Tracking a Parent's or Spouse's ITR and Refund: The Options

You filed your father's return in July and your wife's in August, and now you want to know whether their refunds have come. The income tax portal is built around one person, one login. There's no official way to link family accounts so one person sees them all. What you do have are a few separate routes, each with its own limits, and every one of them starts with the other person agreeing to it.

Here are the routes in order, from the one that needs the least access to the one that needs the most.

Before anything else: their consent

A parent's or spouse's tax records are theirs. Their income, bank accounts, investments and any notices are all in the account. Ask before you check, tell them what you'll look at, and let them change the password whenever they want. Don't log in to anyone's account without their knowledge, even a family member's.

Route 1: the pre-login ITR Status check

The portal's Income Tax Return (ITR) Status service works without logging in. It needs only two things:

• the acknowledgement number of the return (on the ITR-V, the acknowledgement emailed after filing), and
• a mobile number to receive a 6-digit OTP.

Steps, from the portal's user manual:

1. Open incometax.gov.in and click Income Tax Return (ITR) Status on the home page.
2. Enter the acknowledgement number and a valid mobile number, then click Continue.
3. Enter the OTP sent to that mobile and click Submit. The OTP is valid for 15 minutes, with 3 attempts.
4. The status of the return shows on screen.

This is the lightest route, because you don't need their password. Keep a list of acknowledgement numbers for the family returns you file. The limit is that it shows one return's status at a time. For the refund amount, the bank reference or the intimation, you need the logged-in view.

Don't expect the refund banker's page at Protean (formerly NSDL e-Gov) to fill the gap for a recent year: it now sends refunds paid after 31 March 2023 back to the e-Filing portal, and its year list ends at AY 2022-23. Our refund tracking guide explains the portal's view, and why the portal and Protean can disagree covers the rest.

Route 2: their own login, with their permission

The full picture is in their account: e-File > Income Tax Returns > View Filed Returns shows each return, its timeline, and options to download the ITR-V, the filed form and the intimation.

For this you need their PAN and portal password, given by them. A few things make it work well:

• Keep their contact details theirs. The department's notice on contact details asks every taxpayer to register their own mobile and email. It also allows one mobile number or email ID to be the primary contact for up to 10 accounts, so family members without their own phone or email can be covered by a common one.
• Add yourself as a secondary contact, not the primary one. The same notice says the secondary contact has no limit on the number of accounts, and the taxpayer can choose to send emails to it as well. Your parent keeps the OTPs; you get copies of the emails.
• Expect the OTPs to go to them. Password resets and many confirmations go to their registered mobile or Aadhaar-linked mobile. Plan for that, rather than moving their number to yours.

Route 3: an authorised representative (only in specific situations)

The portal has formal ways for one person to act for another under Authorized Partners:

• Authorize another person to act on behalf of self: the taxpayer adds you as an authorised signatory, and you accept within 7 days by uploading a notarised power of attorney.
• Register as Representative Assessee: you apply to act for someone, and the department processes the request within 7 days.

These are for specific situations, not for convenience. The portal's FAQ lists cases such as a taxpayer who is absent from India or a non-resident, a person who is mentally incapacitated, a minor, or a deceased person (through the legal heir route). Each needs its own documents: a medical certificate for incapacity, proof of guardianship for a minor, a death certificate and proof of heirship for a legal heir. A parent who is in India and able to manage their affairs, but finds the portal difficult, doesn't fit any of them.

When it does apply, the FAQ says a representative generally has full access except profile settings and authorising or registering others. That access lasts until the authorisation ends, after which it usually narrows to viewing and downloading earlier returns and forms.

What to check on each family member's account

Once you can see a return, a quick checklist catches most problems before they become a delay.

1. Is the return e-verified? A return pending e-verification isn't processed. Parents can usually e-verify with Aadhaar OTP on their own phone.
2. Is the PAN operative? A PAN not linked with Aadhaar is inoperative, and refunds are held. See what an inoperative PAN does to a refund.
3. Is a bank account validated and nominated? Refunds go only to the taxpayer's own pre-validated account, under My Profile > My Bank Account.
4. Has it been processed? If it's been e-verified for weeks with no change, see how long an e-verified return can take.
5. Any pending action? Look under Pending Actions for notices, proposed adjustments or demands that need a reply within a time limit.

A worked example

Say you file for three people for AY 2026-27 (FY 2025-26):

With the pre-login check you can see all three statuses using the acknowledgement numbers. You'd still need each person's login to read your spouse's intimation or confirm your father's bank account.

Keeping several family PANs on one screen

Logging in to three accounts every few weeks, each with its own password and OTPs, is where most families give up. myutils.me is an independent app, not affiliated with the Income Tax Department. With each person's agreement, you add their PAN and portal password, and it signs in to the portal for them and shows ITR status, refunds, AIS/TIS, tax deposits and demands for every PAN on one dashboard. Each password is stored encrypted and used only to sign in to the portal.

Data refreshes when you add a PAN or press Sync, for one PAN or a selection. It doesn't check on a schedule or send alerts. Accounts with two-factor login through e-Filing Vault can't be synced. If the person changes their password, update it in the app.

For a CA handling many clients, our guide to managing client tax work covers the same ground at larger scale.

FAQ

Can I check my mother's ITR status without her password?

Yes. Use the pre-login Income Tax Return (ITR) Status service with her return's acknowledgement number and a mobile number for the OTP. It shows the status, not the refund details.

Can I register as my parent's authorised representative to manage their account?

Only if their situation is one the portal allows, such as absence from India, mental incapacity or similar cases, with the documents for it. Finding the portal difficult isn't one of them.

Can my spouse's refund be paid into my bank account?

No. A refund goes to a bank account in the taxpayer's own name that is pre-validated against their PAN and nominated for refund.

Can one mobile number be used for all the family's portal accounts?

As the primary contact, the department's notice allows one mobile or email for up to 10 accounts, but asks taxpayers to use their own where they can. As a secondary contact, there is no limit.

Does logging in with their password make me their representative?

No. Checking their account with their permission is a private arrangement between you. The return, its verification and any reply to a notice remain theirs. If you need to act formally on their behalf, use the authorised representative routes where their situation allows it.

Sources

• How to know the ITR status (user manual)
• Authorise and register as representative (user manual)
• Authorised signatory and representative FAQ
• Announcement on updating contact details in the e-Filing portal
• Refund status user manual