Income Tax Alert Message: Got an SMS or Email from IT department? Here’s what you should do next

The Income Tax Department has flagged discrepancies in some Income Tax Returns (ITRs) filed for the assessment year 2025-26 and has sent SMS and email alerts to affected taxpayers, asking them to review their filings.

The department said advanced risk analytics identified inconsistencies in deductions and exemptions, including fake donations, incorrect or invalid PAN details, inflated claims and mismatches with official records.

Messages Are Advisory, Not Notices

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Officials clarified that the communications are not tax notices but advisory alerts issued under the Non-Intrusive Usage of Data to Guide and Enable (NUDGE) initiative. The aim is to allow taxpayers to voluntarily correct errors before any strict action is taken.

Taxpayers whose claims are genuine and fully compliant with the law do not need to take any action.

What Taxpayers Should Do Now

Tax experts speaking to Zee Business said taxpayers who receive such alerts should first reconcile all deductions and exemptions claimed in their ITR with documents such as Form 16, Form 26AS, Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS).

They advised taxpayers to identify mismatches calmly and take corrective steps without delay.

Revised Return Deadline

According to experts quoted by Zee Business, if any error is found, taxpayers should file a revised return by December 31, 2025. Returns filed after this date will be treated as updated returns from January 1, 2026, which will involve additional tax and charges.

Common Issues Flagged

Experts told Zee Business that several cases involved deductions that were not eligible under the law, particularly donations to unrecognised political parties, incorrect PAN numbers and large differences between claimed and reported amounts.

In some returns, figures declared in the ITR did not match data in Form 16, AIS, TIS and Form 26AS.

Why Refunds May Be Delayed

Tax experts told Zee Business that many salaried taxpayers have reported delays in refunds. This typically happens when deductions such as Section 80C, 80D or HRA are claimed directly in the ITR but were not declared to the employer at the time of TDS deduction.

While such claims are legally permitted, refunds may be held until verification is completed.

Why Timely Action Matters

Data shows that over 21 lakh taxpayers updated their returns of earlier years in FY 2025-26, resulting in more than Rs 500 crore in additional tax collection. In the current assessment year alone, more than 15 lakh ITRs have already been revised.

Experts warned that ignoring such alerts may lead to disallowance of deductions, additional tax demand, interest, penalties and possible scrutiny. They advised taxpayers to review documents carefully and act within timelines to avoid complications.