The filing season has begun, and many taxpayers are already preparing to submit their returns. Filing early is often viewed as a smart move, helping taxpayers get refunds sooner and avoid the last-minute rush.
But tax experts say filing as soon as the utilities become available may not always be the best approach. For taxpayers with investments, fixed deposits, dividend income or multiple sources of income, waiting a few weeks before filing could help avoid omissions that may require corrections later.
Why your pre-filled ITR might be incomplete
The information reflected in a taxpayer’s AIS, Form 26AS and TIS comes from employers, banks, brokers, mutual fund houses, registrars and depositories.
For FY26, the due date for filing quarterly TDS statements for the January-March quarter was 31 May 2026. Once information is submitted, it must be processed, validated and reconciled before it appears in individual taxpayer records.
Balwant Jain, tax and investment expert, said taxpayers should avoid rushing to file immediately after the utilities become available because AIS records continue to evolve.
“The Income Tax Department often knows more about your finances than you do because it receives data from multiple sources. Some institutions also report late. One should wait at least until June 15 before starting the filing process so that the AIS can be reconciled with personal records,” he said.
According to Jain, taxpayers may overlook transactions that took place during the year, while those transactions may eventually appear in AIS.
“You may have carried out a transaction months ago and forgotten about it. When the AIS is updated, it may contain information that you have not considered while preparing your return,” he said.
Who faces the biggest mismatch risk?
Taxpayers with income reported by multiple entities may need to be particularly careful while filing returns.
A salaried individual may also have fixed-deposit interest, dividend income, capital gains from or stocks, or tax deductions reported by different institutions. Since these entries may be reported separately, taxpayers should verify that all income has been considered before filing.
Jain said filing early does not automatically result in penalties or notices, but taxpayers may later discover that some income was not reported in their return.
“The issue is not that filing early creates a problem by itself. The risk is that taxpayers may forget to disclose income that eventually appears in AIS. In that situation, they may have to file a revised return later,” he said.
What should investors verify before filing their returns?
Taxpayers with investments across multiple brokers, mutual fund houses and depositories may need to undertake additional reconciliation before filing.
Jain advised investors to first obtain capital gains statements from all brokers and fund houses and then compare those statements with the information reflected in AIS.
“First of all, request a capital gains statement from your respective brokers or fund houses. Consolidate those statements across all fund houses and brokers. After that, wait for your AIS to generate,” he said.
According to Jain, taxpayers should also review AIS entries carefully because reporting errors can occur.
“Sometimes a transaction gets reported twice or even three times. Even if you are just a joint or second holder, that transaction may show up under your PAN. You need to verify that,” he said.
Jain said taxpayers who identify an incorrect entry can submit feedback through the income tax portal.
“If you feel a transaction does not belong to you, you can submit a request for rectification online. The request goes back to the entity that originally uploaded the information for verification,” he said.
Can waiting a few weeks be a good practice?
The deadline for most individual taxpayers to file their returns is 31 July 2026.
Jain said taxpayers should use the period after AIS updates become available to compare the information reported by various institutions with their own records before filing.
“One should wait at least until June 15 and reconcile the data. Check whether your records match the AIS and whether the AIS contains additional information that needs to be reported,” he said.
For taxpayers whose income comes from multiple sources, that exercise may help identify omissions or discrepancies before the return is filed.