ITR filing AY 2025-26: How to add and validate your bank account details to receive income tax refund

Verifying your income tax return (ITR) is a mandatory step to finish the online filing process. By adding your bank account details and verifying them on the income tax portal, you will be able to receive your tax refunds if you are eligible. However, taxpayers should also know that the tax refunds are credited only to a bank account that has been pre-validated on the income tax portal.

Apart from adding a bank account, taxpayers can also remove a closed or deactivated bank account. They can also revalidate bank accounts for which pre-validation has failed.

Taxpayers with a valid PAN and a valid bank account number can avail the following services on the e-Filing portal (post-login)

· Add a bank account and pre-validate it

· Remove a closed or deactivated bank account

· Nominate a validated bank account to receive Income Tax refund

· Remove a bank account from nomination so as not to receive a tax refund in that account

· Enable or disable EVC for the validated bank account (only for individual taxpayers)

· Revalidate bank accounts for which pre-validation has failed

How to add and authenticate a bank account for ITR filing

To add and authenticate a bank account, follow these steps.

Step 1: Log in at the e-Filing portal using your user ID and password

Step 2: Go to the My Profile page from the Dashboard.

Step 3: Click My Bank Account.

Step 4: On the My Bank Accounts page, click Add Bank Account.

Step 5: On the Add Bank Account page, enter the bank account number, select the account type and the holder type, and enter the bank’s IFSC. Your bank and branch names get auto-populated based on your IFSC details. If your bank is integrated with e-filing, your mobile number and email ID will be pre-filled from your e-Filing profile, and will not be editable.

Step 6: Click Validate.

On successful validation, a success message is displayed. You will also receive a message on your mobile number and email ID registered on the e-Filing portal.

Why do I need to pre-validate my bank account(s)?

Only a pre-validated bank account can be nominated to receive an Income Tax refund.

Further, a pre-validated bank account may also be used by an individual taxpayer to enable EVC (electronic verification code) for the e-Verification purpose. e-Verification can be used for the ITR and other forms, e-Proceedings, Refund Reissue, Reset Password and secured login to the e-Filing account.

Can I validate and nominate multiple bank accounts for refund?

Yes. You can pre-validate multiple bank accounts, and can nominate more than one bank account to get an Income Tax refund.

What will happen if I change my pre-validated mobile number / email ID registered with the bank?

In such a case, you will see a warning symbol (!) next to your mismatched contact details (mobile number / email ID) in the Added Bank Accounts section. If you wish to EVC-enable that bank account, you will need to update your contact details on the e-Filing portal to match your details registered with the bank or update the mobile/email at bank’s end. Once details are updated, revalidate your bank account.