Income Tax Return Forms AY 2026-27: Key Changes and Filing Deadlines

The Income Tax Department has released the ITR forms for the assessment year 2026-27, providing taxpayers with the necessary tools to file their returns for the financial year 2025-26 and understand the specific forms relevant to their income sources.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

IMAGE: Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

Key Points

The Income Tax Department has notified all ITR forms for the assessment year 2026-27, allowing taxpayers to prepare for filing.
ITR forms 1-4, designed for small and medium taxpayers, were notified on March 30, while other forms were released earlier.
The deadline for filing ITR for individuals and those not requiring audits is July 31.
ITR Form 1 (Sahaj) and ITR Form 4 (Sugam) are simplified forms for individuals with income up to Rs 50 lakh from specific sources.
Different ITR forms cater to various categories of taxpayers, including individuals, HUFs, firms, companies, trusts, and charitable institutions.

The Income Tax department has notified all income tax return forms for the assessment year (AY) 2026-27.

While ITR forms 1-4, filed by small and medium taxpayers, were notified on March 30, ITR forms 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7, as well as ITR-U (for filing updated returns), were notified on Tuesday.

With the ITR (income tax return) notification, individuals, businesses and other entities can start filing I-T returns for the income earned in the financial year 2025-26.

The last date for filing ITR for individuals and those who do not have to get their accounts audited is July 31.

Understanding Key ITR Forms

ITR Form 1 (Sahaj) and ITR Form 4 (Sugam) are simpler forms that cater to a large number of small and medium taxpayers.

Sahaj can be filed by a resident individual having annual income up to Rs 50 lakh and who receives income from salary, one house property, other sources (interest) and agricultural income up to Rs 5,000 a year.

Sugam can be filed by individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) and firms (other than Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs)) having total annual income up to Rs 50 lakh and income from business and profession.

ITR-2 is filed by individuals and HUFs who do not have income from profits and gains in business or profession, but have income from capital gains.

ITR-3 is for individuals and HUFs earning income from a proprietary business or profession.

ITR-5 is filed by firms and limited liability partnership and cooperative societies

ITR-6 is filed by companies registered under Companies Act.

ITR-7 is filed by trusts and charitable institutions.

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