Income tax notice: Filed ITR before July 31? 5 reasons you could still get a notice

A mismatch between the income reported in your ITR and the information available with the Income Tax Department can trigger a notice. For example, your salary in the ITR may differ from Form 16, your employer's TDS return or the Annual Information Statement (AIS). The department may ask you to explain the difference.

Taxpayers may forget to report interest earned from savings accounts, fixed deposits (FDs), recurring deposits (RDs) or income tax refunds. Banks and financial institutions report this information to the Income Tax Department, and it may appear in your AIS. If the interest income reported in AIS is missing or only partially included in your ITR, you may receive a notice.

An income tax notice can also be triggered if the TDS or TCS credit claimed in your ITR is higher than the amount reflected in Form 26AS or AIS. Taxpayers should reconcile the tax credits before filing to avoid such mismatches.

The Income Tax Department receives information about high-value financial transactions from banks and other reporting entities. If such transactions appear in your AIS but are not supported by the income declared in your ITR, the department may seek an explanation.

If you sold shares, mutual funds, property or other capital assets during the financial year, transaction details may already be available with the Income Tax Department through brokers, registrars or other intermediaries. Incorrect capital gains calculations, failure to report a transaction or omission of taxable gains can lead to an income tax notice.