Overview of Tax Planning

Income Tax Documents Required to Claim Various Expenses as Deductions

There are various deductions which tend to reduce your tax liability. You can avail the deductions using income tax documents related to the tax-savings investments you have made or incurred eligible expenses.
Here are the related income tax documents you should keep at hand to claim various expenses as deductions:
1. Income tax documents related to your Provident Fund contribution
2. Life insurance premium payment receipts
3. Stamp-duty and registration charges paid
4. Principal repayment on a home loan
5. Equity Linked Savings Scheme investment proof to be used as one of the income tax documents
6. Self-contribution to National Pension Scheme (NPS)

Income Tax Documents Required to File ITR

The Income Tax department wants the taxpayers to provide a breakup of their gross salary income and income earned from other sources while filing the ITR. It is why both taxpayers and tax professionals tend to collect their income tax documents timely.
In general, it is a good practice to keep all the income tax documents required for ITR handy.
Here is a list of income tax documents required for Income Tax Return e-filing:

1. Aadhar and PAN Card

Your Aadhar card and PAN card are two essential income tax documents required for ITR filing. Under Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act, every Indian taxpayer must provide his/her Aadhar card details while filing ITR.

2. Form 16

Form 16 is one of the most crucial income tax documents required by salaried individuals to file ITR. It is a TDS certificate issued by their employers to provide details on the TDS deducted on their salary.

What makes it one of the essential income tax documents is the details it carries, which include tax deducted from salary, employees’ PAN, employer’s PAN and TAN, and gross salary breakup.

3. Salary Slips

For salaried taxpayers, their latest salary slips form a part of the income tax documents required for Income Tax Return e-filing. These slips provide information about House Rent Allowance, Transport Allowances, and other allowances which have different tax treatment.

4. Interest Certificates from Post Office and Banks

The interest you receive from a savings bank account, savings account in the post office, or Fixed Deposits (FDs) are taxable. Therefore, you must get interest certificates from the respective banks/post office, which will work as the income tax documents required to file ITR.

5. Tax-saving Investment Proofs

Under section 80C, 80CCC and 80CCD(1) during FY 2019-20, the tax-saving investments made by you can help in lowering the tax liability. The proofs of investments in Employee Provident Fund (EPF), Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Life Insurance, thus, form the part of income tax documents you need to file ITR.

With all the required income tax documents, the maximum deduction you can claim under these sections is Rs. 1.5 Lakh.

6. Health Insurance Premium Receipts

Apart from income tax documents related to the tax-saving investments, the health insurance premium paid during FY 2019-20 is eligible for deduction u/s 80D of the Income Tax Act.

The maximum deduction you can avail by using insurance receipts as income tax documents is Rs. 25,000 for yourself, spouse, and children. It increases to Rs. 50,000 if you also pay health insurance premium for your parents below 60 years of age.

7. Proofs of Capital Gains

If you have earned capital gains from your mutual funds/equity investments or sale of the property, the proof of these gains is to be used as income tax documents required for ITR.
The computation of capital gains required the following income tax documents:
a) Purchase/Sale deed for the sale of house property, land, or building
b) Statements from mutual fund houses or brokers involved

What is Form 26AS?

Form 26AS is one of the most crucial income tax documents and has all the information of the taxes deposited against your PAN number. It is a certificate issued u/s 203 of the Income Tax Act to cover TDS deducted from income under the head ‘salary’.
To add Form 26AS to your stack of income tax documents, simply login to your account on:
https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/

Income Tax Documents Required to File ITR

• 1. Aadhar and PAN Card
• 2. Form 16
• 3. Salary Slips
• 4. Interest Certificates from Post Office and Banks
• 5. Tax-saving Investment Proofs
• 6. Health Insurance Premium Receipts
• 7. Proofs of Capital Gains

If you have earned capital gains from your mutual funds/equity investments or sale of the property, the proof of these gains is to be used as income tax documents required for ITR.
The computation of capital gains required the following income tax documents:
a) Purchase/Sale deed for the sale of house property, land, or building
b) Statements from mutual fund houses or brokers involved