Filing your first ITR as a salaried employee, step by step

Why a salaried person files at all

If your employer deducts tax and your income is below the taxable limit, it is tempting to think nothing more is required. Filing is still worth doing for three reasons. It is how you claim a refund if too much tax was deducted. It builds the paper trail banks ask for when you apply for a home loan or a visa. And in some cases it is mandatory, for example when you have earned income from more than one place or have capital gains.

This guide covers the usual first-time case: a resident individual with salary, some bank interest and perhaps a few mutual fund redemptions. Returns for FY 2025-26 (assessment year 2026-27) are still filed under the Income-tax Act, 1961, even though the new Income-tax Act, 2025 has applied to income since 1 April 2026. That is why you will see the old section numbers on this year's forms.

Step 1: gather the documents

Keep these ready before you open the portal:

• Form 16 from your employer, which summarises salary and tax deducted. If you changed jobs, you need one from each employer.
• Your AIS and Form 26AS, downloaded from the e-filing portal. They list the tax deducted in your name and the interest, dividends and securities transactions reported by banks and brokers. Our explainer on Form 26AS, AIS and TIS shows how to read them.
• Bank interest certificates for savings and fixed deposits.
• Proofs for deductions only if you plan to use the old regime (80C, health insurance and so on).
• A pre-validated bank account for any refund, and your Aadhaar linked to your PAN.

Step 2: pick the right form

The Income Tax Department's help page on applicable forms lists what each form is for. The short version:

According to the portal's ITR-1 guidance, ITR-1 is not available if you have short-term capital gains, or long-term gains under section 112A above ₹1.25 lakh. If you redeemed equity funds last year, check this before you start. Our post on whether switching funds is a taxable event explains why even a switch can create a gain.

Step 3: choose a regime with a worked example

The new regime is the default. Under it you get a standard deduction of ₹75,000 as a salaried person, and the slabs for FY 2026-27 run as follows: nil up to ₹4 lakh, then 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30% in ₹4 lakh steps, with 30% above ₹24 lakh. The old regime has a ₹50,000 standard deduction but allows deductions such as section 80C (now section 123 of the 2025 Act).

An illustration, with assumed numbers: a salary of ₹10 lakh and no deductions. Under the new regime, taxable income is ₹9.25 lakh after the standard deduction, so the slab tax is ₹20,000 plus ₹12,500, which is ₹32,500. The rebate in the new regime then cancels it, because taxable income is below ₹12 lakh (see our section 87A explainer), so you pay nothing. The old regime would need large deductions to match that. Run your own numbers in the old vs new regime calculator and read our regime comparison for FY 2026-27.

Choose before the due date. As a salaried person you can switch regimes from year to year, but the choice is made in the return you file on time.

Step 4: file and verify

1. Log in to the e-filing portal at incometax.gov.in and start the return for the correct assessment year.
2. Let the portal pre-fill salary, interest and TDS data, then check every line against Form 16 and AIS. Pre-filled does not mean correct.
3. Add income the pre-fill missed, such as interest from a bank that did not report it.
4. Select your regime, review the tax computation and pay any balance as self-assessment tax.
5. Submit, then e-verify within 30 days. The portal's guidance says a manual route exists too (a signed ITR-V by post), but Aadhaar OTP takes a minute.

A return is not complete until it is verified. People who file and forget are the commonest source of "I filed but my refund never came".

Deadlines, as of October 2026

For assessment year 2026-27 the normal due date for ITR-1 and ITR-2 was 31 July 2026. If you missed it, a belated return can be filed until 31 December 2026, with a late fee of ₹1,000 if total income is up to ₹5 lakh and ₹5,000 otherwise. Interest also runs on any tax still unpaid. Our post on belated and revised returns covers what you lose by filing late. Rules and dates change, so confirm them on the portal before you rely on this.

What to do after filing

Keep Form 16, the acknowledgement and any proofs for several years. Next year, set a calendar reminder for mid-June, when employers must issue Form 16, and review common filing mistakes before you submit. If your income grows beyond what salary tax covers, read how advance tax and TDS work, and use the income tax calculator to estimate each year.

Three slips first-time filers make

Reporting only what Form 16 shows. Form 16 covers salary from one employer. Savings interest, FD interest, dividends and any fund redemptions sit outside it, and the department already sees most of them in your AIS. Add them yourself, under "income from other sources" or capital gains.

Mixing up the regime in the middle. Claiming 80C or HRA while the return is on the new regime does nothing; those deductions are not allowed there. If you want them, you must choose the old regime first. Our guide to HRA exemption shows what you would need to claim it.

Forgetting to e-verify. The return is not filed until it is verified. Do it the same day, and save the acknowledgement PDF.

A last habit worth building: after the return is processed, compare the intimation you receive with what you filed. If the department's figure differs, respond on the portal rather than ignoring it.

This article is for education only and is not tax advice. Tax rules, limits and deadlines change; verify current figures on the Income Tax Department's website or with a qualified professional before you file.