New Delhi: If you switched jobs during the financial year and are yet to file your Income Tax Return (ITR), experts say a little extra preparation can help you avoid tax notices, incorrect refund claims or delays in processing. Employees who changed employers often need to consolidate income, tax deducted at source (TDS) and deductions from multiple sources before submitting their returns. With the ITR filing deadline approaching, taxpayers should ensure they have all the necessary documents in place.
Filing returns after changing jobs is not difficult, but it does require additional attention compared to employees who remained with a single employer throughout the year. Here is a checklist of the documents and information you should keep ready before filing your ITR.
Collect Form 16 from all employers
The most important document is Form 16 from every employer you worked with during the financial year.
Each Form 16 contains details of salary paid, tax deducted at source (TDS) and deductions claimed. If you had more than one employer, you must include salary details from all of them while filing your return. Failing to do so may result in under-reporting of income.
Check Form 26AS and AIS
Before filing your return, verify your Form 26AS and Annual Information Statement (AIS).
These documents help confirm whether all TDS entries, salary income, interest income and other financial transactions have been correctly reported. Any mismatch should be resolved before filing the return.
Salary slips from both employers
Keep salary slips from your previous and current employers ready.
They help reconcile salary income, allowances and deductions, especially if there are discrepancies between salary records and Form 16. Salary slips are also useful for verifying exempt allowances such as House Rent Allowance (HRA).
Proof of deductions and investments
Gather documents supporting deductions claimed under various sections of the Income-tax Act.
These may include:
- Life insurance premium receipts
- ELSS investment statements
- Public Provident Fund (PPF) contributions
- National Pension System (NPS) investments
- Health insurance premium receipts
- Home loan interest certificates
- Education loan interest certificates
- Donation receipts, wherever applicable
Keeping these documents ready ensures you can correctly claim eligible tax benefits.
Interest income statements
Do not forget to include income earned outside your salary.
Collect interest certificates from banks, post offices and other financial institutions, along with statements for fixed deposits, savings accounts or other investments that generated taxable income during the year.
Verify tax regime selection
Employees who changed jobs should carefully verify whether they wish to file under the old tax regime or the new tax regime.
The regime selected by an employer for TDS purposes does not automatically become your final choice while filing the return. Taxpayers should compare both options before submitting the ITR.
Review tax liability
Changing jobs can sometimes lead to lower TDS deductions because the new employer may not have complete information about previous salary income.
As a result, some taxpayers may need to pay self-assessment tax before filing their returns. Reviewing total tax liability in advance helps avoid interest and penalties.
Complete e-verification
After successfully submitting the return, taxpayers should complete e-verification through Aadhaar OTP, net banking or other available methods.
Without e-verification, the ITR is treated as incomplete and will not be processed by the Income Tax Department. Taxpayers should also download and save the acknowledgement for future reference.
Conclusion
Switching jobs during the financial year adds a few extra steps to the ITR filing process, but keeping all salary, tax and investment documents organised can make filing smooth and error-free. Reviewing income from all employers, verifying tax credits and completing e-verification will help ensure your return is processed without unnecessary delays.