Keeping the correct bank account details updated on the Income Tax e-Filing portal is important because an Income Tax refund can be credited only to a bank account that has been properly validated and nominated for refund.
If you have changed your bank account, closed an old account, opened a new account, changed your bank branch, changed your account number, or your existing bank account validation has failed, you should update the bank details on the Income Tax portal.
The ITR Bank Account Change process can be completed online through the My Bank Account service available after logging in to the Income Tax e-Filing portal. The current Income Tax Department guidance allows taxpayers to add and pre-validate bank accounts, remove closed or inactive accounts, revalidate accounts and nominate a validated account for receiving refunds.
What Is ITR Bank Account Change?
ITR Bank Account Change means updating, adding, removing or revalidating the bank account details associated with your Income Tax e-Filing account.
This becomes important when your existing bank account is no longer suitable for receiving an Income Tax refund.
For example, you may have:
- Closed your old bank account
- Opened a new savings account
- Changed your bank account number
- Changed your bank
- Changed your bank branch or IFSC
- Changed your bank-registered mobile number
- Changed your account type
- Discovered that your old account is inactive
- Received a refund failure because the bank account was not validated
- Found that your PAN is not linked with the bank account
The Income Tax Department’s My Bank Account service specifically provides facilities to add a bank account, pre-validate it, remove an account, nominate an account for refund and revalidate an account when validation has failed.
Why Should You Change Your Bank Account in ITR?
The most important reason is Income Tax refund.
A taxpayer may file an ITR and become eligible for a refund, but the refund can fail if there is no suitable validated bank account.
The Income Tax Department states that only a validated bank account can be nominated to receive an Income Tax refund.
For example:
You filed your ITR and expected a refund of ₹25,000.
However, the bank account previously registered on the portal was closed.
If the refund is attempted against that account, it can fail. You may then need to add and validate another bank account and, where applicable, submit a refund reissue request.
Therefore, updating your bank account before the refund process can help avoid unnecessary delays.
When Should You Change Your Bank Account Details?
You should consider updating or revalidating your bank account when:
- You open a new bank account
- Your old account is closed
- Your account becomes inactive
- Your bank merges with another bank
- Your branch changes
- Your IFSC changes
- Your account number changes
- Your name changes in bank records
- Your PAN is newly linked to the account
- Your bank-registered mobile or email changes
- Your previous bank validation fails
- You want your refund to go to another validated account
The Income Tax Department has specifically advised taxpayers to update or revalidate bank details in situations such as a bank merger, branch change, account-number change, name change, account closure/inactivity or IFSC change.
How to Change Bank Account in ITR Online
You can update your bank account through the Income Tax e-Filing portal.
Step 1: Visit the Income Tax e-Filing Portal
Open the official Income Tax e-Filing portal and log in using your credentials.
You need a registered e-Filing account to access the My Bank Account service.
Step 2: Open My Profile
After logging in:
Dashboard → My Profile
The Income Tax Department’s current user manual places the bank-account facility under the My Profile section.
Step 3: Select My Bank Account
Inside your profile, select:
My Bank Account
You can see the bank accounts associated with your e-Filing account.
The portal can show accounts under different statuses, including:
- Added
- Failed
- Removed
Step 4: Add Your New Bank Account
If you want to use a new bank account, select the option to add a bank account.
Enter the required details, such as:
- Bank name
- Account number
- Account type
- IFSC
- Other requested information
Make sure the account number and IFSC are entered correctly.
Step 5: Verify the Bank Account
The new account needs to be validated.
The Income Tax Department states that the account should be linked with your PAN and that you need a valid account number and IFSC. Verification can be completed through available methods such as Aadhaar OTP, EVC, net banking or DSC, depending on the taxpayer and login type.
Step 6: Wait for Bank Validation
After successful submission and e-verification, the account can initially appear with a status such as Validation in progress.
The bank details are then checked.
The Income Tax Department states that bank-account validation status can generally be updated within 10–12 working days after submission, although the actual process can depend on the circumstances.
Step 7: Nominate the Account for Refund
Adding a bank account is not the same as nominating it for refund.
Once the account is validated, make sure the account is nominated to receive your Income Tax refund if you want refunds credited there.
The Income Tax Department specifically provides a Nominate for Refund facility for validated bank accounts.
How to Add a New Bank Account for ITR Refund
If your old bank account is no longer usable, you can add another account.
The basic process is:
Login → My Profile → My Bank Account → Add Bank Account → Enter Details → Validate → Wait for Validation → Nominate for Refund
The Income Tax Department’s current guidance confirms that a taxpayer can add a bank account and pre-validate it through the My Bank Account service.
Can I Remove My Old Bank Account?
Yes.
The My Bank Account service provides an option to remove a closed or deactivated bank account.
This is useful when you no longer want an old account to remain associated with your e-Filing profile.
However, do not remove your only usable bank account before ensuring that another suitable account has been added and validated if you are expecting a refund.
The Income Tax Department specifically lists removal of a closed or deactivated bank account as one of the facilities under My Bank Account.
How to Change Bank Account if the Old Account Is Closed
Suppose your previous bank account was closed after you filed your ITR.
You should:
- Log in to the Income Tax e-Filing portal.
- Open My Profile.
- Select My Bank Account.
- Add your active bank account.
- Enter the correct account details.
- Complete the available verification process.
- Wait for validation.
- Nominate the validated account for refund.
If the refund has already failed, you may also need to submit a Refund Reissue request.
The Income Tax Department’s refund-reissue facility requires a validated bank account and allows the taxpayer to select the bank account in which the refund should be received.
What If Your ITR Refund Has Already Failed?
Changing your bank account on the portal alone may not automatically restart a refund that has already failed.
In such a situation, you may need to use the Refund Reissue facility.
The current Income Tax Department process is:
Login → Dashboard → Services → Refund Reissue
Then:
- Select Create Refund Reissue Request.
- Select the relevant refund record.
- Continue.
- Select a validated bank account.
- Proceed to verification.
- Complete e-verification.
- Save the transaction/reference details.
Only validated bank accounts are available for selection in the refund-reissue process. If the desired account is not validated, the portal provides an option to add a bank account.
For more information about delayed or failed refunds, you can also read ITR Refund Not Received.
What If Bank Account Validation Fails?
Bank-account validation can fail for several reasons.
Common reasons include:
- PAN not linked with the bank account
- Incorrect PAN
- Incorrect account number
- Incorrect IFSC
- Name mismatch
- Closed account
- Inactive account
- Invalid account type
- Account frozen or blocked
- Bank not integrated for the applicable validation process
The Income Tax Department provides different corrective actions depending on the reason for failure. For example, if the PAN-bank-IFSC linkage fails, you may need to contact your bank branch to establish the linkage and then revalidate the account. If the account is closed or inactive, you should use another valid account.
PAN and Bank Account Name Mismatch
One of the common reasons for bank validation failure is a mismatch between your PAN details and bank records.
For example:
PAN: Rahul Kumar
Bank: Rahul K.
Depending on the bank’s records and validation process, such differences may cause problems.
If the name mismatch is the reason for failure, the Income Tax Department advises contacting the bank to update the name as per PAN records and then revalidating the account.
Do not repeatedly enter the same incorrect details and expect the validation to succeed.
PAN Is Not Linked With Bank Account
The bank account used for validation should be linked with your PAN.
If the PAN-bank linkage has failed, contact your bank and get the PAN linked correctly.
After the bank updates its records, return to the Income Tax portal and use the Re-Validate option.
The Income Tax Department specifically lists PAN-bank-account linkage as a prerequisite for adding and validating a bank account.
How to Revalidate an Existing Bank Account
You may need to revalidate an account if:
- Previous validation failed
- Bank-registered mobile number changed
- Bank-registered email changed
- e-Filing profile details changed
- Account type changed
- Account status was updated
The current Income Tax Department manual states that an added bank account can also be revalidated after changes to mobile/email, e-Filing profile details or account type/status.
The general process is:
My Profile → My Bank Account → Failed/Added Account → Re-Validate
Check the prefilled bank details, make the necessary corrections and proceed to e-verification.
Can I Change the Bank Account After Filing ITR?
Yes.
The bank-account information maintained in the e-Filing portal can be updated after filing the ITR.
However, if you are changing the bank account because you are expecting a refund, do not wait until the refund fails if you already know that your old account is closed or unsuitable.
Update and validate the new account as early as possible.
The Income Tax Department’s ITR filing guidance also advises taxpayers to pre-validate their bank account so that any refund due can be credited to the bank account.
Does Changing the Bank Account Change the ITR?
No.
Changing the bank account in the My Bank Account section does not mean that you are changing the income, deductions or tax information reported in your already-filed ITR.
The purpose is to maintain the correct bank details for services such as refund credit and other permitted e-Filing functions.
If you need to correct information actually reported in an ITR, that is a separate matter.
What Type of Bank Account Can Be Used?
The Income Tax Department states that accounts eligible for refund nomination include:
- Savings account
- Current account
- Cash credit account
- Overdraft account
- NRO account
A loan or PPF account cannot be pre-validated as a refund bank account.
Therefore, do not enter a loan account simply because you want your refund transferred there.
Can I Add More Than One Bank Account?
The My Bank Account service allows taxpayers to add bank accounts to their e-Filing profile.
However, the important point for refunds is that the account intended to receive the refund must be validated and nominated for refund.
You should therefore check the status of your accounts rather than assuming that simply adding an account makes it eligible for refund.
The Income Tax Department distinguishes between adding a bank account, validating it and nominating it for refund.
What Happens if Your Bank Account Is Inactive?
An inactive or closed account can create problems during validation or refund processing.
The Income Tax Department advises taxpayers with a closed or inactive account to use a different valid bank account.
If you already have another active account, add it to the e-Filing portal, complete validation and nominate it for refund.
What If Your IFSC Code Changed?
An IFSC change can occur because of:
- Bank merger
- Branch merger
- Branch relocation
- Bank restructuring
If your bank account remains the same but the IFSC has changed, check the bank details shown on the e-Filing portal and revalidate the account where required.
The Income Tax Department specifically identifies IFSC changes as a situation where bank-account details may need to be updated or revalidated.
What If Your Bank Merged With Another Bank?
Bank mergers can affect:
- Bank name
- IFSC
- Branch details
- Account information
- Validation status
If your bank has merged with another bank, check your current account details with the bank first.
Then update or revalidate the account on the Income Tax portal.
The Income Tax Department has specifically advised taxpayers to update/revalidate bank details when their bank has merged with another bank.
What If Your Bank-Registered Mobile Number Changed?
A change in the mobile number registered with your bank can affect bank-account validation or EVC-related functionality.
The Income Tax Department advises revalidation where bank-registered mobile/email information has changed.
Before revalidating, make sure your bank and e-Filing profile contain the appropriate current contact details.
ITR Bank Account Change for Refund
If your main reason for changing the bank account is an Income Tax refund, follow this sequence:
Before Refund Processing
- Add the new bank account.
- Ensure PAN is linked with the account.
- Validate the account.
- Wait for validation status.
- Nominate it for refund.
If Refund Already Failed
- Add the new account.
- Validate it.
- Go to Services → Refund Reissue.
- Select the relevant refund.
- Choose the validated bank account.
- Complete e-verification.
The Income Tax Department confirms that refund reissue requires a validated bank account and provides a specific online refund-reissue workflow.
ITR Bank Account Change vs Bank Account Change in Filed ITR
These two situations should not be confused.
Changing bank details on the e-Filing portal
This updates the bank account associated with your tax profile and refund arrangements.
Changing information reported in the ITR
If you entered incorrect bank-account information in the actual return, the appropriate correction mechanism depends on the status and nature of the return.
Therefore, simply updating My Bank Account should not be treated as automatically modifying every bank detail that was previously reported in an ITR.
Common Mistakes During ITR Bank Account Change
1. Adding the account but not validating it
Simply adding an account does not make it eligible for refund.
The account must be validated.
2. Forgetting to nominate the account
After validation, make sure the account is nominated for refund if you want the refund credited there.
3. Entering an incorrect account number
A single incorrect digit can prevent validation.
Always copy the account number carefully from your bank records.
4. Entering an outdated IFSC
If your bank has changed its IFSC, use the current details provided by the bank.
5. Using an account not linked with PAN
PAN-bank linkage is an important requirement for validation.
6. Ignoring a validation failure
If validation fails, check the reason displayed by the portal and correct the underlying issue.
7. Assuming refund will automatically be reissued
If the refund has already failed, you may need to submit a separate refund-reissue request.
8. Removing the old account too early
If you have an ongoing refund issue, first ensure that another valid account has been added and validated.
ITR Bank Account Change Checklist
Before considering your bank-account update complete, check:
- New bank account is active
- Account number is correct
- IFSC is correct
- PAN is linked with the bank account
- Name matches the relevant records
- Account type is eligible
- Bank account added to e-Filing portal
- Bank validation completed
- Validation status checked
- Account nominated for refund
- Old account removed if no longer required
- Refund status checked
- Refund reissue requested if previous refund failed
Conclusion
The ITR Bank Account Change process is important whenever your existing bank account is closed, inactive, changed or no longer suitable for receiving an Income Tax refund.
The basic process is straightforward:
Login → My Profile → My Bank Account → Add/Revalidate Account → Verify → Wait for Validation → Nominate for Refund
If your refund has already failed, changing the bank account alone may not be sufficient. You may also need to use the Refund Reissue service and select the newly validated bank account.
Always check the account number, IFSC, PAN linkage and bank-account name carefully before submitting the details. Keeping your bank information updated can help avoid unnecessary refund failures and delays.
For more practical guides on Income Tax, ITR filing and government services, visit Sarkari Bakery.
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