Filed Your ITR? Here Is What to Do Next

You’ve hit submit on your Income Tax Return — congratulations. But filing isn’t the finish line. A return you never verify counts as never filed, and a refund can sit stuck for months over a bank detail nobody told you about. Here’s exactly what to do in the days and weeks after you file.

Quick answer

1. E-verify within 30 days — without it, your return is invalid.
2. Wait for the Section 143(1) intimation confirming the department’s own calculation.
3. Pre-validate your bank account or your refund cannot be paid.
4. Spotted a mistake? File a revised return until 31 March 2027 (AY 2026-27) — free, and more than once if needed.
5. Missed the deadline entirely? A belated return is possible until 31 December 2026, with a late fee.

1. E-verify within 30 days — this one is non-negotiable

An unverified return is treated as not filed at all. You have 30 days from submitting to verify it. Verify inside that window and your original submission date stands; miss it and the return is invalid, as though you never bothered.

Ways to verify, fastest first:

• Aadhaar OTP — instant, provided your mobile is linked to Aadhaar. This is the one most people should use.
• Net banking — log in through your bank and it redirects you to the portal.
• Bank account or demat EVC — generates a code to your registered mobile and email.
• Physical ITR-V — printing and posting a signed form to CPC Bengaluru. Slow, and easy to get wrong; only worth it if nothing else works.

Do it the same day you file. There is no upside to waiting, and this is the single most common way people accidentally end up with no valid return.

2. Wait for your intimation under Section 143(1)

Once verified, your return goes for processing. The department recalculates your income and tax and sends an intimation under Section 143(1) by email. It is not an audit or a notice of trouble — it simply compares your figures with theirs. Three possible outcomes:

• No difference — your return is accepted as filed. Nothing to do.
• Refund due — the amount is confirmed and released to your bank account.
• Additional tax demanded — usually a mismatch with Form 26AS or the AIS. Check it carefully before paying; if you disagree, you can respond on the portal.

Open the email when it arrives rather than filing it away unread. A demand you ignore does not go away.

3. Track your refund — and pre-validate your bank account

Refunds are usually credited within a few weeks of verification, though it can take longer in peak season. Check progress on the income tax portal under e-File → Income Tax Returns → View Filed Returns, or the “Refund/Demand Status” section.

The most common reason a refund never lands has nothing to do with the return itself:

• The bank account is not pre-validated on the portal.
• The account is not linked to your PAN, or the name doesn’t match exactly.
• The account was closed, or the IFSC changed after a bank merger — a frequent problem in India in recent years.

Fix it under Profile → My Bank Account, revalidate, and the refund will be reissued. You don’t need to re-file anything.

4. Made a mistake? File a revised return

Missed some interest income, forgot a deduction, picked the wrong regime? File a revised return under Section 139(5). For AY 2026-27 the window now runs to 31 March 2027 — extended by the Finance Act, 2026, from the older 31 December cut-off — or until your assessment is completed, whichever comes first.

Two things worth knowing: there is no fee for revising, and you can revise more than once within the window. A revised return fully replaces the earlier one, and it needs to be e-verified just like the original.

5. Missed the deadline entirely? File a belated return

If you never filed by the due date, you can still file a belated return under Section 139(4) until 31 December 2026 for AY 2026-27. It costs you:

Filing late still beats not filing. The fee is fixed; the interest keeps accruing.

6. Keep your records

Download and store the ITR-V acknowledgement, the filed return, and the 143(1) intimation. Keep your Form 16, interest certificates, capital gains statements and proof of deductions with them. You’ll want these for a loan or visa application, and if a query ever arrives it will be years later, when memory alone won’t cut it.

7. Now plan next year — while it’s still early

The best time to cut next year’s tax is at the start of the year, not in a March panic. Two things worth doing this month:

• Check which regime actually suits you for the year ahead with our old vs new tax regime calculator. If the new regime wins, most 80C investing loses its tax rationale — pick investments on merit instead.
• Spread your investing across the year. Monthly SIPs into ELSS, PPF or NPS beat a lump sum scramble in March — better averaging, and no cash-flow crunch.

If you’re salaried, it’s also worth understanding how your CTC becomes in-hand pay — restructuring allowances is often worth more than any last-minute deduction.

Related reading

• How to file your ITR online, step by step
• Section 80C: how to save ₹1.5 lakh in tax
• Best investment options for salaried people

Educational information for AY 2026-27, not tax advice. Deadlines and rules can change — confirm on the income tax portal or with a CA for your own case.

Written byPrashant ThakurFounder, SavesToGrow · writes from real experience (not a financial advisor)

Prashant Thakur is the founder of SavesToGrow.com. He is not a financial advisor — he's a self-taught personal-finance enthusiast who learned to budget, save consistently, and invest from scratch, and now shares those hard-won lessons in plain, jargon-free English. Every guide is researched from primary sources such as the Income Tax Department, SEBI, RBI and AMFI, and reflects real, first-hand experience. Nothing on this site is professional financial advice — always do your own research or consult a SEBI-registered advisor before making money decisions.

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