ITR-V — Income Tax Return Acknowledgement

ITR-V (Income Tax Return – Verification), often just called the ITR acknowledgement, is the one-page document generated after you submit your return on the Income Tax e-Filing portal. It carries your acknowledgement number, confirms the return was received, and is used to verify it.

What it is

When you file your return on the Income Tax e-Filing portal, the system generates a single-page document called the ITR-V. It carries an acknowledgement number, basic return details, and serves as proof that your return reached the department. It is not your full return — it is the receipt-and-verification slip that the portal produces once you submit.

The ITR acknowledgement number

Every submitted return gets a unique 15-digit acknowledgement number, printed on the ITR-V. You quote it when you track your return's processing status or refund, when you e-verify later, and in any correspondence about that filing. To download your acknowledgement again, log in to the e-Filing portal and go to e-File → Income Tax Returns → View Filed Returns — the ITR-V is available there for every return you have submitted, and once the return is verified you can also download the final acknowledgement from the same page.

Why it matters

A return is only complete once it has been verified. Most people verify electronically — see e-verification — which is instant. If you do not e-verify, you can instead print, sign and post the physical ITR-V to the Centralised Processing Centre (CPC) within the allowed window. Either way, until verification is done the department does not begin processing, and any refund for the assessment year stays on hold.

Example Illustrative

Suppose you submit your return for AY 2026-27 on the portal. The portal generates an ITR-V with an acknowledgement number. You then e-verify within minutes using Aadhaar OTP — no need to post anything. Had you skipped e-verification, you would have signed the printed ITR-V and posted it to CPC before the deadline. This example is illustrative only; check the current verification window on the official portal.