While filing your Income Tax Returns (ITR), it is better if you collate all the documents required in an organised fashion. This makes the process of filing the returns smoother. 

The government gives four months window period to compile all the documents. The deadline for filing ITR for FY19-20 has been extended till November 2020. ITR is a necessary document for people seeking a home loan or a car loan. 

Form 16

For all salaried individuals, Form 16 is the most important document for filing the ITR. This document is issued by the employer to its employees. It is a mandatory document and every employer is liable to issue Form 16 to all its employees from whom income tax has deducted from their salaries. It is a tax deducted at source (TDS) certificate and carries the details of the salary paid to the employee and their TDS.

Now what you must know about Form 16 is that it consists of two parts – Part A and B. Part A is the portion that consists of the income tax deducted by the employer in the financial year. Separately, it has the Permanent Account Number (PAN) details of the employee and the Tax Deduction Account Number (TAN) of the employer. Part B of Form 16 includes the break-up information of the employee’s gross salary.

Form 26AS

Income Tax Department generates an annual consolidated tax statement which is known as 'Form 26AS'. Using PAN, all taxpayers can easily access it from the income-tax website. It contains the amount of the TDS of the salaried class and taxes paid during the financial year (in case of self-employed or businessmen).

Taxpayers can refer to their Form 26AS and tally it with their Form 16 for the amount of taxes they paid to the treasury of the central government while filing the ITR.

Improved 'Form 26AS' introduced by the government last month. It carries details in various categories of an individual’s financial transactions specified in the Statement of Financial Transactions (SFTs).

Certificates related to interest income

Apart from the income from salary, an individual gets income from various interest investments such as savings account deposits and fixed deposits from banks and post office. These financial institutions provide interest certificates/bank statements to their depositors for the same. An individual can claim deduction under section 80TTA of the Income Tax Act up to Rs 10,000 on the interest earned from their savings account held with a bank/post office.

Tax Saving Investments

Those individuals who could not submit their tax-saving investments to their employers during the stated period in the previous financial year will now have to submit the proof of the same directly to the Income Tax (I-T) Department for claiming tax deductions.

These include receipt of life insurance (LIC) premium paid, receipt of medical insurance, Public Provident Fund (PPF) passbook, 5-year FD receipts, mutual funds investment (ELSS), home loan repayment certificate/statement, donation paid receipt, tuition fee paid receipt, etc.

Medical insurance 

Under Section 80D for payment of health insurance premiums, you can claim up to Rs 25,000. These insurance policies could be for yourself, your spouse, or your children. In the case of senior citizens, the limit is Rs 50,000.

You can claim an additional deduction under the Section if you are paying premiums for your parents. The limit is Rs 25,000 if your parents are less than 60 years of age. If your parents are over the age of 60, you can claim a maximum of Rs 0,000 per year.

Other investments

Interest paid on housing loan: Interest on housing loan is eligible for tax saving. This is for a self-occupied house.

Education loan interest payment.