you do not have capital gains or business income.
• ITR-2 — Typically when you have capital gains, more than one house property (where ITR-1 is not allowed), or foreign income / assets reporting as required, without business income computed as business.
• ITR-3 — When you have income from business or profession (including partners in a firm in prescribed cases).
• ITR-4 — When you opt for presumptive taxation for business/profession (e.g. sections 44AD, 44ADA, 44AE) and meet the conditions.

The correct form for your case follows from your income sources and the current year's instructions on the Income Tax Department website.

• PAN — PAN card or e-PAN PDF; number and name should match what will appear on the ITR.
• Aadhaar — For e-filing, Aadhaar is commonly linked to PAN as per portal rules; keep Aadhaar number or VID available if needed for OTP or linkage steps.
• Bank account — The ITR asks for bank account details for all filers, not only when a refund is due. The department uses this for refund credits where applicable and for verification as per process. Provide: account number, IFSC, and a passbook page, cheque leaf, or bank statement showing the account holder name, account number, and IFSC. Complete pre-validation of the bank account on the e-filing portal when the site asks for it.
• Address in the ITR (correspondence) — The department uses this for postal communication; it also prints on your filed ITR. Enter the address you can rely on for mail from the tax office.
• Mobile number and email — Active mobile and email registered on the e-filing portal for OTPs and electronic intimation.

• Form 16 — From each employer who deducted tax on your salary in that financial year: Part A (TDS certificate) and Part B (salary break-up, exemptions, deductions reported by the employer). If the employer splits it across PDFs, share every part.
• Form 12BA — Statement of perquisites / fringe benefits / profits in lieu of salary (Rule 26A(2)(b)), often titled like "Form 12BA".
  • Shows valuation of perquisites and related tax lines.
  • Include it with Form 16 when the employer issues it.
  • If every amount is already inside Form 16 only, use whatever set the employer has given.
• Form 12B — If you changed jobs during the year, you normally give Form 12B to your new employer declaring salary and TDS already earned from the previous employer, so the new employer can deduct correct TDS for the rest of the year (Rule 26A). Keep a copy of what you submitted and any acknowledgement. Also keep the previous employer's full & final settlement, salary slips, and tax workings for that stint — they support the same numbers on the ITR.
• Salary slips — Monthly slips show pay components (basic, allowances, deductions, employer PF, etc.) in detail. Form 16 Part B is a summary and may not list every line. Slips help the preparer check exemptions and deductions that depend on those components and are not obvious from Form 16 alone. Share slips for the full year (or from join date) together with Form 16.
• HRA exemption — Rent receipts, rent agreement, landlord name and address; landlord PAN when annual rent is above the limit specified in tax rules for that year.
• LTA, gratuity, leave encashment, severance, professional tax — Usually already reflected in Form 16 Part B (and TDS in Part A). Extra employer letters or slips only if a figure is missing or needs to be checked against payroll.
• ESOP / RSU
  • Perquisite / salary portion (India): Use Form 16 and Form 12BA for the taxable amounts the employer has already valued and taxed.
  • Employer calculation pack: Vest / release dates, number of units, FMV and exercise price, and INR amountsused for perquisite — so foreign income, INR conversion, and reconciliations match the employer's numbers.
  • Foreign broker: Year-end or full-year activity statement — holdings, sales, cash balance in foreign currency (for Schedule FA peaks/balances and overseas income, where applicable).
  • Gaps: Any RSU release or trade confirmation that ties Form 16 figures to the broker statement.
  • Grant letters: Useful only where Form 16 / 12BA does not spell out a figure; the amounts and dates in the employer's tax working are what feed the ITR.

Numbers that go into the computation:

• Gross annual value / rent (and vacancy adjustment if applicable).
• Municipal tax paid in the year.
• Standard deduction (statutory % — taken in software; you supply inputs above).
• Home-loan interest (and co-owner share % so rent, tax, and interest are split correctly).

• Let-out / deemed let-out — Annual rent receivable (or realistic letable value if required), municipal / property tax actually paid in the year, and months of vacancy if any.
• Co-ownership — Document showing your percentage share (e.g. sale deed with share of each co-owner). The rent, taxes, and interest are apportioned by that share when preparing the computation.
• Home loan — Single interest certificate from the lender (provisional or final); it normally shows interest and principal for the year. Use it for interest deduction under house property and for 80C principal within the overall ₹1.5 lakh cap — a separate principal certificate is usually unnecessary.
• Pre-construction interest— Typically already split or summarised on the same lender certificate; if not, the lender's break-up for prior years' pre-EMI is enough for spreading as per rules.

• Main input for computation: broker's annual tax P&L / capital gains report (download from broker site) — not individual contract notes in bulk.
• That report usually has sale/purchase dates, quantities, realised gain/loss, STT, and often ISIN-level lines for schedules such as 112A.

• Shares / derivatives — Annual tax P&L / capital gains reportfrom your broker's website or back office (and DP holding statement if needed to reconcile opening/closing).
• Mutual funds — Consolidated statement or AMC tax / capital gains statement for the year.
• Crypto / VDA — Exchange export with date, quantity, INR (or FX + rate), fees — so gain can be computed.
• Foreign brokers — Same idea: year activity / tax summary plus RBI / notified-rate basis for INR figures in the return.

• Sale consideration — Registered sale deed and stamp/registration details; brokerage invoices if brokerage is claimed as a deduction in the capital-gains working.
• Cost of acquisition (the property you sold)
  • "Purchase" here means the same house/land that you sold — old purchase deed / allotment, payment proofs, and capital-improvement bills (not routine repairs) that add to cost.
  • It is not the new property you buy to save tax under section 54 / 54F.
  • For 54 / 54F / 54EC: separate proofs of the new asset or specified bonds within time and amount limits.
• Buyer's TDS (26QB) — Form 16B / challan / acknowledgement so TDS credit matches Form 26AS (and AIS, where shown).
• Sale proceeds in data — Amounts usually appear in AIS and tie to the agreement; a separate bank statement is not normally needed unless figures do not match.

• Bank interest, dividends, refund interest — Often already in AIS; TDS in Form 26AS. Routine computation uses those totals once you confirm they are correct.

• When extra papers help — Bank/FD interest certificate or Form 16A if an AIS line is wrong, missing, or needs splitting (e.g. joint account share).
• Not on AIS — Taxable gifts, winnings, or other receipts: whatever document establishes the amount and nature.
• Agricultural income — Summary or records only if it affects your tax rate slab in that year.

For each deduction, share proof that shows the amount paid / deposited and the section you are claiming under (limits and conditions apply in the Act):

• 80C — LIC premium, ELSS investment proof, PPF passbook, NSC, school tuition (children), home loan principal from the same lender certificate where used for 80C (within overall cap), ULIP, etc.
• 80CCC / 80CCD — Pension / NPS receipts; employer NPS on Form 16.
• 80D — Health insurance premiums; preventive check-up bills within prescribed limits.
• 80DD / 80U — Disability certificates and prescribed medical papers.
• 80E — Education loan interest certificate.
• 80G — Donation receipts with eligible percentage and donee PAN where rules require.
• 80TTA / 80TTB — Savings / deposit interest details as applicable (80TTB for senior citizens on specified interest).
• 80GG — Rent receipts and declaration where you pay rent but do not get HRA — plus other conditions in the Act.

The return needs correct residential status, foreign-source amounts in INR, foreign tax (if credit claimed), and Schedule FA figures (balances, peaks, income) where applicable.

• Residential status
  • Computation input: days in India vs abroad in the year (and relevant prior years if ROR/RNOR).
  • Documents: passport stamps, travel tickets, employer letter with posting dates, lease abroad — whatever establishes the day count.
• Foreign salary / pension / consulting
  • Computation input: gross pay in foreign currency by period; tax withheld abroad; FX rate to INR for each receipt (RBI / notified basis).
  • Documents: foreign payslips, Form W-2 / local tax slip, employer year-end statement, bank credits in INR if converted.
• Foreign tax credit (DTAA)
  • Computation input: tax paid in the other country on the same income; treaty article; INR equivalent.
  • Documents: Tax Residency Certificate (TRC), overseas tax return / assessment, challan or withholding proof; Form 67 filed in time on the Indian portal when claiming credit.
• Schedule FA (foreign bank, equity, immovable property abroad, etc.)
  • Computation input: opening balance, peak balance during the year, closing balance, interest/dividend/gain earned — in INR per schedule rows.
  • Documents: year-end / periodic statements from each foreign bank, broker, or registry; property papers if immovable asset abroad is reportable.
• Remittances
  • When needed: if bank flows do not match salary or gift narrative — FIRC / bank advice showing amount, date, and purpose.

Normal ITR-3 style: profit is built from turnover − expenses − depreciation ± other items. Share sources that give those totals.

• Turnover / gross receipts
  • Computation input: total sales or professional receipts for the year (cash + bank + credit).
  • Documents: sales register or billing software export; GSTR-1 / 3B summary if GST registered; bank statement credits cross-check.
• Expenses (each major head)
  • Computation input: rent, salaries, professional fees, utilities, commission, etc. — year total per category.
  • Documents: invoices + payment proof (bank / cash voucher) for amounts you want claimed.
• Depreciation & capital assets
  • Computation input: date of purchase, cost, block of asset, written-down value opening.
  • Documents: purchase invoice, payment; prior year depreciation sheet if continuing.
• Trading account / P&L / balance sheet — If already prepared, they carry the above in one place; else books + summaries that add up to the same numbers.
• Presumptive taxation (ITR-4: 44AD / 44ADA / 44AE)
  • 44AD / 44ADA: Gross turnover or gross receipts (bank inflows + bills + GST turnover if relevant); percentage applied is statutory.
  • 44AE: Number of vehicles × prescribed profit per vehicle (or books if opting out within rules) — RC, trip sheets, or lease docs for vehicle count.

• Advance tax — Challans (e.g. ITNS 280) with date, BSR, amount — should match credits in Form 26AS.
• Self-assessment tax — Challan before filing if tax is still due.
• TDS certificates — Form 16 (salary), Form 16A (other TDS), Form 16B (buyer on property sale), Form 16C (rent TDS in applicable cases).
• TCS — Certificates where tax was collected at source on specified transactions.

Tax law requires you to preserve books of account and documents for the period specified in the Act (generally several years from the end of the relevant assessment year). Safe storage helps with future filings, refunds, and any department query.