The Income-Tax Department has notified all I-T return forms (ITR-1 to ITR-7) and the updated returns form ITR-U, for financial year 2025-26 (FY26) or assessment year 2026-27 (AY27) as of last week. Notably, it has also made available Excel Utility for the ITR-1 and ITR-4 forms, which means that taxpayers can prepare returns offline using the excel-based utilities, before uploading them digitally.
And while most taxpayers may think that filing their returns immediately is the most beneficial, experts caution that being early could be detrimental. The ideal time, especially for salaried taxpayers is after 15 June, till at least a week before the deadline 31 July to avoid last minute hassles and technical glitches.
Why should salaried taxpayers wait till 15 June?
Most salaried taxpayers will have to attach their Form 16, Form 16A, Form 26AS or Annual Information Statement (AIS) with their tax filing. Notably, these documents show your statement of financial transactions (SFT), tax deducted at source (TDS), tax collected at source (TCS), savings bank account interest, property transactions, goods and services tax sales, purchases and securities transactions.
However, banks, employers and other reporting entities (AMCs, mutual fund houses, brokers) have till 31 May to complete these documents. And it takes another seven to 10 days for the updated information to be included in your AIS.
Thus, filing before 15 June could leave a window where your documents do not reflect the latest data and could lead to a mismatch notice from the tax department. You do have the option to correct information or file delayed returns by 31 December, for FY26 / AY27, but these processes have their own hassles.
Who can file before 15 June?
Notably, non-salaried individuals who do not rely on Form 16, no interest income and only capital gains can file an early ITR. Here too, there is a caveat, this only works if you do not have gains from sale of a capital asset (updated in AIS).
Individuals who have fixed income, such as interest, rental income, etc., and where no tax is deducted/deductible, may consider filing returns early.
- Validate bank account details for refund purposes
- Review turnover and GST reconciliation for businesses/professionals
- Keep supporting documentation ready in case of future queries
Where can you download the ITR forms?
Taxpayers can now visit the official e-filing portal, download the forms, fill them out, generate a JSON file, and upload it online after proper verification and cross-checking of details.
Notably, 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 could also trigger a notice of correction from the department.
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