Common ITR Filing Mistakes That Trigger a Notice

Mismatch with Form 26AS/AIS

The single most common trigger: income or TDS reported in your return doesn't match what your Form 26AS and Annual Information Statement (AIS) already show the tax department - a bank interest income you forgot to declare, or a TDS credit claimed that doesn't match what was actually deposited. Cross-checking both documents against your return before filing catches this early.

Choosing the wrong ITR form

Filing ITR-1 when your income situation (capital gains, multiple properties, foreign assets) actually requires ITR-2 or another form is a common, avoidable error that can invalidate the filing or trigger a follow-up notice.

Not reporting all income sources

Interest from savings accounts and small fixed deposits, freelance/side income, and capital gains are commonly under-reported - not usually out of intent to evade, but because people assume small amounts don't need declaring. They do.

Forgetting to verify the return

A filed-but-unverified return is treated as not filed at all after a set window - e-verification (via Aadhaar OTP, net banking, or other methods) is a required final step, not an optional formality.

Claiming a deduction under the wrong regime

Claiming old-regime-only deductions (80C, HRA) while having opted for the new regime is a straightforward, avoidable mismatch - see our Old vs. New Regime article for how the two differ.

The practical takeaway

Most notices are triggered by mismatches a taxpayer could have caught themselves by comparing their return against Form 26AS/AIS before submitting - a five-minute check that prevents a much longer correction process later.