ITR - Income Tax Return

An Income Tax Return (ITR) is the prescribed form on which a taxpayer reports total income, claims deductions, and declares the tax paid for a financial year to the Income Tax Department. Returns are filed under Section 263 (the old Section 139) of the Income-tax Act, 2025, which replaced the Income-tax Act, 1961 from 1 April 2026, and submitted electronically on the e-filing portal (incometax.gov.in), then verified within the prescribed window. The CBDT notifies seven forms (ITR-1 to ITR-7); the correct one depends on the taxpayer's status and sources of income.

Which form to use

ITR-1 (Sahaj)	Resident individuals with income up to ₹50 lakh from salary, one house property and other sources
ITR-2	Individuals/HUFs without business income (capital gains, multiple properties)
ITR-3	Individuals/HUFs with business or professional income
ITR-4 (Sugam)	Presumptive income under Section 58 (the old sections 44AD, 44ADA or 44AE)
ITR-5	Firms, LLPs, AOPs and BOIs
ITR-6	Companies, other than those claiming exemption under Part B of Chapter XVII (the old section 11)
ITR-7	Trusts, political parties and institutions filing under Section 263 (the old section 139(4A)-(4D))

Due dates

For a given assessment year, non-audit individuals file by 31 July, while companies and other taxpayers requiring audit file by 31 October. Cases needing a transfer-pricing report in Form 3CEB have until 30 November. A belated or revised return can generally be filed up to 31 December of the assessment year.

Late filing

Filing after the due date attracts a fee under Section 428 (the old section 234F) of up to ₹5,000, restricted to ₹1,000 where total income does not exceed ₹5 lakh. Interest under Section 423 (the old section 234A) also runs on any unpaid tax until the return is filed.