Filing your income tax return doesn’t have to be a frantic, last-minute chore. But it can quickly turn into one if you don’t have your documents ready. A missing Form 16 here, an overlooked AIS there, and you would find yourself suddenly stuck in accurately filing the returns or risk errors that could potentially delay your refund.
If you’re preparing to file your ITR for the current Assessment Year (AY) 2025-26, here is the necessary list of documents that you will need:
The Core Documents
Starting with the basics, two documents or IDs are paramount before you set to file your ITR, namely: PAN Card and Aadhaar Card.
These are mandatory for most taxpayers unless you fall under a specific exemption. They are your identity anchors for the tax department therefore make sure the details match with what’s recorded on the portal.
Salary and Tax Deduction Proofs
Form 16: Issued by your employer, this form details your income and TDS (Tax Deducted at Source). If you changed jobs during the financial year, you will need Form 16 from each employer.
Form 26AS: This is basically your tax passbook. It shows all TDS entries, advance tax payments, and any high-value transactions reported against your PAN. You can download this from the income tax portal (steps below).
AIS (Annual Information Statement): The AIS is a more detailed version of the 26AS form. It includes savings interest, dividend income, mutual fund transactions, property deals, and more. This one’s become particularly important in recent years, especially since tax officials refer to it to catch mismatches.
Bank and Investment-Related Papers
If you are someone who claims key exemptions and deductions (under old tax regime) make sure the following investment or transaction proofs are ready:
Bank Account Statements: Especially if you have earned interest or received any large transfers.
Investment Proofs: Mutual fund statements, life insurance premium receipts, ELSS, PPF, NSC, basically anything you are planning to claim under deductions like 80C or 80D.
Capital Gains Records: This requires you to keep records of transactions for sold shares, mutual funds, or real estate. Taxpayers should keep sale/purchase documents ready as these are needed to compute capital gains accurately.
If You Pay EMIs or Rent
Home Loan Interest Certificate: This will be needed if you are claiming a deduction under Section 24(b) and principal under 80C.
Education Loan Statement: The interest part can be claimed under Section 80E.
Rent Receipts: If you claim HRA or deductions under Section 80GG, make sure to keep the rent receipts. The tax filing now requires you to submit more solid proof for HRA claims.
Other Income Sources
Income sources other than fixed salary like pension statements, annuity details, freelance payments all of these go under “income from other sources” and should be accounted for. If tax has been deducted on any of these (say, on rent or FD interest), ensure you have the TDS certificates too.
Why This Prep Matters
Keeping the documents listed above (which vary based on every taxpayer’s filing requirement) makes ITR filing less confusing. Moreover, it would also ensure:
Fewer errors, which means a smoother return process
Refunds, if any, are likely to come through quicker
You avoid the risk of mismatches or notices
In fact, you can also set up a digital folder, maybe even name it something like ‘ITR 2025” to make sure every document is handy at the time of ITR filing. Because if your papers are in order, the actual filing gets much easier.
