Documents Required for ITR Filing for Salaried Employees
If you receive a salary, most of your return is already prepared by your employer. Form 16 carries most of the figures. Your job is to check that the figures are right, add any income that was not on your salary, and claim the deductions you are entitled to.
This list covers what a salaried employee usually needs. It is a shorter version of the full ITR checklist.
How do you collect a salaried client's documents?
For salaried clients, send this list with one upload link and a separate access code. Clients usually have most documents within a few days. Ask for the rest once, and close the request when the file is complete.
Core documents
Your PAN and Aadhaar, with the mobile number linked to Aadhaar.
Form 16 from your employer. It should show the salary paid and the tax deducted.
Salary slips for the year, or for the months since your employer's Form 16 was issued.
Your bank account details, with a statement that shows the account number for refunds.
If you changed jobs during the year
You will usually have one Form 16 from each employer. Send them all. Also send the salary slips for the last month with each employer, so the figures can be matched.
Keep the relieving letters and any letters showing the start and end dates of each job.
Income other than salary
Interest certificates from banks and post offices, including interest on savings accounts and fixed deposits.
Your annual tax credit and information statements, which show the income the department has on record. Check them against your own figures.
Capital gains statements, if you sold shares, mutual funds or property during the year.
Rent received, if you let out a property.
Deductions and investment proofs
These matter only if the regime you are under allows the deduction you want to claim. Under the new tax regime, most deductions are not available, so the investment proofs matter less. Check the regime before you collect anything.
If the deduction applies to you, collect the proof for each one. Life insurance, health insurance, home loan certificates, rent receipts for house rent allowance, and receipts for provident funds and tax-saving schemes are the usual ones.
Common mistakes
The most frequent error is missing the Form 16 from a previous employer. Ask at the start whether the client changed jobs. The second is mixing up the tax regime. Confirm which regime the client chose before collecting deduction proofs. The third is forgetting interest on savings accounts, which many salaried clients do not think of as income.
Questions people ask
I changed jobs mid-year. What do I need?
Form 16 from each employer, the salary slips from each employer, and the relieving letters. Your CA can then match the income across the two employers.
Do I need proof for every investment?
Only if the deduction applies and you plan to claim it. Collect the proof for each deduction you claim, and nothing more.
Can my employer provide everything?
Your employer provides Form 16 and the salary records. The rest, such as interest certificates and investment proofs, usually comes from you or from the institutions involved.
