The Income Tax filing season for Assessment Year 2018-19 has started and taxpayers’ tensions are rising! Income tax is a direct tax and is paid by a taxpayer directly to the Government of India. It is mandatory to pay income tax for those who have taxable income. Your tax liability varies depending on your tax slab and the source/sources of income. Filing of the income tax return (ITR) is also important because it is the documented proof of your income. However, you cannot file your return without some documents.

Listed below are 10 important documents which you will need while filing your income tax return:

1. PAN Card


Permanent Account Number or PAN Card is issued by the Income Tax Department. It contains your basic details like Your Name, Father’s Name, Date of Birth and PAN Number. PAN Card is mandatory for the filing of Income Tax Return.

2. Aadhaar Card

Aadhaar is a unique identification document issued by the Government of India. This document consists of your Name, Date of Birth, Address and a unique 12-digit number called the Aadhaar Number. Aadhaar Card details are required for filing of ITR.

3. Salary Slips

Salary Slip is a document on which a taxpayer can find his/her basic salary, TDS amount, Deductions, Dearness Allowance, House Rent Allowance, Travel Allowance, other allowances etc, which are important to file Income Tax Return.

4. Form 16

Form 16, also known as TDS Certificate, is a document that is provided to an employee by their employer. It contains all the details related to an employee’s salary break-up and the TDS deducted on it. It is an important document for salaried individuals to file Income Tax Return. Form 16 also contains the TAN and the PAN number of the employer.

5. Form 26AS

Form 26AS is an auto-generated annual tax statement. It contains the details of tax deducted against the income credited for a relevant financial year against your PAN. You can view and download your Form 26AS from the TRACES website.

6. Interest certificate from Banks and Post office

Interest received from any savings bank account, post office savings account, fixed deposits or recurring deposits are taxable. Thus, you must get the interest certificates from the banks or post office to know what is the total interest amount earned, in case no TDS (tax deducted at source) has been deducted from your salary.

7. Tax-saving proofs

Tax saving investments and expenditures incurred under Section 80C, 80CCC, 80CCD (1) of the I-T Act during the Financial Year 2017-18 can lower your tax liability. Following are some of the investments that can save taxes for you:

# Employees Provident Fund (EPF)

# Public Provident Fund (PPF)

# Investments in ELSS schemes of mutual funds

# Life insurance premium paid

# National Pension System (NPS) etc.

8. Deductions under Section 80D to 80U

Other than investments and expenditures under Section 80C, you can claim deduction under Section 80D to 80U for the various investments and expenditures you have made during a relevant Financial Year. For instance, health insurance premium paid in the FY 2017-18 is eligible for deduction under Section 80D.

9. Home Loan statement

If you have taken a home loan from an authentic financial institution, then in that case you can claim deduction under Section 24 and Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. But you must provide the home loan statement for the same.

10. Capital Gains

Any capital gains earned from the sale of property or mutual funds have to be documented and reported in your income tax return.