Getting your documents ready before you open the income tax portal is the single most important step in filing a smooth, accurate, and stress-free ITR. This guide covers every document a salaried employee needs for FY 2025-26, what each document means, and what the Income Tax Act says about it.
A Quick Note Before We Begin
The Financial Year 2025-26 runs from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026. The Assessment Year for this period is 2026-27. When you file your ITR for the income you earned between April 2025 and March 2026, you will select AY 2026-27 on the income tax portal.
The due date for filing ITR for salaried individuals for AY 2026-27 is July 31, 2026 under Section 139(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
One important development for FY 2025-26 is that the new tax regime is now the default regime for salaried employees. If you want to opt for the old tax regime, you must actively choose it at the time of filing. If you do nothing, the new regime applies automatically. This makes it even more important to sit with your CA before filing and understand which regime benefits you more.
Why Document Preparation Is the First Step
Many salaried taxpayers make the mistake of opening the income tax portal first and then realising they are missing documents. This leads to half-completed returns, incorrect figures, last-minute bank statement requests, and ultimately a stressful filing experience in the last days of July.
The right approach is the opposite. Collect everything first. Verify the figures. Then open the portal and file.
The Income Tax Department has significantly strengthened its data collection system in recent years. Through the Annual Information Statement, the department already has information about your salary, your bank interest, your mutual fund transactions, your property dealings, and your high-value spends. If your ITR does not match what the department already knows, you will receive a notice.
Good document preparation ensures your return is accurate, complete, and fully consistent with the department’s own records.
Document 1 — Form 16 — The Foundation of Every Salaried ITR
Form 16 is the single most important document for any salaried employee filing an ITR for FY 2025-26.
It is a TDS certificate issued by your employer under Section 203 of the Income Tax Act. Your employer is legally required to issue Form 16 to you by June 15, 2026 for FY 2025-26. If your employer has not issued it by then, you have the right to ask for it — and they are obligated to provide it.
Form 16 has two parts that serve different purposes.
Part A — The Official TDS Certificate
Part A is generated directly from the TRACES portal maintained by the Income Tax Department. It cannot be prepared or modified by your employer independently. It contains your PAN, your employer’s TAN, the quarterly breakup of TDS deducted from your salary, and the total TDS deposited with the government for the full year.
This part is the official proof that your employer has cut tax from your salary and paid it to the government on your behalf under Section 192 of the Income Tax Act.
Part B — The Salary Breakup
Part B is prepared by your employer and gives the detailed structure of your salary for FY 2025-26. It shows your salary, perquisites, HRA deduction other components. It also shows which exemptions your employer has applied — such as HRA exemption under Section 10(13A) — and which deductions under Chapter VI-A have been considered based on the investment declarations you submitted to HR at the start of the year.
What to verify in Form 16 for FY 2025-26:
- Your name and PAN must be exactly as per your PAN card
- Total salary in Part B must match the sum of your 12 monthly salary slips
- TDS in Part A must match what was actually deducted from your monthly salary
- The regime chosen by your employer — old or new — must be the one you had declared to HR
Where to get it: Check your official work email and your company’s HRMS or HR portal. If you cannot find it, contact your HR or payroll team directly.
Document 2 — Form 26AS — Your Complete Tax Credit Record
Form 26AS is your Tax Credit Statement — a document that shows every rupee of tax deposited against your PAN from every source during FY 2025-26.
This is not just about your employer. Form 26AS captures TDS deducted by your bank on fixed deposit interest, TDS on rent if you have let out a property, advance tax or self-assessment tax you paid yourself, and TDS on any other payments received during the year.
How to access Form 26AS for AY 2026-27:
Log in to the income tax e-filing portal at incometax.gov.in using your PAN and password. Go to e-File, then click on Income Tax Returns, and select View Form 26AS. The portal will take you to the TRACES website where you can view and download the statement for FY 2025-26.
What to check and cross-verify:
The TDS shown against your employer’s TAN in Form 26AS must match the TDS shown in Part A of your Form 16. If there is a difference, it means either your employer has filed an incorrect TDS return or there is a data entry error somewhere. This must be corrected before you file your ITR — otherwise the TDS credit will not be granted correctly.
Income Tax Implication: Under the Income Tax Act, TDS credit is available to you only for amounts that are reflected in Form 26AS against your PAN. If your employer deducted TDS but did not deposit it or filed an incorrect return, the credit will not show up — and you cannot claim it until the employer corrects their TDS filing. This is why cross-checking Form 26AS with Form 16 is non-negotiable before filing.
Document 3 — Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS)
The AIS is the most comprehensive financial picture the Income Tax Department has about you. For FY 2025-26, the AIS captures a very wide range of transactions reported against your PAN by banks, employers, mutual fund houses, registrars, stockbrokers, insurance companies, and other reporting entities.
The AIS for FY 2025-26 will show:
- Salary received and TDS thereon
- Interest from savings accounts across all your banks
- Interest from fixed deposits and recurring deposits
- Dividend income received from shares and mutual funds
- Mutual fund purchases and redemptions
- Purchase or sale of immovable property
- Foreign remittances sent or received
- High-value cash deposits
- Securities transactions through your broker
The TIS is a cleaner, summarised version of the same information, showing the aggregate figures under each income category.
How to access AIS for FY 2025-26:
Log in to the income tax portal. Click on Services in the top menu. Select AIS from the dropdown. Choose FY 2025-26 and download both the AIS and TIS in PDF format.
Why the AIS matters more than ever in AY 2026-27:
The Income Tax Department has been consistently expanding the scope of the AIS. For FY 2025-26, reporting by banks and financial institutions has become more detailed. The department uses AIS data to auto-populate parts of your ITR and to verify the return after filing under Section 143(1). Any income visible in the AIS that is not declared in your ITR will trigger a mismatch notice.
What to do if AIS shows incorrect information:
The portal allows you to submit feedback on each AIS entry. If a transaction is incorrectly attributed to your PAN, you can mark it as incorrect or not pertaining to you. Submit your feedback before filing so the AIS reflects the correct position.
Document 4 — Salary Slips for All 12 Months
Your monthly salary slips for April 2025 to March 2026 serve as the base-level verification for the figures in Form 16.
You do not upload salary slips when filing the ITR online, but you should keep them ready for your own cross-checking and for any future scrutiny.
What to check using salary slips:
- Total gross salary across all 12 months must match Form 16 Part B
- HRA component as shown in salary slips must match what is claimed as exempt
- Any mid-year salary revision, bonus, or joining bonus must appear in Form 16
- Any salary received from a previous employer during FY 2025-26 must also be accounted for — this is a common area of error for people who changed jobs during the year
Special situation — job change during FY 2025-26:
If you changed jobs between April 2025 and March 2026, you will have two Form 16s — one from each employer. Both must be considered together while filing your ITR. You must also check whether you disclosed your previous employer’s income to your new employer. If you did not, your new employer may have under-deducted TDS, and you may have a tax liability at the time of filing.
Document 5 — Bank Statements for All Accounts
This is the most commonly overlooked document category. Salaried employees tend to focus on their primary salary account and forget about every other account they hold.
For FY 2025-26, you need statements or interest certificates for every bank account — every savings account, every fixed deposit, and every recurring deposit.
Savings Account Interest — Section 80TTA
Interest earned on savings accounts is taxable under the head Income from Other Sources. For FY 2025-26, Section 80TTA continues to provide a deduction of up to ₹10,000 on savings account interest for individuals below 60 years of age. Any interest above ₹10,000 is added to your income and taxed at your slab rate.
For senior citizens aged 60 and above, Section 80TTB provides a higher deduction of up to ₹50,000, which covers both savings account interest and fixed deposit interest combined.
Fixed Deposit Interest — Fully Taxable
Interest earned on fixed deposits for FY 2025-26 is fully taxable at your applicable income tax slab rate. There is no basic exemption or deduction available specifically for FD interest (except for senior citizens under 80TTB).
Under Section 194A, if your FD interest with a single bank exceeds ₹40,000 in the year (₹50,000 for senior citizens), the bank is required to deduct TDS at 10%. This TDS will appear in Form 26AS. However, even if no TDS was deducted because the interest was below the threshold, the income is still fully taxable and must be declared in your ITR.
What to collect:
- Download bank statements from netbanking for all savings accounts
- Download separate FD interest certificates — most banks provide these under a section called Tax Corner or Interest Certificates in netbanking
- For post office savings accounts, collect the passbook or request an interest statement from your post office branch
Document 6 — Home Loan Certificate for Interest and Principal
If you have a home loan on a property for FY 2025-26, your lender issues an annual certificate showing the interest paid and the principal repaid during the year. This is required to claim two separate deductions — but only under the old tax regime.
Section 24(b) — Deduction on Home Loan Interest
For a self-occupied residential property, you can claim a deduction of up to ₹2 lakh per year on the interest component of your home loan EMI under Section 24(b). This deduction is shown under the head Income from House Property and directly reduces your total income.
If the interest paid exceeds ₹2 lakh, the excess cannot be claimed for a self-occupied property. However, for a property that is rented out, there is no upper cap on interest deduction — though the rental income must also be declared.
Section 80C — Deduction on Home Loan Principal
The principal repayment component of your EMI qualifies for deduction under Section 80C, subject to the overall ceiling of ₹1.5 lakh per year combined with all other 80C investments.
Important for FY 2025-26: Both these deductions — Section 24(b) and Section 80C for home loan principal — are available only if you opt for the old tax regime. Under the new tax regime, which is now the default, neither of these deductions is available. This is often the single most important factor when deciding which regime to choose for a salaried employee with a home loan.
What to collect: Request your provisional interest certificate or annual home loan statement from your bank or housing finance company. Most lenders make this available on their customer portal or mobile app under a section called Loan Documents or Tax Certificate.
Document 7 — HRA Documents — Rent Receipts and Landlord PAN
If you lived in a rented house during any part of FY 2025-26 and received HRA as part of your salary, you can claim HRA exemption under Section 10(13A) of the Income Tax Act read with Rule 2A.
The exempt amount is the lowest of three figures — the actual HRA received from your employer, 50% of your basic salary if you live in a metro city (Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai) or 40% for non-metro cities, and actual rent paid minus 10% of your basic salary.
Documents required:
- Monthly rent receipts for each month you paid rent during FY 2025-26. Each receipt should show the amount of rent, the full address of the rented property, your name as tenant, your landlord’s name, and the landlord’s signature
- A registered or notarised rent agreement
- Landlord’s PAN card — this is mandatory under Rule 2A if your annual rent exceeds ₹1 lakh, which means rent of more than ₹8,333 per month. If you do not provide the landlord’s PAN, your employer cannot grant full HRA exemption in Form 16
Important for FY 2025-26: HRA exemption is available only under the old tax regime. Under the new tax regime, HRA received is fully taxable as salary income. For employees paying substantial rent in metro cities, this is often a major reason to prefer the old regime.
Document 8 — Section 80C Investment Proofs
Section 80C remains one of the most significant deductions under the old tax regime, allowing you to reduce taxable income by up to ₹1.5 lakh per year. For FY 2025-26, collect documents for every eligible investment or payment you made.
PPF — Public Provident Fund: Download your PPF account passbook or annual statement showing deposits made between April 2025 and March 2026. PPF interest is fully tax-free and the account itself enjoys EEE status — exempt at deposit, exempt on interest, exempt on maturity.
LIC and Life Insurance Premiums: Collect premium payment receipts for all life insurance policies in your name, your spouse’s name, or your children’s names.
ELSS Mutual Funds: Equity Linked Savings Schemes carry a mandatory lock-in of three years and qualify for 80C. Download your Consolidated Account Statement from the CAMS or KFintech portal showing ELSS purchases made during FY 2025-26.
EPF — Employee Provident Fund: Your own contribution to EPF is automatically included in 80C and is reflected in Form 16 by your employer. Your employer’s matching contribution does not qualify for 80C.
Children’s Tuition Fees: Fees paid to any school, college, university, or educational institution in India for up to two children qualifies under 80C. Collect fee receipts for the full academic year covered within FY 2025-26.
Tax Saving Fixed Deposits: Five-year tax-saving FDs with banks or post offices qualify under 80C. Collect the FD receipt or certificate.
NSC — National Savings Certificate: NSC investments qualify under 80C. The interest accrued on NSC is also deemed to be reinvested and qualifies for 80C in subsequent years, though it is also taxable as income.
NPS — National Pension System: Contributions to NPS Tier I qualify under Section 80CCD(1) within the overall 80C limit of ₹1.5 lakh. Additionally, an exclusive deduction of up to ₹50,000 is available under Section 80CCD(1B) over and above the ₹1.5 lakh ceiling — making NPS one of the few instruments that offers deduction beyond the standard 80C limit.
Document 9 — Health Insurance Premium — Section 80D
Section 80D allows deduction for health insurance premiums paid during FY 2025-26. This deduction is available only under the old tax regime.
Deduction limits for FY 2025-26:
For self, spouse, and dependent children below 60 years — up to ₹25,000. If you additionally pay premium for parents below 60 years — an additional ₹25,000, making the total ₹50,000. If your parents are senior citizens aged 60 or above — the deduction for their premium goes up to ₹50,000, making the total potential deduction ₹75,000.
Within the overall 80D limit, up to ₹5,000 spent on preventive health check-ups for yourself, spouse, children, or parents is also eligible.
What to collect: Health insurance renewal receipts or premium payment certificates from your insurer for FY 2025-26. If your employer provides group health insurance and deducts the premium from your salary, check whether it appears in Form 16.
Document 10 — Capital Gains Statement — Mutual Funds and Shares
If you sold any mutual fund units or shares during FY 2025-26, you have capital gains income that must be declared in your ITR for AY 2026-27 — regardless of whether the amount is large or small.
For Mutual Funds:
Download your Capital Gains Statement from the CAMS portal, KFintech portal, or MF Central. This statement shows each redemption transaction, the purchase date, redemption date, cost of acquisition, sale value, and the resulting capital gain or loss.
Tax rates applicable for FY 2025-26:
For equity mutual funds and listed shares — Short-term capital gains on holdings sold within one year are taxed at 20% under Section 111A. Long-term capital gains on holdings sold after one year are taxed at 12.5% under Section 112A, with an exemption for gains up to ₹1.25 lakh per year. Gains above ₹1.25 lakh are taxed at 12.5% without the benefit of indexation.
For Direct Equity Shares:
Your stockbroker will provide a Tax Profit and Loss Statement at the end of the financial year. Download this from your broking account. It shows your total realised short-term and long-term gains and losses for FY 2025-26.
Important for AY 2026-27: Even if your total LTCG is below ₹1.25 lakh and fully exempt from tax, it must still be disclosed in the ITR under Schedule CG. Non-disclosure of capital gains — even exempt ones — is a common reason for mismatch notices.
Document 11 — Dividend Income Details
From FY 2020-21 onwards, dividend income is fully taxable in the hands of the investor at the applicable income tax slab rate. For FY 2025-26, all dividends received from shares and mutual funds must be declared.
Under Section 194, if dividend received from a company exceeds ₹10,000 in a year, the company deducts TDS at 10% before paying the dividend. This TDS will appear in your Form 26AS and AIS.
What to collect: Your AIS will show dividend income received. Cross-check this with your broker’s dividend statement and your mutual fund account statement. Ensure every dividend received is accounted for, including small amounts that may not have attracted TDS.
Regime Decision — Old vs New for FY 2025-26
Since the new tax regime is the default for FY 2025-26, every salaried employee must actively decide which regime to choose before filing.
New Tax Regime — Default for FY 2025-26:
- Basic exemption: ₹4 lakh (revised upward in Union Budget 2025)
- Standard deduction: ₹75,000 for salaried employees
- Section 87A rebate: Zero tax on income up to ₹12 lakh under new regime
- No deductions for 80C, 80D, HRA, home loan interest
Old Tax Regime — Must Be Actively Opted:
- Basic exemption: ₹2.5 lakh
- Standard deduction: ₹50,000
- All major deductions available — 80C, 80D, HRA, Section 24(b), NPS
- Section 87A rebate up to ₹5 lakh
General guidance for FY 2025-26: Given the significantly expanded new regime with zero tax up to ₹12 lakh, many salaried employees without large deductions will benefit from the new regime. However, employees with home loans, significant HRA, and maximum 80C investments may still find the old regime beneficial. Run the calculation with your CA using your actual figures before deciding.
Complete Document Checklist for FY 2025-26 ITR Filing
- Form 16 — Part A and Part B from employer
- Form 26AS for FY 2025-26 from income tax portal
- AIS and TIS for FY 2025-26 from income tax portal
- Salary slips — April 2025 to March 2026
- Bank statements for all savings and current accounts
- FD and RD interest certificates from all banks
- Home loan interest and principal certificate from lender
- Rent receipts and landlord PAN for HRA claim
- PPF statement, LIC receipts, ELSS statement for 80C
- NPS contribution statement for 80CCD(1B)
- Health insurance premium receipts for 80D
- Capital gains statement from mutual fund platforms
- Tax P&L statement from stockbroker
- Dividend income details from AIS and broker statement
- Any freelance or other income documents
Final Word
Filing your ITR for FY 2025-26 on time and accurately is both a legal requirement under Section 139(1) and a sound financial habit. The July 31, 2026 deadline is firm. Missing it means a late filing fee of ₹5,000 under Section 234F, interest under Section 234A on any tax due, and the loss of ability to carry forward certain losses.
Start collecting your documents the moment Form 16 arrives in June 2026. Cross-check every figure against your AIS. Decide your tax regime with a proper calculation. And file well before the last week of July.
The documents are the foundation. Everything else follows from them.
This article is written for general educational purposes for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27). Tax laws are subject to change. Please consult a Chartered Accountant for advice specific to your income and financial situation.
