Salaried + pension + one house property + interest, total ≤ ₹50L. Pre-filled data + reconcile with AIS/26AS. Old vs new regime. e-Verify within 30 days.
ITR-1 SAHAJ ELIGIBILITY (RESIDENT individuals): (1) TOTAL income up to ₹50L. (2) SALARY/pension. (3) ONE house property. (4) Other sources (interest, dividend). (5) Agricultural income up to ₹5K. NOT ELIGIBLE: (1) Capital gains. (2) Business/profession income. (3) More than one house property. (4) Foreign income/assets. (5) Director in company. (6) Unlisted shares held. (7) NRI. STRATEGIC: simplest form for most salaried — use if eligible.
ITR-1 FILING STEPS: (1) Login to e-filing portal (incometax.gov.in). (2) Select ITR-1 + AY 2026-27. (3) PRE-FILLED data auto-populated (salary from Form 16, interest from AIS). (4) VERIFY personal + income details. (5) Confirm deductions (80C, 80D, etc.) for old regime. (6) Choose regime (old vs new). (7) Verify tax computation. (8) Pay balance tax if any. (9) SUBMIT. (10) E-VERIFY within 30 days (Aadhaar OTP, net banking, DSC). PROCESS: 20-40 min for simple cases.
PRE-FILLED ITR-1: (1) SALARY auto-filled from employer's TDS return (Form 16). (2) INTEREST income from AIS (bank reporting). (3) TDS from Form 26AS. (4) DIVIDEND from AIS. RECONCILE: (1) Match pre-filled with Form 16 + bank statements. (2) Add MISSING income (some interest not pre-filled). (3) Correct ERRORS. (4) Verify TDS credits. CRITICAL: pre-filled is convenience, NOT final — verify everything. Discrepancies cause notices. AIS is comprehensive — check all entries.
REGIME CHOICE in ITR-1: (1) NEW REGIME (default): ₹75K standard deduction + lower slabs. NO 80C/80D/HRA. (2) OLD REGIME: claim all deductions (80C ₹1.5L, 80D, HRA, home loan). SELECT in form. SALARIED: can switch annually. EXAMPLE: ₹10L salary. (a) New regime: simpler, ~₹54K tax. (b) Old regime with ₹2L deductions: similar or lower. USE income tax calculator to compare. STRATEGIC: most salaried with low deductions → new regime. High deductions (home loan + 80C maxed) → old regime.
COMMON ITR-1 ERRORS: (1) Wrong regime selection. (2) Missing interest income (savings + FD). (3) TDS mismatch with 26AS. (4) Wrong bank account for refund. (5) Not e-verifying (return invalid). (6) Claiming ineligible deductions. E-VERIFY (within 30 days): (1) Aadhaar OTP (fastest). (2) Net banking. (3) Bank account EVC. (4) Demat EVC. (5) DSC. WITHOUT e-verify: return treated as NOT FILED. STRATEGIC: e-verify immediately after submission. Use Aadhaar OTP. Keep ITR-V acknowledgement.