The Income Tax Department has started rolling out online filing and Excel utilities for ITR-1, ITR-2 and ITR-4 for AY 2026-27 in a phased manner on the e-filing portal.
ITR-1 and ITR-4, mainly used by small and medium taxpayers, were enabled on May 15. This was followed by the activation of ITR-2 filing on May 27.
With the utilities now live, taxpayers can start filing income tax returns for FY 2025-26. Here’s are look at which income tax return form should you file this year?
(It is important to note, the IT department is yet to rollout ITR-3 applicable to individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) that earn income from a business or profession and are required to maintain books of accounts.)
Who should fillITR Form 1 (Sahaj)?
Sahaj can be filed by a resident individual having annual income up to ₹50 lakh, and who receives income from salary, one house property, other sources (interest) and agricultural income up to ₹5,000 a year. It also allows reporting of long-term capital gains (LTCG) of ₹1.25 lakh a year.
Who should fillI ITR Form 4 (Sugam)?
Sugam can be filed by individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) and firms (other than Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs)) having a total annual income up to ₹50 lakh and income from business and profession.
- ITR-4 cannot be used by someone who:
- is a Director in a company
- has short-term capital gains
- has Long-term capital gain u/s 112A exceeding ₹1.25 lakh
- has held any unlisted equity shares at any time during the previous year
- has any asset (including financial interest in any entity) located outside India
- has signing authority in any account located outside India
- has income from any source outside India
- is a person in whose case payment or deduction of tax has been deferred on ESOP
- who has any brought forward loss or loss to be carried forward under any head of income
- has total income exceeding ₹50 lakh
Who should fillI ITR Form 2?
ITR-2 is filed by individuals and HUFs who do not earn any income from business or profession, but have receipts from capital gains and some other specified sources. For example, those who earn income from:
- Salary or pension
- From more than one house property
- Capital gains from sale of assets
- From other sources (such as interest, dividends, etc.)
What are the last date for filing ITR this year?
The last date for filing income tax returns by individual taxpayers in ITR-1 and ITR-2 is July 31, while for non-audit taxpayers filing ITR-4, the deadline is August 31.
What’s new this year?
One of the key changes this year is that the Income Tax Department is enabling online filing and Excel utilities gradually for each ITR form, instead of releasing all forms together.
The Excel utilities for ITR-1, ITR-2 and ITR-4 are now available in the “Downloads” section of the income tax e-filing portal. With both online filing and Excel utilities now enabled, taxpayers can begin filing their income tax returns.