The ugly part of downloading various forms, calculating your tax liability, investments, savings, and deductions, is done and Income Tax Returns (ITR) filed. Are you done yet? Not quite, believe it or not, all of your hard work to file that income tax return can become useless unless you verify it.
How to validate your Income Tax Return
For electronic verification, log in to https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/ and navigate to ‘E-Verify Return’ after filing and submitting your ITR. There are two ways to validate your ITR electronically:
- Link your Aadhar Card with your PAN number and generate an OTP (one-time password) which is delivered to your registered mobile number. Enter this OTP to validate your e-filing.
- Generate an electronic verification code (EVC), which is delivered to your registered mobile number or email ID. Use this electronic verification code to verify your ITR. This method is valid for those taxpayers who seek any returns or if the total income of the taxpayers is more than Rs 500,000.
Just last year, the IT department made life easier for taxpayers by making taking the process of verifying ITR digitally instead of sending a signed copy of ITR-V to Bangalore CPC.
Verifying your tax returns can be faster if done electronically by linking your Aadhar card to your Personal Identification Number (PAN).
Aadhaar is a 12-digit individual identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India on behalf of the Government of India. This number will serve as proof of identity and address, anywhere in India.
The following steps will help you do it:
- Log in to the income tax e-filing portal
- Once you log in, a pop-up will ask you to link your Aadhaar number, if not, browse to profile settings and click on Link that says Link Aadhaar to PAN.
- Make sure to verify the date of birth, name, gender, etc before entering the aadhaar number so that it matches PAN details.
- After cross-checking and verifying, enter the aadhar number and link. The aadhar number will be linked to PAN only if the details mentioned above match.
Once your Aadhaar card’s unique number is linked with your PAN, you will be able to e-verify your income tax return using your Aadhar number, provided your mobile number is registered with your Aadhar account. You will get the update on your cellphone as well.
