Your salary slip isn't the whole picture — and the tax department knows it.
FD interest, freelance payments, and rent are all taxable, and banks already report your FD interest to the IT department. So if you skip it, there's a mismatch they can see.
Missing even ₹10,000 can trigger a notice — with interest and penalties on top.
What this means for you
- If you earned FD interest this year — even ₹5,000 from any bank FD — it must go into your ITR under 'Income from Other Sources'
- Freelance projects, one-time design work, tuitions, or any side gig income is taxable and must be reported, even if the client didn't deduct TDS
- Rental income from even one room counts — deduct 30% as standard deduction, but report the full rent received
What you can do
- Download your Form 26AS and AIS from the IT portal — every income source the government already knows about is listed there, so cross-check it against what you plan to file
- If you're unsure how to show freelance income, use ITR-1 for simple cases or ITR-3/4 for business income — the portal itself guides you through it
You're ahead just by knowing this — a few extra minutes now saves a stressful notice later.
Grow with clarity 🌱