How to File ITR Online: Step-by-Step on the e-Filing Portal

To file your income tax return (ITR) online, log in to the Income Tax Department's e-filing portal (incometax.gov.in) with your PAN or Aadhaar, go to e-File > Income Tax Returns > File Income Tax Return, pick the assessment year and your ITR form, check the pre-filled income and tax data against your documents, pay any balance tax, submit, and e-verify within 30 days. A salaried person with Form 16 and no complex income can usually finish in under an hour.

This is the screen-by-screen walkthrough. If you still need to gather your papers, start with our ITR filing checklist, which covers documents, forms and due dates in detail.

Which return are you filing in October 2026?

The Income-tax Act, 2025 took effect on 1 April 2026, so two sets of rules are live:

Most people reading this in late 2026 are either filing a belated return for FY 2025-26 or preparing for next year. The portal steps are the same for both.

Before you log in

Keep these ready, because the portal pre-fills most fields but cannot know what is missing:

• PAN linked to Aadhaar, and the mobile number registered with Aadhaar for OTPs
• Form 16 from each employer (for tax year 2026-27 onward it is called Form 130)
• AIS, TIS and Form 26AS, downloaded from the portal itself
• Bank interest certificates and a capital gains statement if you sold shares or mutual fund units
• A pre-validated bank account for any refund (check under Profile > My Bank Account)

Our guide to Form 16, AIS and 26AS shows how to reconcile them before you start.

Step-by-step: filing ITR on the e-filing portal

Step 1: Log in

Open incometax.gov.in and log in with your PAN (or Aadhaar) as the user ID and your password, or through net banking. First-time users register with PAN first.

Step 2: Start a new return

Go to e-File > Income Tax Returns > File Income Tax Return. Select:

• Assessment year: AY 2026-27 for income of FY 2025-26
• Mode of filing: Online (or Offline if you use the downloadable utility, which suits ITR-2 and ITR-3 filers with many entries)

Click Start New Filing. If you saved a draft earlier, choose Resume Filing instead.

Step 3: Select status and form

Choose Individual, then pick your ITR form. If you are unsure, the portal's "Help me decide" option asks a few questions. In broad terms:

Form eligibility is notified each year, so confirm on the portal before you choose.

Step 4: Give the reason for filing

Select why you are filing: taxable income above the basic exemption limit, or a specified condition such as high electricity bills or foreign travel spending, or to claim a refund.

Step 5: Confirm the tax regime

In the personal information section you will see the regime question. The new regime is the default. Points to note:

• A salaried person without business income can opt for the old regime only in a return filed by the original due date. In a belated return for FY 2025-26, the new regime applies.
• People with business income opt out of the new regime through a separate form before the due date, and switching back is restricted.

Our new vs old tax regime guide has breakeven tables if you are deciding for next year.

Step 6: Validate the pre-filled sections

The portal pre-fills five blocks. Open each one and confirm it:

1. Personal information: address, bank account, regime choice
2. Gross total income: salary from Form 16, house property, other sources such as savings and FD interest and dividends, and capital gains
3. Total deductions: mostly old-regime deductions. In the new regime the main ones left are the employer's NPS contribution and a few others
4. Taxes paid: TDS, TCS, advance tax and self-assessment tax as shown in Form 26AS
5. Total tax liability: the computed tax, rebate, interest and fee

The most common errors happen in block 2. Pre-filled salary is correct only if your employer filed its TDS returns properly. Interest is often under-filled. Add anything AIS shows that is missing, unless you have checked that the AIS entry is wrong, and in that case give feedback on AIS.

Step 7: Pay any tax due

If the summary shows tax payable, click Pay Now. This opens e-Pay Tax, where you pay self-assessment tax by net banking, UPI, debit card or at the bank counter. For a belated return, pay the late fee in the same way. The challan details then flow back into your return. Do not submit a return with tax still payable, because it will be treated as defective.

Step 8: Preview and submit

Click Preview Return, read the full draft once, tick the declaration and click Proceed to Validation. Fix any error the portal flags, then submit.

Step 9: E-verify within 30 days

Submission is not the end. Choose an e-verification method:

• Aadhaar OTP (the fastest for most people)
• EVC through a pre-validated bank account or demat account
• Net banking login
• Digital signature certificate

If none works, you can sign the ITR-V and send it by speed post to CPC Bengaluru within 30 days. A return verified after 30 days is treated as filed on the date of verification.

Step 10: Track processing

Under e-File > Income Tax Returns > View Filed Returns, track the status. You will get an intimation by email once it is processed. If the refund is slow, see our guide on an income tax refund that is delayed.

Worked example: a belated return to claim a refund (illustrative)

Rohan, salaried, did not file for FY 2025-26 because his employer deducted no tax from salary. In October 2026 he checks AIS and finds FD interest of ₹60,000 on which the bank deducted 10% TDS, or ₹6,000.

Rohan must pay the ₹5,000 fee through e-Pay Tax before he files, and can then claim the ₹6,000 TDS back as a refund. His net gain is about ₹1,000. Had he filed by 31 July 2026, he would have kept the full ₹6,000 and paid no fee. You can check your own numbers with our income tax calculator.

Mistakes to avoid on the portal

• Trusting pre-filled data blindly. It reflects what others reported, not necessarily all your income.
• Claiming old-regime deductions in a new-regime return. The portal may accept the entry, but processing will disallow it.
• Forgetting to e-verify. An unverified return is treated as not filed.
• Refund to an unvalidated account. Validate the bank account before you submit.
• Filing twice instead of revising. To correct a filed return, file a revised return by 31 December 2026. See how to revise a return.

Key takeaways

• File on incometax.gov.in via e-File > Income Tax Returns > File Income Tax Return, then choose the year, form and mode.
• As of October 2026, FY 2025-26 returns can still be filed late until 31 December 2026, with a fee of up to ₹5,000 under the old Act.
• A belated return without business income is taxed under the new regime. The old regime needs a return filed on time.
• Check every pre-filled block against AIS, Form 26AS and your own records, and pay any balance before submitting.
• E-verify within 30 days, usually by Aadhaar OTP, or the return does not count.
• Returns for tax year 2026-27 will be filed in 2027 under Section 263 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, using Form 130 in place of Form 16.