Income tax return for AY 2026-27: Is filing your ITR too early a mistake this year?

The income tax 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.

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.

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 mutual funds 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.

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.