Documents Required to File ITR for FY 2025-26: Complete Checklist (AY 2026-27)

Filing Income Tax Return (ITR) for FY 2025-26 requires taxpayers to maintain various documents such as PAN, Form 16, Form 26AS, Annual Information Statement (AIS), Taxpayer Information Statement (TIS) and other deduction proofs. These documents help verify income, taxes paid, and eligible deductions while filing the return.

Additionally, NRE and NRO account details, residency certificate, income proofs, and books of accounts are required for ITR filing. Keeping these documents ready ensures accurate filing and helps avoid notices or discrepancies during processing.

ITR Filing Deadline for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27)

The due date to file ITR for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) is as follows:

Documents Required for ITR Filing

Any taxpayer, must ensure to have the following documents while filing an ITR:

Documents Required for Salaried Employees

If you are a salaried employee, gather these documents to e-file your income tax returns in India. Go through this list to see the documents you’ll need to do your taxes.

• Form-16 Part A and B issued by your employer
• Monthly Salary Slips
• Form 26AS
• Annual Information Statement (AIS)
• Taxpayer Information Statement (TIS) 
• HRA Documents (rent receipts, landlord PAN, rent agreement)
• Expense proofs to claim exempention on allowance and perquisites

It is essential to gather information on all taxable allowances received and the amount claimed as an exemption from such allowances, e.g., house rent allowance, leave travel allowance, etc., and disclose the same in the IT return.

Documents for Self-Employed, Freelancers & Business Owners

Taxpayers who are self-employed, freelancers or business owners should ensure that following documents are available while filing ITR:

• Form 26AS
• Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS)
• Sales invoices and books of accounts
• GST returns to match GST turnover
• Advance Tax Challans
• Professional income proofs

Documents for Capital Gains Income

Capital gain includes proceeds from the sale of immovable properties such as land, building, house etc, also includes shares, debentures, mutual funds, jewellery etc., irrespective of gain or loss, the transactions must be reported.

1. For Sale of Immovable Property :

• Form 26AS
• Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS)
• Sales and purchase deeds, improvement cost details, transfer expenses 
• Full Address of the Property.
• Details of the buyer, like PAN and Aadhaar.
• Necessary supporting document if you claiming exemption u/s 54 or 54EC

2. For Sale of Mutual funds or Equity shares:

• Form 26AS
• Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS)
• For the Sale of Mutual funds, you can generate consolidated capital gain statements from CAMs and Kfintech.
• For the Sale of Equity shares, you can check with your broker for a capital gain statement or Tax P&L
• For any other types of capital assets, you must have a document showing the sale consideration and the purchase cost details as required.

Documents for Rental or House Property Income

Gathering the details mentioned below is necessary in order to provide complete and truthful disclosure of your income from house property.

• Form 26AS
• Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS)
• Rental income details 
• Rental agreement and Tenant details such as Name, PAN or Aadhaar
• Address of Property and Co-owner details
• Interest certificate for loan, if any, including Pre-Construction Interest
• Pre-construction interest on the home loan, if any
• Municipal Tax Receipts

Documents for Interest Income, Dividends or Other Income

The following documents are important when taxpayers want to report incomes from interest, dividend or from any other income sources:

• Form 26AS
• Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS)
• Bank statement or passbook for interest on a savings account.
• Interest income statement for fixed deposits.
• TDS certificate issued by banks and others.
• Dividend statements

Documents for Deductions & Tax Saving Investments

Taxpayers who have tax savings investments and claiming deductions have to ensure availability of following documents for proof of investment to claim deduction:

• Section 80C: PPF passbook, Insurance premium receipt, ELSS statement, tuition fees receipt, etc.
• Section 80D: Health insurance premium receipts
• Section 80E: Education loan interest certificate
• Section 80G: Donation receipts with the NGO's 80G certificate
• Section 80CCD: NPS account statement

Documents for NRIs Filing ITR in India

NRIs must maintain specific documents while filing their ITR in India to accurately report income earned or accrued in India:

• Passports and Visa details
• Residential status proof
• Form 26AS
• Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS)
• NRE account statements to report tax-free interest
• NRO account statements to report taxable income earned in India
• Indian income proofs such as capital gains, rent or business income
• Foreign bank account details
• Tax residency certificate
• Foreign tax paid certificate

Documents Required Under New Tax Regime v/s Old Tax Regime

The new tax regime and old tax regime follow different tax structure with respect to income tax slabs, deductions and exemptions allowed to a taxpayer. Hence, the documents required to be maintained depends on the tax regime opted by the taxpayer. 

1. What documents are not needed under the new tax regime

The new tax regime disallows most of the deductions such as Section 80C, 80D, and salary exemptions. Therefore, taxpayers opting for the new tax regime need not require such document proofs to claim these deductions and exemptions. 

2. What documents still apply under both regimes

The following documents will apply and is required to be maintained irrespective of the tax regime opted by the taxpayer:

• Form 16
• Form 26AS
• Annual Information Statement (AIS)
• Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS)
• Home loan interest certificate for let-out property

3. How to decide which tax regime is better

Which tax regime is better for the taxpayer is totally dependant on the income, deductions and exemptions that a taxpayer can claim. Taxpayers with high deductions and exemptions to claim can opt for the old tax regime if it saves more tax. However, taxpayers with less or no deductions and exemptions to claim should opt for the new tax regime. 

Important Tax Forms Explained — Form 26AS, AIS & TIS

1. Form 26AS

Form 26AS is summary if tax deducted and collected. This document helps taxpayers determine the total TDS or TCS paid by them during the year which can be set-off against the final tax liability. Any excess TDS or TCS can be claimed as tax refund, but a self-assessment tax need to be paid when there is a shortfall in TDS or TCS compared to the final tax liability. 

2. Annual Information Statement (AIS) 

The Annual Information Statement or AIS shows both reported value (value reported by the reporting entities) and modified value (i.e., the value after considering taxpayer feedback) for each type of information, i.e., TDS, Statement of financial transaction (SFT), and various other information. 

3. Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS)

Taxpayer Information Summary is an aggregated category-wise summary for a taxpayer. It shows the processed value (i.e., value generated after cleaning the data gathered from various sources) and derived value (i.e., value derived after considering the taxpayer’s feedback) for each information category. The derived information in TIS is used for pre-filling IT returns. 

Which ITR Form Should You File?

The question of which ITR form to file depends on the income source of the taxpayer.