Documents Required For Income Tax Return (ITR) Filing In India FY 2021-22 (AY 2020-21)

What are the documents required for filing ITR?

Income Tax Return (ITR) documents differ as per the earning sources of the tax filer. But, there are certain documents that are mandatory for every taxpayer irrespective of our income sources. Here is a list of such common ITR documents that are required in FY 2021-22 (AY 2020-21)

1. PAN Card
This is the first and foremost prerequisite if you are filing an income tax return. Your name on the income tax PAN card must be the same as the one stated in ITR. PAN is also required for deduction of TDS and should be linked with your bank account for direct credit of income tax refund (if any). It is issued by the Income Tax Department and a salaried employee can find the PAN number either on a PAN card, Form 26AS, Form 16, Form 12BB etc. However, as per the recent amendment by the Govt, taxpayers can also file the ITR with the Aadhaar number instead of the PAN number.

2. Aadhar Card
According to Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act, individuals need to provide his/her Aadhaar card details while filing the returns. If you do not have your Aadhaar card but have applied for the same, then you would be required to provide the enrolment ID in your IT returns. Linking of PAN and Aadhar helps in verifying your income tax return online through an OTP.
Aadhar card is issued by UIDAI. In case you have lost it or couldn’t find your Aadhar card then you can also download it online.

3. Form 16
This form consists of the details of the salary of the employee and the amount of TDS deducted from the salary. Form 16 consists of two different parts, Part A and Part B. Part-A contains the details of the amount of tax deducted by the employer during the financial year along with the PAN and TAN details of the employer. The Part B of the form consists of TDS calculations like gross salary breakup, exempt allowances, perquisites etc. Remember this year, both Part-A and Part-B will bear the TRACES logo and unique ID as well.
The allowances which you have forgotten to disclose to your employer like HRA, will not reflect in Form 16 but can still be claimed at the time of filing ITR.
Please note that form 16 is issued by the employer. It is a vital document for filing ITR by a salaried individual. In case you do not have form16, know how to file your ITR without Form 16.

4. Form-16A/ Form-16B/ Form- 16C
Form-16A is issued for TDS deducted on payments other than salaries such as income received from recurring deposits, fixed deposits etc. If a person sells his property, then Form-16B is issued. It has details pertaining to TDS deducted on the amount which is paid to the seller. Form 16C is a TDS certificate that reflects the TDS deducted on rent @5% by an individual or HUF under section 194IB.
Form 16A is issued by deductors like banks, contractors etc. Form 16B, on the other hand, is issued by the buyer. Further, a person deducting TDS on rent is required to furnish Form 16C to the payee within a period of 15 days from the date of furnishing the Challan cum statement in Form 26QC.
The details of TDS can alternatively be fetched from your Form 26AS.

5. Bank Account details
Disclosures of all active bank accounts are mandatory in the ITR. Bank account details like your bank name, account number, IFSC, number of accounts you hold are necessary to be quoted in the return for income. Also, one account shall be selected as primary to assist the Income Tax Department in refunding your tax refund by electronic transfer to such account. Bank details are used to check your income disclosures, high volume transactions etc. These details can be easily found from bank passbook, cheque book, statement, net banking account etc.

6. Form 26AS
It is an annual tax statement like a tax passbook that has details of all the taxes you have deposited against your PAN. These include:

• a.) TDS deducted by the bank
• b.) TDS deducted by the employer
• c.) TDS deducted by other organisations from the payments done by you
• d.) Advance taxes deposited by the individual
• e.) Self-assessment taxes paid by the individual

The individual should make sure that all the taxes which are deducted in the financial year are reflected against the PAN in Form-26AS. In case of a mismatch, you will not be able to claim the tax credit for the TDS deduction, therefore, the same should be rectified by getting in touch with the deductor.
You can view Form 26AS for the relevant Assessment Year by signing into your account on the Income Tax India e-filing website.

7. Home Loan Statement
The individuals are provided with the details like principal and interest that are repaid by them in their loan statement. This breakup information is needed as proof and also for providing information while filing your income tax returns.
If the individual has taken a home loan from any of the financial institutions like banks etc, then he/she should collect the statement for the last financial year.

8. Tax Saving Instruments
If you have invested in any of the tax-saving schemes like tax-saving FDs, ELSS, investment receipts, etc., then you should have the relevant documents ready when you file your taxes.

9. Capital Gains Details
If you have sold shares, securities or property, it will result in capital gain or losses. For the same, you need to have documents like broker statements, property sale deeds etc.

10. Rental Income
In case you are earning an income from your house or property, it should be reported while filing ITR. Also, in case you are paying rent; don't forget to collect receipts from the landlord. Although these documents are not required to be given with the ITR but should be kept safe to be submitted to your employer or Income Tax Department in case required in future.

11. Foreign Income
The documents for any income earned in or from a foreign country during a job deployment or otherwise for part of the year should be furnished with your tax consultant to help you claim the benefit of tax credits and DTAA. The documents for any foreign income needs to be arranged with the employer or contractor.

12. Dividend Income
If you have invested in shares or mutual funds and have earned dividend income on the same, it should be reported while filing your income tax return.
Details of dividends earned during the financial year can be taken from your broker statement or Demat account summary.

What documents are required to claim deduction u/s 80C to 80U of income tax?

Not everyone is required to file an ITR. Taxpayers can decide whether or not they need to file an ITR based on a variety of variables. These elements are listed below:

• An individual whose income exceeds the exemption limit of 2.5 Lakhs/ 3 Lakhs / 5 lakhs as per applicable taxable limit.
• An individual who owns assets outside of India and receives income from them must file an ITR.
• An individual who pays more than Rs. 1 lakh in electricity bills must file an income tax return in a fiscal year.
• Assessees who deposit more than 1 crore in one or more bank accounts in a financial year are required to file an ITR.
• International travel expenses- If you spend more than 2 Lakhs on overseas travel during the fiscal year, you should file an income tax return.

Nonetheless, as stated earlier, there are a lot of benefits of filing your tax returns on time and therefore, it is imperative that regardless of whether you fall in the category of taxpayer or not, you should file your ITR.

Top Benefits of e-Filing Income Tax Returns on Time in India

The following documents are important and should be compiled by the taxpayer to avoid last-minute hassle:

Home Loan statement from Bank
The statement becomes important so that you can claim a deduction for the principal amount repaid during the year u/s 80C for a maximum of Rs.1.5 lakhs. Deduction on interest can also be claimed up to Rs.2 lakhs in case your house property is self-occupied. In case of let out house property, a loss can be claimed up to 2,00,000 and the remaining loss can be carried forward to the succeeding 8 Assessment Years Interest deduction is allowed on a due basis i.e., whether paid or payable during the year. Section 80EE and 80EEA gives the additional benefit of interest paid, to the first time home buyers subject to certain conditions.

School fee receipt for tuition fees
Fee receipt shows up a break up of tuition fees paid and the amount charged for other activities. The tuition fee component is allowed as a deduction under section 80C of the Income Tax Act for a maximum of two children. You should have these details to claim deduction under these sections while filing ITR.

Contribution to PPF, Life Insurance Premium Receipts
The major tax saving instruments used in India include contributions made to PPF, investments in LIC, 5 Year tax saving FD etc. Amount invested in all such tax saving funds is eligible for deduction under section 80C, aggregating to a maximum deduction of Rs.1.5 lakhs. If you have made any such contribution, it is imperative that you furnish documents related to the same.

Investment in NPS
Amount invested in NPS deduction subject to a ceiling of Rs. 1.5 lakhs and Rs 50,000 is allowed under section 80CCD and 80CCD (1B), respectively. So if you have exhausted your 80C limits and desire to save more taxes by investing your money, you can choose NPS.

Donation Receipts
Donations made to the institutions that qualify for deduction @ 50% or 100% u/s 80G will be required. The donation shall be made via any mode other than cash if the amount donated exceeds Rs 2000 from FY 2017-18 onwards.

Details of Medical Insurance
Section 80D gives you a deduction from your gross total income for the amount paid as medical policy premiums. The policy can be taken for self, spouse, children and parents. If the member insured is a senior citizen- the amount eligible for deduction u/s 80D will be Rs. 50,000 for F.Y. 2020-21 and in all other cases it will be restricted to Rs 25,000 per year. For senior citizens, the deduction is also available for medical expenditure up to Rs 50,000. 80D is provided separately for parents and self, spouse and dependent children.

Education loan
If you are paying interest for an education loan taken for higher studies of yourself, spouse or children; you can claim deduction under section 80E without any limit subject to the actual interest paid from the first year scheduled for repayment to a total of 8 years.

Receipts of any other investments
The taxpayers need to collect the receipts of other investments if any.

Which documents are needed for Capital gain?

The documents which are needed for Capital Gain are as mentioned below:

• Property/ Gold/ Silver sold: Sale and purchase agreements/deeds; Calculation of capital gain is done based on the purchase price, sale price, cost of improvement and transfer expenses etc; Registration details
• Equity shares sold: A summary of Stock trading statement from the broker.
• Mutual Funds sold: Capital Gain Statement of Mutual Fund

Which documents are needed for Income from House property?

The below-mentioned details are required to be quoted correctly in order to make full and true disclosure of your income from house property:

• Address of Property
• Co-owner details
• Rent agreement, if any
• Ownership details
• Interest certificate for loan
• Pre Construction Interest Details
• Municipal Tax Receipts
• Rental income details etc

What are the documents needed by a businessman or professional?

If you are opting presumptive scheme as a businessman under sec 44AD or as a professional u/s 44ADA, then you require only the following information :

• Gross Turnover/ Receipts
• Gross Profit
• Some other details like Sundry Debtors, Sundry Creditors, Stock in Trade and cash balance at the end of the year.

It is also very important to reconcile your 26AS statement to check whether the TDS deducted in your business name is being reflected completely and correctly.

In case you are running a business and the total turnover or sales exceeds Rs. 2 crores during the financial year, you need to get your accounts audited under section 44AB. This limit is 5 crore in some specific cases applicable from the F.Y. 2020-21. Additionally, a professional like Chartered accountants, Doctors, Lawyers etc., with a total receipt exceeding Rs 50 lakhs are required to get accounts audited. In case of requirement of audit, all the books of accounts need to be maintained properly.

What document needs to be attached with the income tax return?

An income tax return is a paperless return. Hence, no documents are required to be attached while filing ITR. However, it is advisable to keep the income and tax-deductible documents safe for a period of 7 years. This will come in handy in case if your file is taken for in-depth scrutiny by the income tax department.