The slowest filings are the ones with missing paperwork
Every July, the longest filings in our Baner office aren't the complex ones — they are the ones where the taxpayer arrives without their full document set and we spend three days chasing the gaps. A clean filing starts with a 30-minute collection routine before you sit down to file. Here is the checklist we use for every client, organised by what applies to your profile.
What every filer needs (regardless of profile)
These five items apply to every taxpayer for AY 2026-27. Collect them first.
- PAN and Aadhaar. Aadhaar-PAN linked status confirmed on the income-tax portal — unlinked PAN is inoperative and blocks filing.
- Mobile number linked to Aadhaar. This is the fastest e-verification path; if your number has changed, sort it before filing, not after.
- Pre-validated bank account on the income-tax portal, in your name. Refunds are paid only to a validated account; a small validation step now saves a refund delay later.
- Form 26AS, AIS and TIS downloaded from the portal — the foundation of your pre-filing reconciliation.
- Login credentials for the income-tax portal (or your CA's authorisation).
If you are salaried
- Form 16 (Part A and Part B) from every employer you worked with during FY 2025-26. Job-switchers will have two — see how to combine two Form 16s.
- Salary slips for any month where Form 16 figures look off, especially January–March if you switched.
- Form 12B (previous employer salary declaration) if you joined a new employer mid-year.
- Rent receipts and rent agreement if you claim HRA, plus your landlord's PAN for annual rent above ₹1 lakh — see how to claim HRA right.
- Home-loan interest certificate from your bank, separating principal (80C) from interest (Section 24(b)).
- 80C investment proofs: EPF/VPF statement, PPF passbook, ELSS purchase confirmations, life-insurance premium receipts, NSC certificates, tuition-fee receipts.
- 80D medical-insurance premium receipts, including any premium paid for senior-citizen parents.
- 80CCD(1B) NPS contribution statement for the additional ₹50,000 deduction.
- Form 10-IEA acknowledgement if you opted for the old regime with business income.
If you have capital gains
- Capital-gains statement (P&L) from every broker and AMC for FY 2025-26 — Zerodha Console, Groww, Upstox, Angel, Kuvera and so on.
- Demat-wise transaction list for any switches or off-market transfers.
- Sale deed and purchase deed for any property sale, plus stamp-duty receipt and brokerage invoices — see the 12.5% vs 20% choice.
- Section 194-IA TDS challan (1% deducted by the buyer on property sales above ₹50 lakh).
- Improvement-cost proofs (renovation invoices, plumbing, woodwork) for indexed cost adjustments on long-held property.
- Valuation report from a registered valuer if you are claiming the 1 April 2001 fair-market-value option on inherited property.
- Form 16A for any TDS deducted on debt-fund redemptions or interest.
If you trade F&O or intraday
- Broker's tax P&L including the turnover statement (favourable + unfavourable differences plus options premium received) — most brokers offer this directly.
- Contract notes for the year (kept for at least three years).
- Expense receipts — internet, advisory subscriptions, exchange/SEBI charges, depreciation on the trading setup — see F&O business-income rules.
- Bank statements of accounts used for trading.
If you have RSUs or ESOPs
- Equity-portal statements (E*TRADE, Fidelity, Morgan Stanley, Computershare) for all grants, vests and sales during FY 2025-26.
- 1042-S / 1099-DIV for US-listed grants — dividend and withholding data.
- Form 67 workings if you will claim foreign tax credit — see Form 67 mechanics.
- Sell-to-cover details from your payroll, showing the perquisite added to salary at vesting — see RSU and ESOP taxation.
- Schedule FA support — account numbers, peak balance during the year, initial investment value — see Schedule FA disclosure.
If you have other income heads
- Interest certificates from every bank, post office and cooperative society, plus FD-specific statements.
- Dividend statements from listed companies and MFs.
- Rental income: rent received, municipal taxes paid, home-loan interest on let-out property (no ₹2-lakh cap on let-out).
- Gifts received above ₹50,000 from non-relatives.
If you are NRI or have foreign assets
- Passport pages showing arrival and departure dates for FY 2025-26 — your residential-status determination depends on day-count.
- Foreign salary slips, bank statements and tax-payment proof for any foreign income that is taxable in India.
- Foreign brokerage and bank statements for Schedule FA — every foreign account, share holding, RSU, pension and property held at any time during the calendar year.
- Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) from your country of residence if claiming DTAA benefits.
The 30-minute pre-filing checklist
Before you (or we) sit down to file, run this sequence:
- Download the latest AIS, TIS and Form 26AS — figures often shift through the season as third parties update returns.
- Reconcile each major income line against your own statements. Where the AIS overstates, file feedback in the portal.
- Pre-validate your bank account in the portal; refunds only flow to validated accounts.
- Confirm Aadhaar-PAN linkage and that your mobile is Aadhaar-linked for OTP e-verification.
- Collect every deduction proof in one folder so the regime computation has its real ammunition.
This 30-minute discipline routinely saves a week of back-and-forth at filing time and prevents the most common post-filing notice triggers.
Pune note: bring the documents to one place
At RDA Tax Advisory Services in Baner, our document-collection step is built into the filing process. We send each client a profile-specific checklist before any work begins — a salaried Hinjewadi engineer gets a different list to a Kharadi consultant who freelances on the side, who gets a different list again to an NRI selling a Pune flat. We collect everything over WhatsApp and email, organise it once, and reconcile against your AIS before filing. The single biggest enquiry-saver in tax season is bringing a complete document set the first time. Visit us at Office No. 102, Snehraj Apartment, Baner, Pune 411045, or call +91 77570 45059.
Send us your documents — we'll handle the rest
Have your Form 16, AIS and capital-gains statements ready? Send them on WhatsApp and we'll file your AY 2026-27 return cleanly before 31 July 2026. Book your filing at rdatax.in or call +91 77570 45059 — RDA Tax Advisory Services, Baner, Pune.
