The Income Tax Department has notified all seven ITR forms, as well as ITR-V and ITR-U for assessment year 2026-27 (financial year 2025-26). Due to this, the question is arising in the minds of many taxpayers whether they can start filing their income tax returns from now. The simple answer is: not yet. Even though the forms are now available, taxpayers will have to wait a little longer before they can actually file their returns on the e-filing portal.
Utilities are also yet to be released
Notification of the form is just the first step in the ITR filing process. To start filing, the Income Tax Department will also have to release Excel and JSON utilities to help taxpayers and professionals prepare and upload returns. Until these utilities go live on the portal and are fully tested, filing cannot begin.
Which ITR form is for whom?
The department has notified all the main forms for different categories of taxpayers:
ITR-1 (Sahaj): Salaried people with income up to Rs 50 lakh
ITR-2: Individuals/HUFs with capital gains or multiple sources of income
ITR-3: People with business or professional income
ITR-4 (Sugam): Taxpayers with presumptive income (small businesses/professionals)
ITR-5, 6, 7: For firms, companies, trusts and institutions
Along with these, ITR-V (verification form) and ITR-U (updated return) have also been notified.
When will ITR filing actually start?
Even though the portal technically opens on April 1, the actual filing usually starts only after the backend system is ready. CA Parag Jain, Tax Head, 1 Finance, reports FE that the new ITR forms have arrived, but do not be in a hurry to file yet… The e-filing portal is not open for submission yet. It opens after the tasting, which usually takes place in mid-May. This means taxpayers can expect ITR filing to begin in mid-May once the systems are stabilised.
Why should you still wait before filing?
Even after the utilities are released, experts are advising not to rush. One of the main reasons is that immediately after the end of the financial year, important documents like Form 26AS and AIS are not completely updated. TDS/TCS details are visible in Form 26AS. AIS (Annual Information Statement) covers a much wider range of financial transactions. These are generally updated between April and May, when companies complete their final TDS filings and financial institutions submit the data.
Why does it take time for data to appear?
- Companies file TDS returns for the last quarter by May 31.
- AIS data is collected from multiple sources, such as banks and stock exchanges.
- Taxpayers need time to reconcile Form 16 (now Form 130), 26AS and AIS.
- If you file too early, you may receive a notice if there is a mismatch or you may be required to file a revised return.
Don’t rush, prepare instead
Parag Jain advises caution, saying that it is better for taxpayers to wait until all the required documents are completely updated, which usually happens by mid-June. They further say that filing too early may lead to errors or misreporting of data. Taxpayers who file early have had to face such problems in the past also. Instead, taxpayers can use this time to organize their documents, verify income details and plan properly for deductions/exemptions.