For salaried employees, income tax return (ITR) filing is generally seen as a straightforward process, primarily because most salary details and tax deductions are captured in Form 16 issued by the employer. However, with the increasing digitisation of tax reporting through Form 26AS, AIS (annual information statement), and TIS (taxpayer information summary), the income tax department now has access to a much wider set of financial information, including interest income, dividends, capital gains, high-value transactions, foreign remittances, and other reported data. As a result, even a small mismatch or omission in the return can lead to tax notices, additional tax liability, interest, and penalty exposure.
Further, employees who have changed jobs, opted for the wrong tax regime, claimed deductions without adequate proof, failed to report capital gains, or overlooked foreign assets may end up facing substantial tax demands. Therefore, ITR filing is no longer a mere compliance formality based only on Form 16, but requires a careful reconciliation of all income, deductions, tax credits and disclosures to ensure that the return is accurate and complete.
