Attention taxpayers! Excel utility for income-tax return form ITR-2 enabled — Here's all you need to know

The Income-Tax Department in a social media post on X (formerly Twitter) said Excel Utility for ITR-2 has been made available for taxpayers on its e-filing portal for assessment year 2026-27 (AY27) i.e. financial year 2025-26 (FY26). This comes after the authority released Excel Utility for ITR-1 (Sahaj) and ITR-4 (Sugam) forms earlier this month on 17 May.

“Kind Attention Taxpayers! Online filing and Excel Utility for ITR-2 for A.Y. 2026–27 is now enabled on the e-Filing portal,” the official Income-Tax India account wrote on X. Taxpayers can find the same here — https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/downloads/income-tax-returns

Filing ITR: Where can you download the forms?

Eligible taxpayers can now visit the official portal, download the forms, fill them out, generate a JSON file, and upload it online after proper verification and cross-checking of details.

Notably, all ITR forms for AY27 / FY26 have been notified by the tax department. This means that you can prepare your returns offline using the excel-based utilities, before uploading them digitally. You can file returns by logging into the e-filing portal here — https://www.incometax.gov.in/ with your User ID and password. Note: All first-time users have to register using Aadhaar, PAN and other details.

Which ITR form should I choose?

It is important to use the correct ITR form to ensure smooth and timely processing by the tax department. In fact, filing your returns with the wrong form may trigger a notice. Here's a look at the different forms available:

• ITR-1: This form is meant for resident individual taxpayers with a total income of up to ₹50 lakh, salaried individual with one house property, and income from other sources.
• ITR-2: The ITR-2 form can be filed by individual taxpayers or Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) who are not eligible to file ITR-1 (Sahaj) i.e. do not have business income.

• ITR-3: The ITR-3 form is meant for individual taxpayers and HUFs engaged in business or profession requiring the maintenance of elaborate books of accounts.
• ITR-4: ITR-4 (Sugam) can be filed by a Resident Individual/ HUF/ Firm (other than LLP) who has income not exceeding ₹50 lakh during the FY, income from business and profession computed on a presumptive basis u/s 44AD, 44ADA or 44AE, income from salary/pension, one house property, agricultural income (up to ₹ 5,000) and other sources.
• ITR-5: This income tax form can be used to file ITR by a firm, Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), Association of Persons (AOP), Body of Individuals (BOI), and Artificial Juridical Person (AJP) with presumptive income from business or profession.

What is the deadline for filing I-T returns?

For the current tax year, deadline for individual taxpayers filing ITR is 31 July 2026. Further, for those using ITR forms 3 and 4, the deadline is 31 August 2026.

Taxpayers who miss the July deadline can still file a delayed return by 31 December.

Should you wait till 15 June to file returns?

It is advisable for salaried taxpayers to wait till 15 June to file returns to ensure that all details on your TDS statements (Form 16 and 16A) and Form 26AS / Annual Information Statement (AIS) match. This is because banks, employers and other reporting entities (AMCs, mutual fund houses, brokers) have time till 31 May to update information in these forms, and it takes at least seven to 10 days after this, for the updated information to be included in your Form 26AS / AIS.

This means that filing your returns before the documents are fully updated can lead to a situation where your returns show a mismatch in forms and could trigger a notice from the tax department. Mismatch could also hinder your refund process.

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