Here's how to file ITR online in simple steps: log in to the official income tax e-filing portal with your PAN, check Form 26AS and AIS to confirm your TDS and income details, select the correct ITR form (ITR-1 for most salaried individuals with total income up to ₹50 lakh), fill in your income, deductions, and taxes paid, and submit the return. E-verify it within 30 days using Aadhaar OTP or net banking, as the return is treated as valid only after verification. If you have capital gains, more than one house property, or business income, you will generally need ITR-2 or ITR-3 instead.

For the return covering FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27), the ITR filing due date for individuals whose accounts do not require a tax audit is 31 July 2026, unless the government extends it as it has done in recent years. If you miss it, you can still file a belated return, usually until 31 December of the assessment year, by paying a late fee under Section 234F. Because deadlines have shifted in the past, always confirm the current date on the official e-filing portal before filing.

Income tax return filing is the process of declaring your total income, deductions, and taxes already paid (such as TDS) to the Income Tax Department for a financial year. Filing is mandatory once your income crosses the basic exemption limit, which differs under the old and new tax regimes. For example, a salaried employee reports salary income, claims deductions like 80C, and declares the TDS deducted by the employer in a single return. Filing on time also lets you claim refunds, carry forward losses, and use the ITR as income proof for loans and visas.

To check income tax return status, log in to the e-filing portal and go to e-File → Income Tax Returns → View Filed Returns. The status will show as submitted and pending e-verification, e-verified, processed, defective, or refund issued. If it shows "defective," respond to the notice within the stated deadline, otherwise the return is treated as invalid. Once a refund is issued, it normally reaches your pre-validated bank account within a few weeks.

The most common ITR filing login problems are an incorrect password, using the wrong portal URL, a mistyped captcha, or heavy traffic close to the filing deadline. Use your PAN as the user ID, reset the password through the OTP sent to your registered mobile number and email, clear your browser cache or try incognito mode, and avoid peak hours around the due date. If your registered mobile number or email has changed, complete the contact re-verification process the portal offers before trying again.

Yes, the official e-filing portal has a language option at the top that lets you switch between English and Hindi, so you can complete ITR filing in Hindi if you are more comfortable with it. The department also publishes many forms, instructions, and help resources in Hindi, and the taxpayer helpline provides assistance in Hindi as well. Watching a step-by-step walkthrough in Hindi before starting can make the process even easier.

Capital gains tax in India is the tax you pay on the profit earned from selling a capital asset such as property, gold, shares, or mutual fund units. Whether the gain is short-term or long-term depends on the holding period — listed shares and equity mutual funds turn long-term after 12 months, while immovable property turns long-term after 24 months. The two categories are taxed at different rates, and certain reinvestment exemptions can reduce or even eliminate the tax.

The capital gains tax rate depends on the asset and how long you held it. Short-term gains on listed shares and equity mutual funds are taxed at 20%, while long-term gains on them are taxed at 12.5% on gains exceeding ₹1.25 lakh in a financial year. Long-term gains on property, gold, and most other assets are taxed at 12.5% without indexation, and short-term gains on such assets are added to your regular income and taxed at your slab rate.

The capital gains tax on sale of property depends on the holding period. If you sell after 24 months, the gain is long-term and taxed at 12.5% without indexation — and if the property was bought before 23 July 2024, resident individuals and HUFs can instead opt for 20% tax with indexation. Gains on property held for 24 months or less are taxed at your income slab rate. You can reduce the tax through exemptions such as Section 54 (reinvesting in another residential house) or Section 54EC capital gain bonds, and note that the buyer must deduct 1% TDS when the sale value is ₹50 lakh or more.

The capital gains tax on mutual funds depends on the type of fund and the holding period. For equity funds, units held for more than 12 months earn long-term gains taxed at 12.5% after the first ₹1.25 lakh of gains each financial year, while short-term gains are taxed at 20%. Debt fund units purchased after 1 April 2023 are taxed at your slab rate regardless of how long you hold them. Hybrid funds are taxed like equity funds only if at least 65% of the portfolio is in equity.

A capital gain is the sale price minus the cost of acquisition, the cost of any improvement, and expenses of transfer; for long-term gains where indexation applies, the original cost is inflated using the Cost Inflation Index before the deduction. The resulting gain is then taxed at the rate applicable to that asset class. Eligible capital losses are adjusted first — short-term losses against both short-term and long-term gains, but long-term losses only against long-term gains — and exemptions such as Sections 54, 54EC, and 54F further reduce the taxable amount.

The legitimate way to avoid capital gains tax is to use the exemptions the law already provides. Reinvest long-term gains from a house sale into another residential house under Section 54, or into specified capital gain bonds such as REC and PFC bonds within six months under Section 54EC, up to ₹50 lakh. For listed shares and equity mutual funds, long-term gains up to ₹1.25 lakh every financial year are tax-free, and setting off earlier capital losses against current gains lowers the liability further.

A capital gains tax indexation calculator is relevant only in the limited cases where indexation still applies after the July 2024 rule change — mainly long-term gains on land or buildings purchased before 23 July 2024, where you can choose between 20% tax with indexation and 12.5% without it. The calculator inflates your purchase price using the Cost Inflation Index notified for each year. For equity shares, equity mutual funds, and assets bought on or after that date, indexation does not apply and the gain is simply taxed at the flat rate.