After you’ve filed your Income Tax Return, there are still a few things you need to take care of to ensure your return gets processed smoothly and that your income tax refund, if you’re eligible, reaches your bank account.
Since filing your ITR is just the submission on your end, to complete the process and keep track of your return involves a few more steps. Here’s what you should do next after filing your ITR:
1. E-verifying your ITR
E-verification is the final step in the filing process. It confirms that you’ve submitted the return, approved all the details, and want the Income Tax Department to process it.
Once filed, you need to e-verify the return within 30 days. If you don’t, your return will be considered invalid, and you’ll have to file it again. And by that time, if the due date for filing ITR has already passed, you may have to pay a late filing penalty.
How to e-verify your ITR?
E-verification is simple, and you have a few options to choose from:
- Aadhaar OTP
- EVC via your pre-validated bank account
- EVC via your pre-validated demat account
- EVC through ATM
- Net Banking
- Digital signature certificate
Of all these options, e-verifying with the Aadhaar OTP is the quickest, hardly takes a minute!
How do you know your e-verification is complete?
After successful e-verification, you’ll see a confirmation message along with a Transaction ID on your screen.
You’ll also receive a confirmation email on your registered email ID, as a proof that your return is officially filed.
2. Check bank account validation status
Pre-validation is a process where the Income Tax Portal verifies your bank account details directly with your bank via NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India). It confirms:
- Your account number is correct
- IFSC code is correct
- Your account is active (not closed or dormant)
- Your PAN is linked to the account
- Name in PAN database matches account holder name
Once you submit a validation request, it can take up to 10–12 working days for the bank to respond. The status is updated automatically on the portal.
We’ve covered how to pre-validate your bank account here.
What if you filed ITR before validating your account?
You can still complete the validation after filing. However, your bank account must be successfully validated and nominated for refund before the return is processed.
If your account validation fails, your refund will not be credited. In such cases, you’ll need to validate another bank account and submit a Refund Reissue Request on the Income Tax Portal.
3. Tracking your ITR status
After filing your ITR, the Income Tax Department processes it to verify your income, deductions, and tax calculations.
As your return moves through different stages, tracking your ITR status helps you know exactly where your return stands and whether any action is needed from your side.
We’ve covered How to track ITR status on the Income Tax Portal? here.
4. Tracking your income tax refund
The refund status will only reflect once your return has been processed. So to avoid delays, ensure that:
- Your return is e-verified
- Your bank account is pre-validated & nominated for refund
Once you’ve checked off these things, all you can do is wait for the ITD to process your return.
How long does it take to process returns?
Normally, returns are processed within 2–4 weeks after e-verification. Simpler returns like ITR-1 and ITR-4 are usually processed faster, while ITR-2 and ITR-3 with business and profession details often take more time.
We have a step-by-step guide on How to track Income Tax Refund?
5. Checking for notices from the Income Tax Department
Millions of returns are processed by the Income Tax Department using automated systems. If any mismatch or discrepancy is detected, or if additional information is required, the Income Tax Department may issue a notice.
The notice means a formal communication by the Department, asking you to review or respond to a specific issue related to your return. We’ve covered the common reasons on why you received a notice here.
How to check if you’ve received a notice?
When the Income Tax Department issues a notice, you’ll usually be informed on your registered email ID or SMS. Notices sent by email may be password-protected PDFs. The password is always your PAN (in lowercase) + your date of birth (DDMMYYYY).
You can also log in to the Income Tax portal and navigate to Pending Actions, where you’ll see:
- e-Proceedings – Use this for notices that require you to submit documents or offer a clarification.
- Response to Outstanding Demand – Use this for notices that involve an actual tax payment.
Once you view the notice, you can:
→ Agree and pay the demand,
→ Disagree fully or partially by giving reasons and remarks, or
→ File a revised ITR if you realize there was a mistake in your original return.
So, if you’ve received a notice, respond to it within the timeline mentioned in the notice, and if you need help understanding what type of notice you’ve received, we’ve covered the types of notices and what it means in the thread here.
Have questions? Ask 'em below