Every individual whose gross total income exceeds the basic exemption limit must file an income tax return in India. Under the new tax regime (default from FY 2025-26), the basic exemption limit is ₹4 lakh — income up to ₹12 lakh is effectively tax-free due to the Section 87A (new: Section 156) rebate of ₹60,000.

e-Filing of Income Tax is the process of submitting your income tax return electronically through the official income tax e-filing portal at incometax.gov.in — without visiting any government office. The portal auto-populates your salary, TDS deductions, and financial transaction data from Form 26AS (new: Form 168) and the Annual Information Statement (AIS). You select the correct ITR form based on your income type, review and verify the pre-filled data, add any additional income or deductions, and submit the return. After submission, you verify the ITR using Aadhaar OTP, net banking, or DSC. Tax Robo handles the entire e-filing process on your behalf — you just share your documents, review the prepared return, and approve before we submit.

The ITR filing due date India depends on the taxpayer category. For individuals, HUFs, and non-audit cases, the due date is 31 July of the assessment year (new: Tax Year). Businesses requiring audit have until 31 October, and those with transfer pricing audits must file by 30 November.

New tax regime vs old tax regime is the most important decision every taxpayer must make before income tax filing. The new tax regime is the default from FY 2025-26 — it offers zero tax up to ₹4 lakh basic exemption and effectively zero tax up to ₹12 lakh through the Section 87A (new: Section 156) rebate. Salaried employees get an additional standard deduction of ₹75,000 making the effective zero-tax limit ₹12.75 lakh. However, the new regime does not allow deductions under Section 80C (new: Section 123) (EPF, PPF, ELSS), Section 80D (new: Section 126) (health insurance), home loan interest, or HRA. The old tax regime retains all these deductions but has higher slab rates starting from ₹2.5 lakh. The better regime depends entirely on how much you can claim in deductions — Tax Robo's CAs calculate the tax under both regimes for every client before filing.

The Income Tax Act classifies all income into five heads for the purpose of income tax filing. Income from Salary covers wages, pension, allowances, and perquisites received from an employer. Income from House Property covers rent received from owned properties after standard deduction. Income from Business or Profession covers profits from business activities, freelancing, and professional services. Income from Capital Gains covers profits from sale of property, shares, mutual funds, or other capital assets. Income from Other Sources covers interest income, dividends, gifts, lottery winnings, and any income not covered under the other four heads.

Income tax return filing online is done through the income tax e-filing portal at incometax.gov.in. The first step is selecting the correct ITR form — ITR-1 (Sahaj) for salaried individuals with income up to ₹50 lakh and simple income sources; ITR-2 for individuals with capital gains, foreign income, or multiple properties; ITR-3 for individuals with business or professional income; ITR-4 (Sugam) for presumptive income under Sections 44AD/44ADA (new: Section 58); ITR-5 for firms, LLPs, and AOPs; ITR-6 for companies; ITR-7 for trusts and charitable institutions. Using the wrong ITR form makes the return defective and results in a Section 139(9) (new: Section 263(9)*) notice.

Advance tax is payable in four instalments during the financial year when your estimated tax liability for the year exceeds ₹10,000: 15% by 15 June, 45% by 15 September, 75% by 15 December, and 100% by 15 March.

The documents required for income tax filing depend on your income type. For salaried individuals — Form 16 (new: Form 130) from employer, bank statements for all accounts, investment proofs for Section 80C (new: Section 123) (ELSS, PPF, LIC), home loan interest certificate, rent receipts if claiming HRA, and health insurance premium receipts for Section 80D (new: Section 126). For business owners and professionals — audited P&L account, balance sheet, GST return copies, TDS certificates (Form 16A, new: Form 131), and business expense records.

Yes, you can revise your income tax return after filing if you discover any mistake, omission, or wrong statement in the original return. A revised return can be filed under Section 139(5) (new: Section 263(5)) of the Income Tax Act up to 31 December of the assessment year (new: Tax Year) — the same deadline as a belated return. There is no restriction on revision frequency. A revised return completely replaces the original return — all corrected income, deductions, and tax details must be entered again in full.

Receiving an income tax notice does not always mean there is a problem — many notices are routine communications. Section 143(1) (new: Section 277) intimation is the most common — it is automatically generated after processing your return and shows whether there is a refund, demand, or no change. Section 139(9) (new: Section 263(9)*) is a defective return notice requiring correction within 15 days. Section 143(2) (new: Section 278) is a scrutiny notice asking you to explain specific income or deductions. Section 148 (new: Section 280) is a reassessment notice for income that may have escaped earlier assessment. All notices must be responded to within the specified time through the income tax e-filing portal — ignoring a notice leads to ex-parte assessment, penalty, and recovery action.