In this post we go over the kind of documents a typical salaried tax payer needs to file her tax returns.
PAN number

Verify your PAN number online with the Income Tax Department before filing your Income Tax Return by going to this link: https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/portal/knowpan.do

Form-16 issued by your employer

A Form-16 is a statement issued by your employer which has details of your Salary, the taxable salary amount after various perks and allowances, the TDS deducted by your employer, the deductions you have claimed and the overall tax due. TDS is Tax Deducted at Source. Your employer will have already deducted some portion of your salary and deposited it with the Income Tax Department. This is a good starting point to start preparing your tax return.

Bank statements / passbook for Interest Income on bank deposits

Note that you have to declare all Interest Income earned in the Financial Year in your Income Tax Return. A lot of people forget to do this, so please go through your bank statements and find out the Interest received.

TDS certificates issued to you by your bank and others

TDS may have been deducted on your Interest Income by your bank. Check whether any TDS was deducted. You can ask the Bank to issue you a TDS statement. Declare these TDS entries in your Tax Return to reduce your tax liability.

Form 26AS

This is one of the most important documents that you should look at while preparing and filing your Income Tax Return.

Form 26AS reflects all the Income Tax received by the Income Tax Department with respect to you. This is a tax credit statement which shows TDS payments, voluntary tax payments made by you.