Estimate a possible TDS refund from the tax deducted and an estimated final tax liability, then verify the figures against your tax documents.
1. Employer deducted extra TDS: Your employer doesn't always know your actual deductions — they may deduct TDS conservatively. When you file ITR with all deductions (80C, HRA, NPS, home loan), your actual tax is lower than TDS deducted = refund.
2. Changed jobs: Previous employer deducted TDS assuming full-year income from them. New employer also deducted TDS. Combined TDS > actual tax liability = refund.
3. Salary restructured mid-year: If your CTC was restructured with more allowances, taxable income reduced but TDS may have been deducted on old structure.
4. FD interest TDS: Banks deduct TDS at 10% on FD interest above ₹40,000/year. If your income is in 0% or 5% slab, you get most/all of this back.
5. Investment proof not submitted: If you forgot to submit 80C proofs to employer by January, employer deducted higher TDS. Claim deductions in ITR for full refund.
Go to incometax.gov.in → Login → My Profile → Bank Account → Add Bank Account. Enter account number and IFSC. The portal validates it within 10 minutes via net banking or EVC. Without pre-validation, refund goes as cheque (takes months). Pre-validated account gets credit in 7-14 days after refund is processed.
If your refund is delayed beyond 1 year from date of filing, the IT department pays interest at 6% per year on the refund amount under Section 244A. You don't need to claim this separately — it's automatically added. However, if the delay is due to your own mistake (wrong bank details, not verifying ITR), no interest is paid.
A refund estimate is only useful when you can trace it to the TDS, income and filing information behind the number.