The new financial year has started and with it the question has started arising in the minds of taxpayers that when will the process of filing Income Tax Return (ITR) start. If you are also planning to file your return on time, then there is good news for you. The Income Tax Department has notified ITR forms for assessment year 2026-27. Tax experts believe that taxpayers will be able to start filing their returns from this month itself.
The process of returns may start in April itself
Usually, the process of filing income tax returns starts in the month of April itself. The Income Tax Department first issues the ITR form and then the utilities are enabled for online filing. It is expected that these utilities will be activated on the e-filing portal very soon and the path for filing will be cleared.
Last year, taxpayers had to wait a long time to file returns. The main reason for this was some major changes in the income tax rules, which included new provisions related to Long Term Capital Gains (LTCG), Short Term Capital Gains (STCG) and indexation. But this time the department has already notified the forms with complete preparation, due to which there is every possibility that the filing will start smoothly from this month itself.
The working class will have to have some patience
Even though the return filing process starts this month, salaried employees will have to wait for a few weeks to file their ITR. The biggest reason for this is ‘Form 16’. Form 16 is a very important document for any employed person to file his tax return correctly.
According to the rules, it is mandatory for all companies and employers to issue Form 16 to their employees by June 15 every year. In this form, complete details of the total salary received by the employee and the TDS deducted during the relevant financial year are recorded. Only on the basis of this accurate information, salaried employees are able to file their returns safely.
New law implemented, but return filing under old ‘Act 1961’
It is very important for taxpayers to know that the new Income Tax Act, 2025 has come into force in the country from April 1. This new law has replaced the decades-old Income Tax Act, 1961. However, it should be clear to you that the income tax return you will file this year for the financial year 2025-26 will be filed completely under the provisions of the old Income Tax Act, 1961.
This simply means that taxpayers will have to follow the terminology and rules like ‘Previous Year’ and ‘Assessment Year’ as before. The last date for filing returns without penalty for individual taxpayers is July 31. The government has notified all forms from ITR-1 to ITR-7 for assessment year 2026-27 on March 30.
Big relief to two house property owners, got green signal to use ITR-1
The biggest and positive change that has happened in the ITR forms this time is related to landlords. According to the new notification of the Income Tax Department, now ‘ITR-1 (Sahaj)’ form can also be used by those taxpayers whose income comes from two house properties. In earlier years, people who owned more than one house had to fill relatively complex forms like ITR-2 or ITR-3 to report their income. This change will make the process much easier.
However, despite this simplification, some old conditions for using ITR-1 will remain applicable. If a person has income from business or profession, or his capital gain under Section 112A is more than Rs 1.25 lakh, then he will not be able to use the Sahaj form. Apart from this, the use of ITR-1 will also be prohibited in case of income from other sources like lottery winnings or horse racing.