income tax
The process of filing income tax returns has started from today. For AY 2026-27 (FY 2025-26), the department has released Excel utility for ITR-1 and ITR-4. Eligible taxpayers can now start filing their income tax returns for FY 2025-26 by downloading the utility from the official portal of Income Tax.
The Income Tax Department itself has given information about this by sharing a post on social media platform X. In which it was written that “Attention Taxpayer! Excel utility and online filing of ITR-1 and ITR-4 for AY 2026-27 has been started and is now available for taxpayers on the e-filing portal.
What is excel utility
Excel Utility is a specially designed Excel sheet, which helps in performing difficult tasks simple and offline. It is mainly used by the Income Tax Department for ITR filing, through which taxpayers can fill the data without internet. You can validate it and then upload it on the e-filing portal.
ITR-1 (Sahaj)
Now a major change in ITR-1 (Sahaj) is related to those taxpayers who own 2 houses. Now it can be used to report income from up to two house properties, whereas earlier this limit was only one house. This is expected to make filing easier for many taxpayers.
Residential taxpayers whose total income is up to Rs 50 lakh can choose ITR-1 or Sahaj while filing their return. This form includes salary, pension, two residential properties, interest income and limited income from farming. It also exists for individuals who declare long-term capital gains up to Rs 1.25 lakh under section 112A.
ITR-4 Sugam Form
The Sugam form is officially known as ITR-4. It is available to resident taxpayers, including individuals, HUFs and firms other than LLPs, with annual income up to Rs 50 lakh. It is for those filing under presumptive taxation provisions mentioned in sections 44AD, 44ADA and 44AE and it also allows reporting of specific long-term capital gains up to Rs 1.25 lakh under section 112A. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had earlier released ITR forms for assessment year 2026-27, in which many new reporting rules were implemented. These key changes include new requirements for reporting long-term capital gains, losses from share buybacks and certain trading activities.
What is ITR?
Income tax return, called ITR, is a formal declaration of a taxpayer’s income and deductions, which is submitted to the Income Tax Department. Returns usually have to be filed by July 31 every year. Currently seven ITR forms exist. Which form will be applicable depends on the income profile and category of the taxpayer.
Also read- Preparation for big investment in Adani Group’s airport business, global investors will bet Rs 12 thousand crores
