The Income Tax Department has officially announced the filing of the Income Tax Return (ITR) for the Assessment Year 2026-27 following the release of the Income Tax Department's Excel based Offline Utilities for ITR-1 (Sahaj) and ITR-4 (Sugam). The move comes as the formal beginning of the tax filing season in India this year, and will offer salaried individuals, pensioners and small business taxpayers a benefit.

Key Highlights

• Income Tax Department activates ITR-1 and ITR-4 Excel utilities for AY 2026-27 filings nationwide.
• Taxpayers can file returns offline and digitally upload through official e-filing portal seamlessly now.

Now eligible taxpayers can prepare their returns offline with the help of the Income Tax e-Filing portal's Excel utility and upload them online through the official portal: Income Tax e-Filing portal. New users will have to register with PAN, Aadhaar and registered mobile number details and existing users will be able to log in with their registered PAN, Aadhaar and mobile number.

Choosing the Correct ITR Form is Crucial

Tax specialists recommend that taxpayers be extremely careful when choosing which return form is the best choice for them to avoid any delay in filing, notices for correction, and rejection of returns.

The applicable forms include:

• ITR-1 (Sahaj): Resident individuals whose salary, pension, house property, other incomes and agricultural income is up to Rs 50 lakh are eligible to file this ITR.
• ITR-2: Individuals or Hindu Undivided Families (HUF) where there is no business income
• ITR-3: Incomes from Business or Profession (for individuals and HUFs)
• ITR-4 (Sugam): The form is applicable for presumptive income taxpayers as per provisions in Sections 44AD, 44ADA and 44AE.
• ITR-5: Firms, LLPs, AOPs, BOIs, and Artificial Juridical Persons

Who Cannot File ITR-1?

Taxpayers cannot use ITR-1 if they have:

• Business or professional income
• Short-term capital gains
• Long-term capital gains under Section 112A exceeding ₹1.25 lakh
• Income from certain special taxable sources
• Income from racehorses or lottery winnings
• Income requiring apportionment under Section 5A

New Compliance Changes for AY 2026-27

The latest ITR forms include expanded disclosure requirements. A key update in ITR-1 is the revised Section 24(b) house property schedule, which now requires:

• Lending institution name
• Loan account number
• Date of loan sanction
• Total sanctioned amount
• Outstanding balance
• Interest paid during FY26

Additionally, taxpayers filing ITR-4 must now disclose bank balances as of March 31, 2026, strengthening financial transparency requirements.

Also Read: Income Tax & Office Changes April 1, 2026: What It Means for You

Tax Regime Selection Simplified

Taxpayers filing ITR-1 and ITR-2 can simply select whether they wish to opt out of the default new tax regime directly within the form.

Only business-income taxpayers filing ITR-3, ITR-4, or ITR-5 are required to submit Form 10-IEA for opting out.

Important Filing Deadlines

The department has set the following deadlines for AY 2026-27:

• July 31, 2026: Individuals and salaried taxpayers.
• August 31, 2026: Business taxpayers filing ITR-3 and ITR-4.
• December 31, 2026: Belated return filing deadline.

While filing ITR, taxpayers are advised to download the AIS (Annual Information Statement),  collect Form 16, investment receipts, rent receipts, loan statements, and verify all information to ensure hassle-free processing of their returns.