Split a large PDF to fit a 5 MB or 10 MB limit
A 40-page statement or a scanned annexure is too big for a 5 MB portal limit or a 10 MB email. Splitting into parts under the limit keeps every page exactly as it was, and is often the better answer than compressing. How to do it and how to name the parts.
Portals and email set a ceiling on each file: often 5 MB for tax and GST replies, 6 MB on MCA, and 10 MB on some portals and office email systems. A year of bank statements, a scanned annexure or a long agreement can easily go over.
There are two ways to get under a limit, compressing and splitting. Choosing the right one matters.
Split or compress?
| Your PDF | Best choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Downloaded from a bank, Tally or a portal (you can select the text) | Split | It is text. Compressing it into images makes it blurry, unsearchable and often bigger |
| Scanned or photographed pages | Compress first, then split if still too big | It is already images, so compressing works well |
| Digitally signed (DSC) | Split the unsigned original, then sign each part | Any tool that rewrites a signed PDF breaks the signature |
| Already under the limit | Neither | Upload it as it is |
How splitting by size works
You enter the maximum size per part, say 5 MB. Pages are packed into parts in order, measuring the real size of each saved part, so:
- every part is under the limit,
- no page is changed, only grouped,
- nothing is out of order: part 1 holds the first pages, part 2 the next, and so on.
Leave a little margin. If the limit is 5 MB, splitting to about 4.8 MB avoids trouble when a portal measures size slightly differently.
When one page is bigger than the limit
Occasionally a single scanned page is larger than the limit on its own, for example a high-resolution colour scan. Splitting can't help, because a page can't be divided. That page is kept as a one-page part and flagged.
Fix it by compressing first (scans compress well), then splitting.
Compress a scanned PDF to a sizeReduce a scanned PDF to an exact size in KB for government portals, GST, income tax and exam uploadsName the parts so they can be followed
The person reading your reply needs to know how the parts fit together. Name them clearly and in order:
Annexure-A-bank-statement-part-1-of-3.pdfAnnexure-A-bank-statement-part-2-of-3.pdfAnnexure-A-bank-statement-part-3-of-3.pdf
Mention the parts in your reply too, for example: "Bank statement for FY 2025-26 is attached as Annexure A in three parts."
Income-tax replies
Income-tax e-proceedings accept attachments of up to 5 MB each. The response screen also shows how many attachments you can add in total, so check that before splitting a document into many parts.
The income-tax preset keeps digital PDFs that already fit exactly as they are, compresses scans that don't, and splits long documents into parts with their page ranges in the file names.
KBIncome-tax attachments under 5 MBFit notice-reply attachments for income tax e-proceedings under the 5 MB per-file cap — keep text PDFs untouched, compress scans, or split long ledgersPutting parts back together
If you received a document in parts and need it as one file, for your own records or for a portal that accepts larger files, merge the parts in order.
Merge the parts into one PDFCombine several PDFs into one in the order you chooseQuick answers
Does splitting reduce quality?
No. Pages are copied exactly; only which file they sit in changes.
My browser asked to allow multiple downloads.
Each part downloads as its own file. Choose Allow once.
Is my statement uploaded to split it?
No. The PDF is split on your own device, so it's safe for client and bank documents.