# What Must You Verify Before Submitting Your ITR for AY 2026-27? **Category:** Tax Guide | **Published:** 2026-06-29 | **Last reviewed:** 2026-06-29 | **Author:** Mr. Rohan Kale Before you submit your ITR for AY 2026-27, reconcile salary, TDS, and interest across Form 16, Form 26AS, and the AIS, confirm you hold proof for every deduction, pre-validate your refund bank account, link PAN with Aadhaar, and clear any self-assessment tax. A figure that does not match what the department already holds is the most common trigger for an automated adjustment under Section 143(1) or a stalled refund. The due date is 31 July 2026, and the return must be e-verified within 30 days. > **Myth:** The portal pre-fills my return, so I can just review the totals and submit. > > **Fact:** Pre-filled data is the department's view, not proof your return is right. An unreconciled gap between your ITR, Form 26AS, and the AIS is the most common trigger for an automated adjustment under [Section 143(1)](https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/Pages/acts/income-tax-act.aspx) or a held refund. ## Why reconcile your figures before you submit? > **Short answer:** The portal processes every return under [Section 143(1)](https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/Pages/acts/income-tax-act.aspx). A figure in your ITR that does not match Form 26AS or the AIS triggers an automated adjustment or holds your refund. Fix mismatches before you submit, not after a notice lands. Submitting starts an automated match. The department compares your declared income and tax against what employers, banks, and registrars already reported, so reconciling each figure first keeps the return moving instead of stalling on a query. ## Which figures must match across Form 16, Form 26AS, and the AIS? > **Short answer:** Salary, TDS, and interest are the three the department cross-checks. [Form 26AS](https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/) is the authority for tax deposited against your PAN; the AIS is the broadest view of income reported. When two documents disagree, [Form 16 vs Form 26AS vs AIS](/answers/form-16-26as-ais-which-to-use-itr) sets out which one wins. | Figure | Cross-check | If it does not match | | --- | --- | --- | | Salary and TDS | Form 16 against Form 26AS | Claim only the TDS shown in Form 26AS; the rest is not creditable to you | | Interest income | AIS against bank and post-office certificates | Add any interest the AIS shows but you missed; the department already has it | | Advance and self-assessment tax | Your challans against Form 26AS | An unmatched challan leaves a tax demand standing against you | | High-value transactions | AIS against your own records | Submit AIS feedback on the portal for any entry that is wrong or not yours | *Resolve every mismatch on the portal before you file. A correction raised after submission cannot undo an adjustment already made.* ## What income does the AIS already show that filers forget? > **Short answer:** Savings and fixed-deposit interest, post-office interest, and dividends. All of it reaches the AIS through bank and company filings, even when no TDS was cut. - Savings-bank interest: taxable in full and reported in the AIS, even though no TDS is deducted on it. - Fixed-deposit and recurring-deposit interest: the bank reports it, so leaving it off is an immediate mismatch. - Post-office and bond interest: often missed because no statement arrives; the AIS still carries it. - Dividends: taxable in your hands since FY 2020-21 and listed in the AIS line by line. ## Are your deduction proofs actually in hand? > **Short answer:** Claim a deduction only if you hold the proof. The portal does not ask for it at filing, but the department can later. These Chapter VI-A deductions apply only if you opt for the old regime; the new regime, the default for AY 2026-27, does not allow most of them. - Section 80C: PPF, ELSS, life-insurance, and principal-repayment receipts, up to ₹1.5 lakh. - Section 80D: health-insurance premium receipts for the year. - Section 80TTA: savings-account interest, deductible up to ₹10,000. - HRA: keep your [rent receipts](/rent-receipt-for-itr), plus your landlord's PAN if annual rent crosses ₹1 lakh. Missed the employer window? You can still [claim HRA in your ITR](/answers/claim-hra-in-itr-after-employer-deadline). - No HRA in your salary? Claim rent under [Section 80GG](/answers/section-80gg-rent-deduction-no-hra), which needs Form 10BA filed before you submit. ## What account and tax checks must clear first? > **Short answer:** Pre-validate your refund bank account, link PAN with Aadhaar, and pay any balance as self-assessment tax under [Section 140A](https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/Pages/acts/income-tax-act.aspx) before you submit. - Refund account: only a pre-validated bank account, with the name matching your PAN, can receive a refund. Validate it on the portal ahead of time. - PAN-Aadhaar link: an unlinked PAN is inoperative, which stalls processing and any refund due to you. - Self-assessment tax: if the computation shows a balance, pay it and enter the challan before submitting, or the return carries a tax demand. ## What is the one step left after you submit? > **Short answer:** E-verify within 30 days. An unverified return is treated as never filed. Verify with Aadhaar OTP, net banking, or a bank EVC. The full filing sequence is in [how to file ITR-1 step by step](/answers/itr-1-filing-step-by-step-ay-2026-27). The due date for AY 2026-27 is 31 July 2026 under [Section 139](https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/Pages/acts/income-tax-act.aspx). ## Primary sources - [Section 139, Income Tax Act 1961 — Income Tax Department](https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/Pages/acts/income-tax-act.aspx) — Obligation to furnish the return; 31 July due date for individuals not subject to audit. - [Section 143(1), Income Tax Act 1961 — Income Tax Department](https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/Pages/acts/income-tax-act.aspx) — Processing of return and intimation; automated adjustment where the return is inconsistent with information available. - [Annual Information Statement (AIS) — Income Tax e-Filing portal](https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/) — AIS reports salary, interest, dividend, securities, and high-value transactions against the PAN. - [Section 140A, Income Tax Act 1961 — Income Tax Department](https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/Pages/acts/income-tax-act.aspx) — Self-assessment tax must be paid before furnishing the return. - [How to e-Verify (e-Filing services) — Income Tax e-Filing portal](https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/) — A filed return must be e-verified within 30 days, failing which it is treated as not furnished. --- *Source: [What Must You Verify Before Submitting Your ITR for AY 2026-27?](https://hrareceipt.in/answers/itr-pre-submission-checklist-ay-2026-27) — HRAReceipt.in* *This Markdown mirror is published for AI-crawler ingestion. 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