The income-tax filing season for FY2025-26 is here. For salaried employees, small proprietor and small businessmen, the question of who should file the return — self, tax practitioner or chartered accountant (CA) — is a more delicate decision than it appears. The right answer depends not on the size of income but its nature, and whether the taxpayer faces any of the recurring complexities that point clearly to professional help.

So, should you file on your own or turn to a professional? Read on to find out.

Pre-filing — gathering and deciding

Before a single digit goes into the return, documents must be collated — Form 26AS and AIS/TIS from the portal, Form 16 from the employer, broker capital gains statements, bank interest certificates and HRA rent receipts. A salaried individual with one employer and modest bank deposits can complete this in under an hour; trouble begins where multiple income streams converge.

A tax practitioner — accountants, advocates and registered TRPs (tax return preparer) — typically receives documents and consolidates them. Advice is limited; data is taken, rates applied, return submitted. A chartered accountant brings two things the portal cannot: knowledge of the taxpayer’s history, and the discipline of reconciliation. At the start of the year, when the employer asks the employee to opt for a regime, the CA compares last year’s actual outgo under the two regimes and advises the more beneficial choice for the year ahead. At the time of filing, the CA reconciles every reported income against the AIS, since any mismatch now can trigger an automated intimation under Section 143(1) (a document notifying the taxpayer whether the return was accepted, resulted in a refund, or requires additional tax payment), frequently with demand.

Filing — form, computation, verification

On the portal, the self-filer chooses the correct ITR form, populates the schedules, computes tax and e-verifies through Aadhaar OTP, EVC or DSC. The portal’s pre-fill removes much of the manual burden. However, several components — many capital gains transactions, foreign income and arrears spread under Section 89 — still need manual entry, and accuracy resting squarely on the filer.

Simple data-entry mistakes are also common in self-filing. Showing an item under the wrong head — say, professional receipts as ‘other sources’ instead of ‘business income’ — can trigger a tax demand at intimation, requiring rectification (under Section 154) or a revised return (under Section 139(5)). For ITR-1, the process is straightforward; for ITR-2 or ITR-3, errors at this stage are among the most common causes of Section 143(1) intimations. The practitioner adds procedural value through tax-return software; the CA adds working-paper retention — a valuable cushion when a query arises later.

Where complexity demands a CA

Six recurring situations take a salaried or small-business taxpayer beyond what the portal or a practitioner can comfortably handle.

Reconciling income beyond AIS and 26AS: AIS and Form 26AS are useful, but not complete. Cash receipts, rental flows, savings bank interest (when below the reporting threshold) and capital gains across multiple brokers often need cross-checking against bank statements before the true income picture emerges. A CA reconciles these sources line by line, sharply reducing the risk of a later intimation.

Arrears of salary and Section 89 relief: Salary arrears received in a year — back-pay, a Pay Commission payout, or a retirement settlement — can push the taxpayer into a higher slab. Section 89(1), with Form 10E (an online declaration filed to claim tax relief under the said Section), allows spreading the income over the years it relates to and claiming the differential as relief. The arithmetic is non-trivial; omitting Form 10E — a common slip — disallows the relief at intimation.

ESOPs, RSUs and SARs for IT professionals: IT and ITeS employees frequently receive ESOPs, RSUs or SARs from foreign-listed parent companies. The perquisite arises at exercise and capital gains at sale; fair market value at exercise must be tracked, and shares held in foreign demat accounts disclosed in Schedule FA (foreign assets). Errors here have triggered a sharp uptick in notices to the IT workforce; a CA familiar with the pathway is now a necessity.

Foreign assets and Black Money Act exposure: Salaried employees on overseas deputation, residents holding foreign bank accounts, and small businessmen with overseas vendor balances must disclose foreign assets in Schedule FA. The Black Money Act prescribes severe consequences for omission, and a self-filer must exercise extreme caution while completing this schedule to avoid complications at a later date.

Multi-property scenarios: Two or more house properties — common among small businessmen with rental income — invoke deemed-let-out provisions, joint-ownership computations and the interest-deduction interplay between principal residence and let-out properties. Schedule HP leaves wide room for error.

Notice or scrutiny history: A taxpayer with any prior notice — assessment, reassessment, demand or even a query from the department relating to refund — should not revert to self-filing. The case file in the CA’s office speaks for the taxpayer at later stages.

Post-filing — intimation and beyond

Once e-verified, the return is processed within weeks and an intimation under Section 143(1) follows. The self-filer faces this alone; the practitioner typically handles it as a courtesy; the CA handles intimation, rectification and Demand Facilitation Centre communications formally. Where the matter proceeds to scrutiny (under Section 143(2)) or reassessment (under Section 148), a CA’s expertise becomes the logical choice.

Which route for which taxpayer

A simple rule. Salary, bank interest and minor investments — self-filing is adequate. Capital gains from listed equity or mutual funds, or rental income from one property — a tax practitioner suffices. Salary arrears, ESOPs or RSUs, foreign assets, multiple properties, or presumptive small business income with mixed receipts — engage a chartered accountant.

Two further situations sit firmly in CA territory. NRI returns — with their layered residential status rules and DTAA (double taxation avoidance agreements) interplay — demand specialist expertise. So do foreign tax-credit claims by residents: Where tax has been withheld abroad, Form 67 must be filed before the return; a missed or delayed Form 67 forfeits the relief altogether.

An unintended error in any of these areas can lead to under- or mis-reporting of income, with exposure to penalty and interest under Sections 270A and 234A/B/C. Professional guidance — and the fee it carries — becomes not a discretionary cost, but a necessity.

The takeaway

The income-tax return is no longer an annual ritual; it underpins credit access, visa applications and refund claims, while increasingly coming under greater scrutiny. For the salaried employee with a clean Form 16, the portal is built for you — use it. For the rest, professional hand-holding is the prudent course.

The author is a Partner at Venkatesh and Co.”VCO”. With inputs from CA Hrishikesh D & CA Manikarnika B. The views expressed here are the author’s and not of bl.portfolio

Published on June 27, 2026