ITR Filing in Delhi — Stop Putting It Off, Here's Everything You Need

• You're salaried and earning above ₹2.5 lakhs gross — TDS being cut doesn't get you off the hook
• You're owed a refund because your employer over-deducted TDS — which happens more often than people realise, and you only get that money back by filing
• You sold property, mutual funds, or shares — capital gains must be reported, full stop
• You earn rent from a property anywhere in India
• You did freelance, consulting, or any side work
• You want to carry forward a capital or business loss to offset against future gains
• You deposited more than ₹1 crore in a bank account or spent over ₹2 lakhs on international travel

Quick Note: even if you fall below the taxable limit, filing a nil return voluntarily is a clean habit. Costs nothing, keeps your record active.

ITR Filing Online in Delhi through the income tax portal is pretty manageable once you've done it once. Here's the real flow, not the textbook version:

• Go to incometax.gov.in — log in with your PAN as the user ID
• Under 'e-File', click 'File Income Tax Return' and pick the assessment year (for FY 2024-25 income, that's AY 2025-26)
• Choose Online mode — the portal will guide you through the form step by step
• Pick your ITR form: ITR-1 for most salaried people, ITR-4 if you're a freelancer or small business owner under presumptive taxation
• The portal pre-fills data from your Form 26AS and Annual Information Statement — check everything carefully against your Form 16 and bank statements
• Add anything missing — rental income, interest income, freelance payments, capital gains from stocks or mutual funds
• Go through deductions: 80C for investments, 80D for health insurance, 24(b) for home loan interest, HRA if you're renting
• The system calculates your tax — pay any balance via UPI or net banking, or note your refund amount
• E-verify with your Aadhaar OTP — takes about 30 seconds — download the ITR-V acknowledgment and you're done

First time takes maybe 40 minutes. After that, 20. The hard part is genuinely just starting.

Everyone claims 80C because employers ask for investment declarations. The ones that quietly go unclaimed:

• Section 80D — health insurance premiums, up to ₹25,000 for yourself and up to ₹50,000 more if you're paying for senior citizen parents
• HRA — if you rent in Indirapuram, Kaushambi, Vaishali, or anywhere else, you can claim this — bring rent receipts and the landlord's PAN if annual rent is above ₹1 lakh
• Section 24(b) — home loan interest deduction up to ₹2 lakhs for self-occupied property — massive for the large number of GZB residents carrying home loans
• Section 80E — education loan interest, fully deductible for up to 8 years — almost always forgotten
• Section 80TTA — savings account interest up to ₹10,000; ₹50,000 for senior citizens under 80TTB

July 31st. Every year. For individual taxpayers, that's the date.

• Late filing fee of ₹5,000 if you file between August 1st and December 31st — drops to ₹1,000 if your total income is under ₹5 lakhs, but it's still a pointless expense
• Section 234A interest at 1% per month on whatever tax you still owe from August onwards
• You permanently lose the right to carry forward capital or business losses if you file late — big deal for anyone who traded stocks
• You can't revise a belated return — so if you file late and spot an error, you're stuck with it

Practical tip: your employer should hand you Form 16 by June 15th. Start your ITR Filing in Delhi process right after that. Don't wait until the last week of July when tax consultants have queues and the government portal slows down under the traffic.