What is an income tax return?

An ITR is the yearly statement of your income, deductions and tax to the Income Tax Department. Filing is how you close the year and how refunds, if any, are processed.

Who needs to file?

• Individuals whose income is above the basic exemption
• Shops, firms and companies that have business or professional income
• Anyone who wants to claim a refund
• Cases where the law asks for a return even if tax is nil — for example, certain high-value transactions

Financial year and assessment year

The financial year is the year you earned the income (1 April to 31 March). The assessment year is the next year, when that income is assessed. The return you file in 2026 is usually for FY 2025–26 (AY 2026–27).

Common ITR forms

• ITR-1 (Sahaj) — simple salary / pension cases
• ITR-4 (Sugam) — presumptive business or profession, if you opt for it
• ITR-3 — business or profession with regular books
• ITR-2 / others — when capital gains, more than one house or other heads apply

The form depends on the nature of income, not on what you prefer.

AIS, TIS and Form 26AS

The department already has a picture of your year — salary TDS, bank interest, high-value deals, AIS and Form 26AS. The return should match that picture. If a figure is different, keep a simple reason ready.

Presumptive tax — a short note

Small businesses and professionals can, in some cases, declare income as a percentage of turnover instead of maintaining full books. This is optional and has conditions. We tell you if it fits before we pick the form.

What we do

• Collect papers and check AIS / 26AS
• Choose the right ITR form
• Prepare the return and show you what will go in
• File it and send the acknowledgement

Papers usually needed

• PAN, Aadhaar and bank details
• Form 16 / 16A, if any
• Books or a simple profit working for business
• Interest, rent, capital-gain and investment proofs
• Last year’s ITR, if available