The Income Tax Department has updated the ITR-1 (Sahaj) Excel utility for Assessment Year (AY) 2026-27, introducing several new disclosure requirements for eligible taxpayers. While the revised utility retains the simplified return format, it requires more detailed reporting in certain schedules relating to house property, rental income and deduction claims.
The changes are reflected in the latest ITR-1 utility made available by the Income Tax Department and are intended to facilitate more comprehensive reporting within the simplified return form.
Here's a look at five key changes taxpayers should know before filing their income tax returns.
Who can file ITR-1 for AY 2026-27?
According to the tax advisory platform ClearTax, ITR-1 can be filed by resident individuals with total income of up to ₹50 lakh from salary or pension, income from up to two house properties, income from other sources such as interest, and long-term capital gains under Section 112A of up to ₹1.25 lakh, subject to the prescribed conditions.
However, taxpayers with business or professional income, foreign assets, capital losses to be carried forward or income that falls outside the prescribed eligibility criteria must file the applicable income tax return form.
Income from up to two house properties can be reported
One of the biggest changes this year is the expanded scope of ITR-1. Eligible taxpayers can now report income from up to two house properties without having to shift to ITR-2 solely because they own a second property.
The updated Excel utility includes a dedicated House Property schedule for reporting details of both properties.
Rental income reporting requires more information
The revised ITR-1 utility seeks additional information from taxpayers reporting rental income.
Where applicable, taxpayers may now have to provide details of co-owners, including their names, PAN or Aadhaar and ownership share. The utility also contains fields for furnishing tenant details in specified cases, making rental income reporting more comprehensive than in previous years.
Additional details needed for Section 80G deductions
Taxpayers claiming deductions under Section 80G for eligible charitable donations may also have to furnish additional information while filing their returns.
According to the revised utility, apart from the donee's name, PAN and donation amount, taxpayers may need to provide the transaction reference number for specified electronic payment modes as well as the recipient bank's IFSC code, wherever applicable.
Political donation claims require expanded disclosures
The updated utility also expands the disclosure requirements for deductions claimed under Section 80GGC for contributions made to political parties.
Taxpayers claiming the deduction are now required to furnish the name of the political party along with its Permanent Account Number (PAN) in the relevant schedule.
The common thread across the revised utility is the requirement for more detailed information while filing returns. Taxpayers should therefore keep documents relating to house properties, rental income, charitable donations and political contributions readily available before filing. Having these details on hand can help ensure the return is completed accurately and reduce the chances of errors or notices arising from incomplete disclosures.
