1. Match the Big Three: Pre-filled ITR vs. AIS vs. Form 16 / 26ASThink of this as cross-checking your bill before paying.

What to do: Look at the salary income and Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) pre-filled in your ITR. Check if it matches exactly with your Form 16 (from your employer) and your AIS / Form 26AS.

Why it matters: Sometimes, an employer reports TDS late, or there is a clerical error. If the numbers don’t match, the tax department’s automated system will flag your return as defective.

2. Hunt for “Hidden” Income (Savings & FD Interest): The pre-filled system is good, but it doesn’t always catch everything.

What to do: Look at the “Income from Other Sources” section. Check your actual bank passbooks for the financial year. Ensure all Savings Bank Interest and Fixed Deposit (FD) Interest listed in your AIS are correctly reflected in the ITR.

Pro-Tip: Don’t forget to claim the deduction under Section 80TTA (up to ₹10,000) for savings bank interest if you are opting for the Old Tax Regime.

3. Verify Share and Mutual Fund Transactions: If you buy or sell stocks/mutual funds, the tax department knows.

What to do: Check the Capital Gains section in your AIS. It tracks your sale transactions. Ensure that the purchase price (cost of acquisition) and sale price match your broker’s Capital Gains statement.

Why it matters: Sometimes the AIS only tracks the sale value but leaves the purchase value blank or incorrect, making it look like you made a massive 100% profit. You need to manually correct this in the ITR.

4. Check for Incorrect or Duplicate Entries in AIS: The AIS is automated, and bugs happen. Sometimes a single financial transaction is reported twice by two different agencies, making your income look double what it actually is.

What to do: If you spot an entry in your AIS that isn’t yours, or is a duplicate, don’t ignore it. You can click on that specific entry online and submit Feedback (e.g., “Information is denied” or “Duplicate entry”).

Why it matters: Submitting feedback alerts the system to correct it so it doesn’t impact your final tax calculation.

5. Confirm Your Bank Account Details: What to do: Check the pre-filled bank account section. Ensure the account number and IFSC code are correct, and crucially, that the account is validated on the e-filing portal.

Why it matters: If you are owed a tax refund, it will fail to process if the account isn’t pre-validated.

💡 The Golden Rule: The ultimate legal responsibility for the data submitted in the ITR belongs to you, not the system that pre-filled it. Treat the pre-filled data as a helpful draft, edit what is wrong, and only hit submit once your bank statements and Form 16 agree with the final numbers!