Quick verdict
- Use the Income Tax portal (free) if you have one Form 16, standard deductions, and no capital gains. It prefills your data and costs nothing.
- Use ClearTax (paid) if you have capital gains, freelance income, or multiple income sources, where its automation saves real time and reduces errors.
The portal is not worse. It is just unguided. For a simple return that does not matter. For a complex one it does.
Comparison table
| Income Tax Portal | ClearTax | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free, always | Free tier + paid from ~₹1,000 |
| Source | Official filing site | Interface on top of filing |
| Prefilled data | Yes (salary, TDS, interest) | Yes, plus reads Form 16 |
| Capital gains help | Manual | Imports and computes |
| Regime comparison | You calculate | Side-by-side automatic |
| Guidance | None | Guided flow |
| Best for | Simple salaried returns | Complex returns, first-timers |
Prices are indicative for AY 2026-27. Confirm current pricing on ClearTax.
What the free portal does well
The government portal at incometax.gov.in has improved a lot. It now prefills your salary, TDS and interest income from the data the department already holds. For a salaried person with one Form 16, that means most of the return is filled before you start.
It is also the official source, with no middleman and no cost. If you are comfortable and your return is simple, there is genuinely no reason to pay.
Where ClearTax earns its fee
ClearTax adds value exactly where the portal leaves you on your own:
- Reads your Form 16 so you do not type figures.
- Imports capital gains from brokers and splits short-term and long-term automatically.
- Compares old and new regime in rupees so you pick the cheaper one.
- Guides you so a first-timer does not get stuck.
Example. Priya tried the free portal but gave up trying to split her mutual fund gains into short-term and long-term. On ClearTax she imported the statement and it did the split for her in minutes. The portal could have done it, but only if she knew how. That knowledge gap is what she paid to close.
When to file free
- One Form 16, nothing else.
- Standard deductions only (80C, 80D you can enter easily).
- No capital gains, one house property.
- Income below the taxable limit, filing only for a refund.
In these cases, use the portal. See our note on whether ClearTax is free too, since its free tier is another zero-cost option for simple returns.
When to pay
- Capital gains from stocks or mutual funds.
- Freelance or business income.
- Multiple income sources to reconcile.
- You are a nervous first-timer who wants guidance.
- You value finishing fast over saving the fee.
Here, ClearTax usually pays for itself. Read the ClearTax review and our take on whether ClearTax is worth it.
Pros and cons
Income Tax Portal
- Pros: free, official, prefilled data, no middleman.
- Cons: no guidance, capital gains are manual, mistakes are yours.
ClearTax
- Pros: reads documents, automates capital gains, compares regimes, guided.
- Cons: paid plan for most returns; prices rise near the deadline.
Final verdict
If your return is simple, file free on the Income Tax portal. It does everything you need and costs nothing. Paying would be spending money for no real benefit, and we would rather you did not.
If your return is complex, ClearTax is worth the fee, because the time it saves and the mistakes it prevents usually outweigh the cost.
If your return is complex enough to justify it, file your ITR on ClearTax. We may earn a referral reward at no extra cost to you. If your return is simple, the free portal is the right choice.
FAQ
Is ClearTax better than the government portal?
For complex returns, yes, because it reads your documents and automates capital gains. For a simple salaried return, the free portal is just as good and costs nothing.
Can I file ITR for free on the government portal?
Yes, always. The Income Tax portal at incometax.gov.in is free for every return type and prefills much of your data.
Why pay for ClearTax if the portal is free?
You pay for automation, guidance, and error reduction, mainly useful when your return has capital gains or multiple income sources. For a simple return there is little to gain.
Which is safer, ClearTax or the portal?
Both are safe with normal precautions. The portal is the official source; ClearTax is a widely used interface on top of it. See our guide on whether ClearTax is safe.
Does the portal handle capital gains?
Yes, but manually. You need to know how to classify and enter them. ClearTax imports and computes them for you.
