Filing an income tax return has become increasingly convenient with online services, but taxpayers should still carefully verify their information before submitting the return. A small mistake in income, bank details, deductions or tax credits can lead to unnecessary delays, notices or problems with refunds.

The Income Tax Department provides several online facilities that allow taxpayers to verify much of this information before filing. With the return-filing process becoming increasingly digital, checking your records in advance can save considerable time.

Check Your AIS Before Filing

The Annual Information Statement (AIS) is one of the most useful documents taxpayers should review before filing their return. It can contain information relating to salary, interest income, dividends, securities transactions, tax deducted at source and other financial transactions reported to the Income Tax Department.

Taxpayers should compare the information in AIS with their own records. If something appears incorrect or incomplete, the taxpayer can submit feedback through the income-tax portal.

Verify Your Form 26AS

Form 26AS primarily provides information about tax deducted or collected and other tax-related details. Taxpayers should compare the TDS appearing in Form 26AS with the TDS shown on their salary slips, Form 16 or other relevant documents.

If the figures do not match, it is better to investigate the discrepancy before submitting the return rather than discovering the problem after filing.

Don't Forget Other Sources of Income

Many taxpayers check only their salary income and overlook income from other sources. Interest from savings accounts and fixed deposits, dividends, rental income, capital gains and certain other receipts may also need to be considered while preparing the return.

Even if tax has already been deducted from a particular income, that does not necessarily mean that the income can be ignored while filing the return.

Check Your Bank Account Details

Refunds are generally credited electronically to a validated bank account. Taxpayers should therefore verify that the bank account they intend to use for receiving a refund is correctly added and validated on the income-tax portal.

A mistake in bank account information can create unnecessary complications when a refund is due.

Review Deductions Carefully

Before claiming deductions, taxpayers should make sure they actually qualify for them and have the required supporting documents. Common deductions can relate to eligible investments, insurance premiums, education loans, donations and certain other expenses, depending on the applicable tax regime and provisions.

Taxpayers should also check whether a particular deduction is available under the tax regime they have selected.

Review the Return One Last Time

Before submitting the return, carefully check personal information, income figures, TDS, advance tax, self-assessment tax, deductions, capital gains and bank details. After filing, the return also needs to be verified within the applicable time limit.

The official Income Tax Department portal provides facilities for filing returns, checking AIS and Form 26AS-related information, tracking refunds and accessing other taxpayer services.