ITR Filing for Freshers: How to File Your First Income Tax Return

Last updated: 13 October 2026 · By the Asuraa Team

Quick answer: File your first ITR on incometax.gov.in using Form 16, Form 26AS and AIS. Most salaried freshers use ITR-1, which the Income Tax Department allows for resident individuals with income up to Rs 50 lakh. For FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27), the ITR-1 due date was 31 July 2026 and belated returns run to 31 December 2026, per Business Today. File even if tax is nil, and e-verify within 30 days.

Key takeaways

• Most salaried freshers in India file ITR-1, which the Income Tax Department allows for resident individuals with total income up to Rs 50 lakh from salary, one house property and other sources.
• For FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27), the ITR-1 and ITR-2 due date was 31 July 2026 and belated returns can be filed until 31 December 2026, according to Business Today.
• Under the new regime for AY 2026-27, income up to Rs 12 lakh can carry nil tax because of the section 87A rebate of up to Rs 60,000, but you may still need to file.
• Reconcile Form 16 with Form 26AS and the Annual Information Statement before filing, especially if you changed jobs or earned interest during the year.
• A return must be e-verified within 30 days of filing, otherwise it is treated as invalid, as Business Standard explains.

Your first income tax return (ITR) is mostly a reconciliation exercise: you match what your employer reported in Form 16 with what the tax department already holds in Form 26AS and the Annual Information Statement (AIS), choose a tax regime, and submit the return online. For most salaried freshers it takes under an hour once the documents are ready. The figures below are for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27), the return being filed in 2026, unless a different year is named.

This is general information, not tax advice.

Do freshers need to file an ITR in their first year?

Yes, in most cases you should, and even when the law does not strictly require it, filing is the only way to claim back excess TDS. The general rule under the Income-tax Act is that you must file if your total income before deductions crosses the basic exemption limit. Under the new regime for AY 2026-27, the nil slab runs up to Rs 4,00,000, according to the Income Tax Department's salaried individuals page.

There is a twist freshers miss. Under the new regime, a resident individual with taxable income up to Rs 12,00,000 gets a rebate of up to Rs 60,000 under section 87A, so the tax payable can be zero (Income Tax Department). Zero tax does not mean zero filing. If your income crossed Rs 4 lakh, you file even though the tax works out to nil.

Filing also builds a record. Banks, visa officers and some employers ask for ITR acknowledgements as income proof, and a clean filing history from your first job makes later loans and visas easier.

What are the deadlines for the return filed in 2026?

For most salaried people filing ITR-1 or ITR-2, the due date for FY 2025-26 was 31 July 2026, and a belated return is allowed until 31 December 2026, as reported by Business Today in June 2026.

Source: Business Today, June 2026. If you missed 31 July, a belated return attracts a late fee under section 234F of up to Rs 1,000 when total income is up to Rs 5 lakh, and up to Rs 5,000 above that, plus interest where tax is due, per the same report.

Which ITR form should a salaried fresher use?

Most freshers use ITR-1 (Sahaj). The Income Tax Department allows ITR-1 for a resident individual with total income up to Rs 50 lakh from salary, one house property and other sources such as interest, with long-term capital gains under section 112A up to Rs 1,25,000.

You cannot use ITR-1 if you have short-term capital gains (for example, from selling shares or mutual funds within a year), hold unlisted equity shares, have foreign assets or income, or are a company director. In those cases ITR-2 is the usual form. If you also freelance or run a side business, ITR-3 or ITR-4 applies. Freshers who received ESOP shares in a startup should read our note on ESOPs and their tax before picking a form, because holding unlisted shares rules out ITR-1.

How do you file your first ITR step by step?

Follow these steps on the e-filing portal at incometax.gov.in:

1. Register or log in with your PAN. Link PAN and Aadhaar first; the Aadhaar OTP is used later for verification.
2. Collect Form 16 from your employer. For FY 2025-26 employers had to issue it by 15 June 2026 (India Briefing). If you changed jobs, collect one from each employer. Our Form 16 guide explains Part A and Part B.
3. Download Form 26AS and AIS. The Income Tax Department lists Form 26AS under e-File, Income Tax Return, View Form 26AS, and AIS after login. Check that every TDS entry matches Form 16.
4. Start a new return for AY 2026-27 and choose ITR-1 if you qualify. Most fields come pre-filled from your employer's TDS filings.
5. Choose your tax regime. For salaried people without business income, the department says the regime choice can be made each year directly in the return (Income Tax Department).
6. Add other income. Savings account interest, FD interest and any freelance payments are common misses.
7. Claim deductions only if you are on the old regime, and only for payments you can prove.
8. Compare tax payable with TDS. The portal shows whether you owe tax, are due a refund, or are square.
9. Submit and e-verify within 30 days. Business Standard notes that a return left unverified beyond 30 days of filing is treated as invalid. Aadhaar OTP is the quickest route.

What does a first ITR look like with real numbers?

Here is an illustration only, with made-up figures, using the FY 2025-26 new-regime slabs and the Rs 75,000 standard deduction that ClearTax lists for that year.

Priya joined a Pune IT services company in August 2025. Her Form 16 shows gross salary of Rs 6,40,000 for August 2025 to March 2026. Her employer deducted no TDS because it projected her income below the rebate limit. She also earned Rs 3,200 in savings account interest.

Priya still files, because her total income is above Rs 4 lakh. If her employer had deducted, say, Rs 6,000 of TDS by mistake, filing the return is how she would get that Rs 6,000 back as a refund. To see how her monthly CTC turned into the salary credited to her bank, see CTC vs in-hand salary.

Should you pick the old or new regime when you file?

For most freshers earning up to about Rs 12 lakh, the new regime gives the lower tax because of the section 87A rebate. The old regime only helps if your deductions, such as HRA, section 80C investments and health insurance under 80D, are large enough to beat the wider new-regime slabs and the higher standard deduction. The Income Tax Department lists 80C at a combined Rs 1,50,000 and 80D at Rs 25,000 for self and family, both under the old regime.

Your employer may have deducted TDS on one regime while you file on the other; that is allowed for salaried people and the return settles the difference. Our new tax regime guide works through the comparison, and HRA and Section 80C for salaried freshers shows when the old regime actually wins.

What do most guides on ITR filing for freshers get wrong?

They say you need not file if your tax is zero. That confuses tax payable with income. The rebate brings tax to nil, but the filing requirement is based on income before that rebate, and a filed return is also your only route to a refund of wrongly deducted TDS.

The second common error is treating Form 16 as the final word. Form 16 only covers the salary that one employer paid. If you switched jobs mid-year, each employer may have applied the full standard deduction and the lower slabs separately, so combined income can push you into a higher slab with tax still due. Interest income and freelance payments also sit outside Form 16. Always reconcile against AIS, not just Form 16.

Third, many guides still describe only the 1961 Act. That is correct for the return filed in 2026, but not for income earned from April 2026, covered next.

What changes for income earned from April 2026?

Income earned from 1 April 2026 falls under the Income-tax Act, 2025, which ClearTax explains replaces the 1961 Act and swaps "previous year" and "assessment year" for a single "tax year". FY 2026-27 becomes Tax Year 2026-27, and that return is filed in 2027.

Section numbers change too: the new-regime provision moves from section 115BAC to section 202, and the 87A rebate moves to section 156, per ClearTax. Form 16 is also being replaced by Form 130 for salary TDS from Tax Year 2026-27, with a due date of 15 June 2027, according to India Briefing. The filing steps above stay broadly the same. For the bigger picture of your first salary, tax and savings, start with our money guide for freshers.

Related guides

• Money Guide for Freshers in India: Salary, Tax, PF and Investing
• Salary Structure Explained: Basic, HRA, Allowances and Deductions
• Variable Pay, Joining Bonus and Clawback: What Freshers Should Check
• HRA and Section 80C for Freshers: How Much Tax You Actually Save

FAQ

Do I need to file an ITR if my employer deducted no TDS?

Possibly yes. The filing requirement depends on your income, not on whether TDS was cut. For AY 2026-27, the new-regime nil slab runs to Rs 4 lakh, so a fresher whose total income crossed that is generally expected to file even if the section 87A rebate brings tax to zero. Filing also gives you an income record for loans and visas.

What is the last date to file ITR for FY 2025-26?

For ITR-1 and ITR-2, which cover most salaried people, the due date was 31 July 2026, according to Business Today. If you missed it, you can still file a belated return until 31 December 2026, with a late fee under section 234F of up to Rs 1,000 if total income is up to Rs 5 lakh and up to Rs 5,000 above that.

Which ITR form should a fresher with only salary income use?

ITR-1 (Sahaj), if you are a resident individual with total income up to Rs 50 lakh from salary, one house property and other sources such as bank interest. Short-term capital gains, unlisted shares such as startup ESOP shares, foreign assets or a directorship push you to ITR-2 instead, per the Income Tax Department.

I changed jobs during the year. What should I do differently?

Collect Form 16 from both employers and add the salaries together in one return. Each employer may have applied the standard deduction and lower slabs separately, so your combined tax can be higher than the TDS deducted. Check the total against Form 26AS and AIS, and pay any balance as self-assessment tax before you submit the return.

What happens if I file my ITR but forget to verify it?

The return is treated as invalid if you skip verification for more than 30 days after filing, as Business Standard explains, which means it is as if you never filed and any refund is held up. Verify immediately after submitting using Aadhaar OTP, net banking or an electronic verification code generated through a pre-validated bank or demat account.

Can I choose the old regime in my ITR if my employer used the new regime?

Yes, for salaried people without business income. The Income Tax Department says the option to change the default regime can be exercised each year directly in the return. If your old-regime deductions give a lower tax, the return settles the difference as a refund; if not, stay with the new regime.

Final thoughts

Your first ITR is mostly about matching documents and choosing a regime, and doing it properly once makes every later year faster. Keep your Form 16, AIS and verification receipt in one folder for each year. If you are still choosing between offers, use the Asuraa career path planner to weigh roles on growth as well as take-home pay.