What are the major changes made in ITR filing for assessment year 2026-27? Now what relief has the Income Tax Department given regarding showing the income of two houses? Why has it been made mandatory for ITR-4 filers to declare their bank account balance? What problems can taxpayers face if they choose the wrong ITR form?
Income Tax News: The time has come to file Income Tax Return (ITR). Most of the people are waiting to receive Form-16 from their companies, which will be received by mid-June. But the Income Tax Department has already released online filing and Excel utility for ITR-1 and ITR-4 forms. While filing returns for assessment year 2026-27, you have to keep in mind some important changes. These changes are quite significant compared to last year. At first glance the form may look like the old one, but if you don’t pay attention, it can be difficult to understand these changes. Also note that this is one of the last return filings under the old income tax system as the new rules have come into effect.
Taxpayers must pay attention to these 5 changes
1. Now you can show income from two houses
This is a big relief for taxpayers who own more than one house. Earlier, salaried individuals and small businessmen using ITR-1 (Sahaj) and ITR-4 (Sugam) forms were able to show income from only one household. But now, they can report income from up to two houses in these simple forms. For this they will not need to fill any other complicated form.
2. Capital gains tax reporting becomes easier
If you faced confusion while reporting capital gains last year, this time things have been made easier. Due to changes in the budget last year, transactions before and after July 23, 2024 had to be shown separately. But this hassle has been eliminated for assessment year 2026-27. There is a single capital gains tax structure for FY 2025-26, so there is no need to divide transactions according to dates.
3. New column to report fare not received
This is necessary for those who have given their property on rent. This time a new column has been added in ITR-1 and ITR-4 forms, in which you can give information about the rent which you did not receive (Unrealized Rent). The objective of the Income Tax Department is to make the information about rental income more clean and transparent.
4. It is necessary to provide information about bank balance
A new condition has been added for those who file ITR-4 under the Presumptive Taxation Scheme. People falling under sections 44AD, 44ADA, and 44AE will now be required to declare the closing balance of all their active bank accounts by March 31, 2026. This information has to be given in column ‘E21’ of ITR-4. Experts have warned that giving wrong information or hiding information can lead to tax notice or fine.
5. It is very important to choose the right ITR form
Choosing the right ITR form has always been important, but this year its importance has increased even more. If you have income from multiple sources, such as salary, rent, capital gains, freelancing, trading or business, you need to make sure you are choosing the right form. Choosing the wrong form may result in you getting a notice of defective return, delay in refund, incorrect calculation of tax, or you may even lose the benefit of carry forward losses from previous years.