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ITR stands for Income Tax Return. Through ITR, Indian taxpayers report their income, expenses, taxes paid, and tax liability for a financial year. Your applicable type of ITR differs based on income sources, level of income and the residential status, ranging from ITR-1 to ITR-7.
ITR due date for FY 2025-26, for individual business taxpayers not subject to tax audit is 31st August, 2026. Failure to file the ITR by the specified due date can lead to adverse consequences such as late-filing interest, penalties, and the inability to carry forward losses.
What is ITR?
The Income Tax Return or ITR is a form in which the taxpayers submit information about their income and tax payments to the income tax department. The ITR form applicable to a taxpayer depends on the type of taxpayer, whether individuals, HUF, company, etc., and you choose the ITR based on the nature and type of income and total income.
Who should File ITR?
You can e-file your ITR for the FY 2025-26 corresponding to the AY 2026-27. The filing is mandatory for all types of taxpayers except in the following cases.
- Taxpayers aged 75 or above and satisfying the following conditions:
- Pension and interest income are the only sources of total income. Interest income can be from any account maintained with the same bank in which they receive pension.
- They have submitted a declaration to the bank.
- Such bank deducts TDS under Section 194P.
- Taxpayers with an income less than the applicable basic exemption limit.
Types of ITR
The department prescribes seven types of ITR forms based on the type of taxpayer and income:
| ITR Form | Persons required to file |
| ITR-1 (Sahaj) | For resident individuals with income within Rs. 50 lakh from salary, 2 house property, section 112A capital gains up to Rs. 1.25 lakhs and other sources (excluding business/profession). |
| ITR-2 | For individuals and HUFs not having income from business or profession, but having capital gains, foreign income/assets, or income above Rs. 50 lakh, owning unlisted shares and being director of any company. |
| ITR-3 | For individuals and HUFs with income from business or profession, including those opting out of presumptive taxation. |
| ITR-4 (Sugam) | For individuals, HUFs, and firms (other than LLPs) opting for presumptive taxation. |
| ITR-5 | Exclusively for Firms, Local authorities, Co-operative societies, Artificial Judicial persons, Body of individuals. |
| ITR-6 | For Organizations or Companies other than those claiming exemption under Section 11 (Income from property held for charitable or religious purposes), ITR-6 has to be filed electronically only. |
| ITR-7 | For entities claiming exemption, such as colleges, universities, scientific research institutions, charitable or religious trusts, political parties, and similar organizations and filing under Section 139(4A), 139(4B), 139(4C), 139(4D) |
Documents Required to File ITR
Depending on the tax bracket the individual falls under, the list of documents that are needed will differ. Some of the common list of documents that are needed to file ITR are mentioned below:
- PAN
- Form 26AS
- Form 16A, 16B, 16C
- Salary Pay slips
- Bank statements
- Interest certificates
- TDS certificate
- Proof of Tax Saving Investments
Due date for filing ITR
- A taxpayer should file an ITR on or before the due date specified. The following table lists due dates for filing ITR to different types of assessees.
| Category of Taxpayer | Due Date for Tax Filing - FY 2025-26 *(unless extended) |
| Individual / HUF/ AOP/ BOI (books of accounts not required to be audited) | 31st July 2026 |
| Businesses (Requiring Audit) | 31st October 2026 |
| Businesses requiring transfer pricing reports (in case of international/specified domestic transactions) | 30th November 2026 |
While filing your ITR, you should check the form 26AS for details of TDS and other income such as FD interest. You should also have your form 16 to enable filling the details of salary and tax saving deduction claims.
How to file ITR?
ITR can be filed in the income tax portal by logging into the taxpayers account. The following steps are recommended to be followed while filing ITR
- Login to the Income Tax portal using your PAN as the login ID and password as encrypted.
- On the home page, go to 'e-File' tab > 'Income Tax Returns' > ‘File Income Tax Return’.
- Select the correct Assessment Year. The assessment year for FY 2024-25 is 2025-26.
- Select Filing Status - whether you are individual, HUF, or any other kind of assessee. Mostly for salaried and freelancing taxpayers, 'Individuals may be chosen.
- Select ITR Type, depending on your income level
- Select Reason for filing ITR. You may file because of the taxable income has crossed the exemption limit or on satisfaction of specified conditions.
- Enter your personal details, bank account details, income earned, deductions claimed and taxes paid. Cross verify the summary for accuracy and proceed filing the return.
- On successful completion of e-filing, the last step is e-verification.
