To file ITR-1 Sahaj, log in to the income tax e-filing portal at incometax.gov.in with your PAN, open the return for Assessment Year 2026-27, work through the five pre-filled sections, pay any balance tax, submit, and e-verify within 30 days. The deadline for salaried individuals is July 31, 2026, for income earned during FY 2025-26.1Income Tax Department. Section 139 – Income Tax Department The new tax regime is applied by default, and you can switch to the old regime with a single toggle on the form itself.
Check That ITR-1 Is the Right Form for You
Rule 12 of the Income Tax Rules, 1962, restricts ITR-1 to resident individuals whose total income does not exceed ₹50 lakh.2Indian Kanoon. Income Tax Rules, 1962 – 12. Return of Income and Return of Fringe Benefits The income must come only from salary or pension, one house property, and other sources like bank interest, fixed deposit interest, family pension, or dividends. Agricultural income is allowed only up to ₹5,000 for the year.
Several situations rule ITR-1 out even if you fit the ₹50 lakh limit:
- You are a Non-Resident or Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident.
- You sold shares, mutual funds, property, or any other capital asset during the year.
- You earn from business, profession, or freelancing.
- You were a director in any company at any point during the year, or held unlisted equity shares.
- You own more than one house property.
- You hold assets outside India, have signing authority in a foreign account, or want to claim foreign tax credit.
- You have losses from a previous year that you want to carry forward, including house property losses.3Income Tax Department. Instructions to Form ITR-1 (Sahaj)
If any of these apply, you need ITR-2, ITR-3, or ITR-4 instead. Attempting to file ITR-1 in those situations leads to a defective return notice.
Documents to Keep Open Before You Log In
The portal pre-fills a lot, but you still need your own records to verify the figures. Have these ready:
- Form 16 from your employer, showing salary breakdown and TDS deposits.
- Your Annual Information Statement (AIS), which consolidates TDS, TCS, interest income reported by banks, dividends, mutual fund purchases, specified financial transactions, and GST data tied to your PAN. Access it under Services on the portal.4Income Tax Department. Annual Information Statement (AIS)
- Form 26AS, the tax credit statement, to cross-check TDS against Form 16 and AIS.
- Interest certificates from every bank where you hold a savings account or fixed deposit.
- Investment and premium proofs for anything you plan to claim under Chapter VI-A: life insurance, PPF, ELSS, NPS, health insurance.5Income Tax Department. Deductions
- Home loan interest certificate if you are claiming it on a self-occupied property.
- Your Aadhaar number, required for filing and for the most common e-verification method.
Check the AIS carefully. The department uses it to flag mismatches, so if it shows interest income from a bank you had forgotten about, report that income. Leaving it out is the fastest way to trigger a defective return notice later.
Pick Your Tax Regime
The new tax regime is the default for AY 2026-27, and ITR-1 pre-selects it automatically.6Income Tax Department. File ITR-1 (Sahaj) Online User Manual The slabs for FY 2025-26 under the new regime are:
- Up to ₹4,00,000: Nil
- ₹4,00,001 to ₹8,00,000: 5%
- ₹8,00,001 to ₹12,00,000: 10%
- ₹12,00,001 to ₹16,00,000: 15%
- ₹16,00,001 to ₹20,00,000: 20%
- ₹20,00,001 to ₹24,00,000: 25%
- Above ₹24,00,000: 30%
Salaried filers under the new regime get a ₹75,000 standard deduction. With the Section 87A rebate of up to ₹60,000 on taxable income up to ₹12 lakh, the effective tax-free income threshold for a salaried person reaches ₹12.75 lakh. Under the old regime, the 87A rebate is capped at ₹12,500 on taxable income up to ₹5 lakh, but the full range of Chapter VI-A deductions is available, including 80C, 80D, and HRA exemption.
To choose the old regime, select “Yes” where the form asks whether you want to opt out of the new tax regime. ITR-1 filers do not need to file Form 10-IEA separately, because the toggle on the form itself handles the switch. Run the numbers under both regimes before you decide.
Filing the Return Step by Step
Go to incometax.gov.in and log in with your PAN (which doubles as your user ID) and password. On the Dashboard, open e-File, then Income Tax Returns, then File Income Tax Return. Select Assessment Year 2026-27 and choose “Online” as the mode of filing.6Income Tax Department. File ITR-1 (Sahaj) Online User Manual
If a saved draft exists, the portal offers to resume it. Otherwise, select your filing status as Individual and pick ITR-1 as the form. The portal lists the documents you will need before letting you proceed.
The Five Sections of the Form
ITR-1 is split into five pre-filled sections plus a summary.7Income Tax Department. File ITR-1 (Sahaj) Online User Manual Confirm each one before moving on.
Personal Information. Name, PAN, Aadhaar, address, bank account details, employer category, and the tax regime selection. Most fields are pre-filled from your profile. Verify them line by line. This is also where you opt out of the new regime if you want the old one.
Gross Total Income. Salary from Form 16 and AIS, income from house property, and other sources such as interest and family pension. The portal pre-fills much of this, but check every figure against your own records and add anything the portal missed. Unreported bank interest is the most common gap.
Total Deductions. Chapter VI-A deductions like Section 80C (life insurance, PPF, ELSS), Section 80D (health insurance), and Section 80TTA (savings account interest up to ₹10,000). Enter actual amounts backed by your investment proofs. Under the new regime the portal disables the fields for deductions that no longer apply.
Tax Paid. TDS from Form 26AS and AIS, advance tax paid during the year, and any self-assessment tax. Confirm TDS figures against Form 16 and bank certificates.
Total Tax Liability. The portal computes your tax, applies the Section 87A rebate if eligible, adds the 4% health and education cess, and compares the total against tax already paid. A shortfall can be paid through e-Pay Tax right from the filing screen. An overpayment shows up as a refund amount.
After all five sections are done, click Proceed to review the computation summary. Pay any balance tax before submitting, because filing with unpaid tax attracts interest under Section 234B or 234C. Then click Preview Return, accept the declaration checkbox, and submit.
Pre-Validate a Bank Account for Your Refund
If you expect a refund, pre-validate at least one bank account before you file. Otherwise the refund cannot be credited.8Income Tax Department. My Bank Account User Manual
Under My Profile, open My Bank Account and click Add Bank Account. Enter the account number, select the account type, and provide the IFSC. The bank name and branch auto-populate. Verify the account through Aadhaar OTP, EVC, net banking, or a digital signature. Validation usually completes within 24 hours. Then turn on the Nominate for Refund toggle to mark that account as your refund destination.
The most common cause of failed validation is a name mismatch between your PAN and your bank KYC. If your bank has your name spelled differently or missing a middle name, get it fixed at the bank first. PAN, name, and mobile number must all match.
E-Verify Within 30 Days
Submission is not the end. Every ITR must be e-verified within 30 days of filing, or the return is treated as never filed.9Income Tax Department. How to e-Verify
The fastest route is Aadhaar OTP. If your PAN is linked to Aadhaar, the portal sends a one-time password to the mobile number registered with UIDAI, and verification is instant. Other options include generating an Electronic Verification Code through a pre-validated bank account or demat account, logging in through net banking, or signing with a Digital Signature Certificate.
If none of the electronic options work, print, sign, and mail a physical ITR-V to the Centralized Processing Centre in Bengaluru within the same 30-day window. Miss the deadline and the return becomes invalid, and you would need to file again, potentially as a belated return with late fees. The portal does allow a condonation request with an explanation, but approval is at the department’s discretion.
The Filing Deadline and What Late Filing Costs
For individuals filing ITR-1, the due date is July 31 of the assessment year, which is July 31, 2026, for FY 2025-26 income.1Income Tax Department. Section 139 – Income Tax Department Missing it triggers two separate costs that stack.
A flat late filing fee applies under Section 234F: ₹5,000 if total income exceeds ₹5 lakh, or ₹1,000 if it does not.10Income Tax Department. Penalties Interest also runs under Section 234A at 1% per month, or part of a month, on any unpaid tax from the due date until you file.11Income Tax Department. Interest and Fees
You can still file a belated return under Section 139(4) until December 31, 2026, but you pay the late fee and interest, and you lose the ability to carry forward certain losses. After December 31 the window for that assessment year closes.
What Happens After You File
Once the return is e-verified, the Centralized Processing Centre processes it and sends an intimation under Section 143(1). This notice compares your self-assessed figures against the department’s computation. If they match, the intimation confirms that. If they do not, it spells out the difference and recalculates your tax or refund. The intimation must be issued within nine months from the end of the financial year in which you filed. Additional demand can be paid or challenged through a rectification request under Section 154. A higher refund is credited to your pre-validated bank account.
If You Receive a Defective Return Notice
A notice under Section 139(9) means something structural is wrong with the return, not a tax disagreement. You get 15 days from the notice date to fix the defect and resubmit. Miss the deadline and the return is treated as invalid, with the same consequences as never filing.
The most common triggers for ITR-1 filers:
- Claiming TDS credit for bank interest without reporting the interest as income under Other Sources.
- Income figures that do not align with AIS or Form 26AS.
- Advance tax or self-assessment tax entries that do not reconcile with the department’s records.
- A name that does not match the PAN database, or a wrong PAN.
To respond, log in and go to e-File, then Income Tax Returns, then e-File in Response to Notice. The portal shows the specific defect. Correct it, resubmit, and e-verify the corrected return. The 15-day clock is strict, so treat any 139(9) notice as urgent.