Once you have filed your income tax returns (ITR), the last date for which was 31 August for individual taxpayers, it becomes important to keep a track of the status of your filing. It helps to be aware of whether your ITR has been processed or not and if any further action is required on your part. Besides, you must also keep a track of your income tax refunds, if any.

Checking the status of your income tax returns is simple. Once you have logged in to the Income Tax department's e-filing website, go to the dashboard where you will see the option of "View Returns/Forms". After clicking on that, the page will throw up a list of all ITR's you have filed along with assessment year, ITR form used, filing date, etc. The last column is dedicated to status.

If you have filed your ITR but are yet to verify it, then the status will be - "Return Uploaded, pending for ITR-V/e-verification". If you have e-verified ITR, then the status will inform you that.

Verifying your ITR is crucial because the income tax department will not start processing your returns till you verify it.

Once your ITR is processed by the income tax department, the status will change again to reflect that. The page will also give you an option to check which ITRs are pending for e-verification.

If you click on the acknowledgment number "Ack. No" then you can check not only ITR-V but also the entire ITR-V form that you had filled while e-filing. You can also download it and keep a copy of it for your records.

This section will also show you whether your e-verification was accepted, and processing is complete or not. If there is a refund claim, then you can click on the "Ack. No." and check the status.