ITR filing process for AY 2026-27 officially begins
New Delhi, May 15
The Income Tax Department on Friday said that it enabled the filing of Income Tax Returns for the financial year 2025-26 with the release of Excel utilities for ITR-1 and ITR-4 forms on e-filing portal.
Announcing the update on social media platform X, the department said taxpayers can now access both the Excel utility and online filing options for the two forms.
With the announcement of the offline utilities, the ITR filing process for AY 2026-27 has officially commenced.
Now, taxpayers can fill out the forms offline and generate a JSON file and upload it to the Income Tax Department's e-filing website after completing verification. However, non-audit taxpayers are generally required to file their returns by July 31.
At present, seven different ITR forms are available, depending on the nature of income and taxpayer category.
ITR-1 -- known as Sahaj -- is meant for resident individuals, excluding not ordinarily resident taxpayers, having an annual income of up to Rs 50 lakh.
ITR-4 -- known as Sugam -- applicable to resident individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) and firms other than LLPs with annual income up to Rs 50 lakh.
Earlier, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had notified the ITR forms for AY 2026-27 with revised disclosure norms. The changes include additional reporting requirements related to long-term capital gains, losses from share buybacks and certain trading transactions.
Notably, India's net direct tax collections recorded steady growth in the financial year 2025-26, rising 5.12 per cent year-on-year to Rs 23,40,406 crore, according to data released by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
— IANS
Reader Comments
Good to see the process starting early. I just wish the IT department would simplify the forms a bit more. For someone like me who doesn't have a CA, the new reporting requirements for LTCG and share buybacks are quite confusing. But I guess that's what happens when you invest in stocks! 🏢💵
The tax collection growth of 5.12% is decent but let's be honest - a lot of that is because of TDS on everything these days. LTCG reporting changes will catch more investors too. Just file on time and don't give them any excuse to send notices, yaar! 📄✅
As someone who moved back from the US last year, this whole ITR process is still new to me. Glad they released the utilities early so I can figure out ITR-1 for my salary income. The \`not ordinarily resident\` category exclusion is something I need to check with a professional. Helpful article! 🌏📊
One respectful suggestion - why is the ITR-1 still limited to Rs 50 lakh income? The economy has grown since those limits were set. Many salaried professionals cross that threshold now. Meanwhile, the portal keeps crashing during July peaks. Start early, folks, and keep backup PDFs! 💻🤞
The Excel utility is fine but the real test is when you try to upload the JSON on the portal. I had issues last year where the file validation failed for no apparent reason. Wasted 2 hours troubleshooting. Hope they've fixed the backend this time. Still, hats off to the IT team for starting early! 🎯🚀
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.