Who needs to file ITR in India?

1The basic income test

The first rule is simple: if your gross total income — that's your income before claiming any deductions like 80C — crosses the basic exemption limit, you must file.

For AY 2026-27 the basic exemption is ₹3 lakh under the new regime, and ₹2.5 lakh under the old regime (₹3 lakh for those 60–79, ₹5 lakh for those 80+ under the old regime).

2The other triggers that make filing compulsory

Even if your income is below the exemption limit, you must file if any of these apply to you:

• Total TDS/TCS deducted was ₹25,000 or more (₹50,000 for senior citizens)
• You hold foreign assets or earn any foreign income, or have signing authority in a foreign account
• You deposited ₹1 crore or more in one or more current accounts
• You deposited ₹50 lakh or more in savings accounts
• You spent ₹2 lakh or more on foreign travel for yourself or others
• Your electricity bill was over ₹1 lakh in the year
• Business turnover crossed ₹60 lakh, or professional receipts crossed ₹10 lakh

3Why file even when it isn't mandatory

Filing voluntarily, even when you don't have to, is often a smart move:

• It's the only way to claim a refund of excess TDS deducted (e.g. bank TDS on FD interest)
• A filed ITR is accepted proof of income for visas, home loans, and credit cards
• It lets you carry forward capital or business losses for up to 8 years to set off against future gains
• It builds a clean, continuous financial record that helps in many official processes

4The threshold is tested before deductions, not after

This is the point that catches most people who conclude they need not file.

The filing obligation is tested on total income before the Chapter VI-A deductions — 80C, 80D, 80G and the rest. So someone with gross income of ₹5.5 lakh who brings it below the exemption limit through 80C investments has still crossed the threshold and must file.

It is also tested against the basic exemption limit, not against the section 87A rebate ceiling. Under the new regime that limit is ₹4 lakh, so a person earning ₹9 lakh pays no tax after the rebate but is squarely within the filing requirement.

5Residents with foreign assets file regardless of income

A resident and ordinarily resident taxpayer must file if they hold any asset outside India, have signing authority over any account outside India, or are the beneficial owner of one — whatever their income, and whether or not the asset produced anything.

This catches people more often than it used to: employee stock in a foreign parent company, a brokerage account opened while working abroad, a foreign bank account never closed after returning, and balances left on offshore crypto exchanges all qualify.

The disclosure goes in Schedule FA, and the consequences of omitting it are governed by the Black Money Act rather than the Income-tax Act.

6Filing when you are not required to: when it is worth it

Voluntary filing costs nothing and buys several things that are difficult to obtain later.

• It is the only way to recover TDS deducted in excess — a refund cannot be claimed without a return
• It establishes a documented income record, which banks and consulates rely on for loans and visas
• It starts the clock on carrying forward losses, which is only available on a return filed by the due date
• It closes the year cleanly: a return on record is far easier to defend than a year with no filing at all if a query arises

7Verification is what completes the filing

A return that has been submitted but not verified has not been filed. This is the most common way people believe they have complied when they have not.

Verification must be completed within 30 days of submission, and the simplest route is an Aadhaar OTP on the e-filing portal. Net banking, bank account EVC and demat EVC also work; a signed ITR-V posted to CPC Bengaluru remains available but is slower and easier to get wrong.

Miss the 30 days and the return is treated as never having been furnished, with the belated-filing consequences following — including the loss of loss carry-forward and the section 234F fee.