How to File Income Tax Form 10E: Relief Under Section 89(1)

To file Form 10E, log in to the Income Tax e-filing portal at incometax.gov.in with your PAN, open Form 10E under e-File → Income Tax Forms → File Income Tax Forms, select the assessment year that follows the financial year in which you received the arrears, fill in only the Annexure that matches your type of income, submit the form, and complete e-verification. Do all of this before you file your ITR for that year, because if you claim Section 89(1) relief in the return without a filed Form 10E on record, the department will process the ITR and disallow the relief.1Income Tax Department. Form 10E FAQ

Form 10E is filed online only; there is no paper option. The relief itself is available whether you file under the old regime or the new regime under Section 115BAC, but the form must be on the portal first either way.

Pick the Right Annexure Before You Start

Form 10E is organized into separate Annexures, and you fill only the one that matches the income you received. Choosing the wrong one is a common filing error, so confirm the category before you open the form.

  • Annexure I: salary received in arrears, family pension received in arrears, or salary received in advance.2Income Tax Department. Form 10E User Manual
  • Annexure II: gratuity for past services extending over five years or more but less than fifteen years.3Income Tax Department, Government of India. Form 10E
  • Annexure IIA: gratuity for past services extending over fifteen years or more.
  • Annexure III: compensation from your employer at or in connection with termination of employment, where you had continuous service of at least three years or the unexpired portion of your employment term was at least three years.3Income Tax Department, Government of India. Form 10E
  • Annexure IV: commuted pension payments.

The gratuity split trips people up. Twelve years of service goes in Annexure II. Sixteen years goes in Annexure IIA. Fifteen years is the dividing line.

What to Gather Before You Log In

The portal calculates the relief for you, but only if you enter the right figures. Collect everything below in advance so you do not have to abandon the form partway through.

  • Form 16 for the current financial year and for each prior year the arrears relate to. These carry your total taxable income figures.
  • A salary slip or arrear statement from your employer breaking down how much of the lump sum belongs to each prior year. If it is not on Form 16, ask HR or payroll.
  • The total taxable income figure, not gross salary, for each relevant prior year. Pull this from your filed ITRs or Form 16 for those years.
  • Your PAN, which serves as the User ID on the portal, and your Aadhaar linked to the portal if you intend to verify by Aadhaar OTP.
  • The mobile number registered with the e-filing portal and linked to Aadhaar, for OTP-based verification.

For gratuity, termination compensation, or commuted pension claims, keep documentation of your length of service, the amount received, and the date of payment. The portal prompts for the specific fields as you fill the relevant Annexure.

Filing Form 10E on the Portal

Once you have the documents in front of you, the flow on the portal is straightforward.2Income Tax Department. Form 10E User Manual

  • Log in at incometax.gov.in using your PAN as User ID and your password.
  • Click e-File, then Income Tax Forms, then File Income Tax Forms. Search for or select Form 10E.
  • Select the assessment year that corresponds to the financial year in which you received the arrears. If you received the payment in FY 2025–26, the correct AY is 2026–27.
  • Confirm the pre-filled personal information (name, PAN, address) and click Save.
  • Open only the tab for your situation: Arrears Salary, Advance Salary, Gratuity, Compensation on Termination, or Commutation of Pension. Enter the years the income relates to, the total taxable income for each of those years, and the amount received. The portal calculates the relief automatically from what you enter.
  • Click Preview and check the completed form and the calculated relief. Go back and edit anything that looks wrong before moving on.
  • Click Proceed to e-Verify to submit and open the verification step.

E-Verifying the Form

Form 10E is not valid until you complete e-verification. The portal offers several methods:4Income Tax Department. How to e-Verify User Manual

  • Aadhaar OTP sent to the mobile number registered with your Aadhaar.
  • Electronic Verification Code generated through a pre-validated bank account or demat account linked to the portal.
  • EVC generated at a bank ATM.
  • Net banking, by accessing the e-filing portal from within your bank’s net banking session.
  • A registered Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) uploaded to the portal.

After verification, the portal confirms submission and sends an acknowledgment to your registered email. Download and save the acknowledgment. You may need it later if the department raises a query.

Mistakes That Get the Relief Disallowed

The single most common error is claiming Section 89(1) relief in the ITR without filing Form 10E first. The return will be processed, but the relief will be stripped out, and you can end up with a demand notice.1Income Tax Department. Form 10E FAQ Get the Form 10E acknowledgment in hand before you touch the ITR.

Selecting the wrong assessment year is the next trap. The AY is always one year ahead of the financial year in which you received the payment.

Mismatched figures between Form 10E, the ITR, and Form 16 will trigger a notice from the Centralized Processing Centre. The total income and arrears amounts must line up across all three. Compare them line by line before you submit.

And do not skip the download. If the department later asks for proof that Form 10E was filed, the acknowledgment receipt is what proves it. Save it with your tax records for that assessment year.