ITR Filing Guide FY 2025-26: Forms, Rules & 2026 Deadlines

ITR Filing Guide for FY 2025-26: What It Is, Which Form You Need, and the New 2026 Deadlines

An Income Tax Return, or ITR, is the form you use to tell the Income Tax Department what you earned, what you spent, and what tax you already paid in a financial year. Filing it correctly, on the right form and before your deadline, is what keeps you out of penalty territory and gets any refund you're owed moving.

This guide covers the current rules for FY 2025-26 (Assessment Year 2026-27), including the staggered deadlines introduced this year and the tax slabs that apply after Budget 2025's changes.

What Is an ITR, and How Is It Different From Paying Tax?

Income tax is what the government charges on your income, based on the slab rates for the regime you choose. An ITR is something separate: it's the report you file declaring that income, your deductions, and the tax already deducted or paid on your behalf.

Paying tax settles what you owe. Filing an ITR reports it, and lets you claim a refund if you've paid more than you owed, carry forward a loss, or simply put your income on record. Because of that difference, filing is mandatory for anyone above the exemption limit even in years when no extra tax is actually due.

Income Tax Return (ITR) Filing Online 2026

Who Needs to File, and Why It's Worth Filing Anyway

You need to file if:

• Your income exceeds the basic exemption limit for your age group and regime.
• You want to claim a refund of tax deducted at source.
• You hold foreign assets or earn foreign income.
• You're an NRI with income earned in India.
• You run a business, practice a profession, or operate as a company, partnership, or trust, regardless of income level.

Even below the exemption limit, filing has practical uses: it's the income proof most banks ask for on a loan application, it's often required for visa applications, and a consistent filing history strengthens your case when you apply for credit later.

The Seven ITR Forms, in Plain Language

Which Form Actually Applies to You

Work through this in order rather than guessing:

Start with ITR-1 if you're a resident individual whose only income is salary or pension, one house property, interest income, and agricultural income under ₹5,000, and your total income is under ₹50 lakh. You can't use ITR-1 if you have capital gains, foreign assets, business income, are a company director, or have losses to carry forward.

Move to ITR-2 if your income looks like the above but crosses ₹50 lakh, includes capital gains, comes from more than one house property, or includes foreign income or assets. ITR-2 still doesn't cover business or professional income.

Use ITR-3 if you earn from a business or profession, are a partner in a firm, or are a company director and don't qualify for ITR-1, ITR-2, or ITR-4.

Use ITR-4 if you're a small business or professional under presumptive taxation (Sections 44AD, 44ADA, or 44AE) with turnover or receipts within the limits above.

ITR-5, 6, and 7 apply to firms, companies, and trusts respectively, not individuals, so most salaried and self-employed readers won't need them.

FY 2025-26 Tax Slabs and the Section 87A Rebate

Budget 2025 changed what most taxpayers actually owe this year, and it's worth understanding both regimes before you file.

New tax regime (default under Section 115BAC):

Under Section 87A, a resident individual with taxable income up to ₹12 lakh gets a rebate of up to ₹60,000, which cancels out the tax on that income entirely. Add the ₹75,000 standard deduction available to salaried taxpayers, and salaried income up to ₹12.75 lakh effectively attracts no tax. This rebate doesn't apply to income taxed at special rates, such as capital gains.

Old tax regime: the basic exemption limits stay ₹2.5 lakh below 60, ₹3 lakh from 60-80, and ₹5 lakh above 80, with the Section 87A rebate unchanged at ₹12,500 for taxable income up to ₹5 lakh. The old regime still allows deductions like 80C (PPF, ELSS, life insurance), 80D (health insurance), and HRA, which the new regime doesn't.

As a rough guide: if your eligible deductions under the old regime add up to more than roughly ₹4 lakh beyond the standard deduction, the old regime is usually the better fit. If they don't, the new regime's lower slabs and higher rebate typically leave you paying less. Running your own numbers through the official income tax calculator before you pick a regime is worth the ten minutes it takes.

Documents You Need Before You Start

For salaried employees: PAN card, Form 16 from your employer, and your monthly payslips.

For interest income: your bank statements and any TDS certificates the bank has issued on savings, fixed deposit, or post office interest.

For claiming deductions: proof of life insurance premiums, PPF/ELSS/NSC investments, housing loan interest and principal payments, children's school fees, and education loan interest, where applicable.

Other documents worth having on hand: Form 16A (TDS on non-salary income), Form 16B (TDS on property sale), Form 16C (TDS on rent), and Form 26AS, the consolidated statement showing all tax already paid or deducted against your PAN.

Step-by-Step: How to File Your ITR

1. Gather your Form 16, bank statements, and investment proofs.
2. Work out your taxable income and likely liability using an online income tax calculator, so you're not filling in numbers blind.
3. Log in to the official Income Tax e-filing portal.
4. Select the ITR form that matches your income profile, using the section above.
5. Enter your income, deductions, and taxes already paid.
6. Review every entry before you submit. A mismatched figure here is the single most common cause of a notice later.
7. Complete verification through Aadhaar OTP, net banking, or another supported method. E-verification is not optional; an unverified return isn't treated as filed.

ITR Filing Deadlines for AY 2026-27

This year's calendar is staggered by form for the first time, so check which date actually applies to you rather than assuming July 31 covers everyone:

• ITR-1 and ITR-2 (salaried, no audit): 31 July 2026
• ITR-3 and ITR-4, non-audit business and professional filers: 31 August 2026, a new one-month extension for this category
• Accounts requiring a tax audit: 31 October 2026
• Transfer pricing cases: 30 November 2026

The extra month for non-audit business and professional filers is meant to ease the compliance load on smaller businesses and freelancers who were previously held to the same July date as salaried employees, while giving the e-filing portal a less concentrated rush of traffic around a single date.

Missing the Deadline: Belated Returns, Revised Returns, and Penalties

If you miss your applicable due date, you can still file a belated return under Section 139(4), generally up to 31 December 2026 for AY 2026-27, though this comes with a late fee of up to ₹5,000 under Section 234F and 1% monthly interest on any unpaid tax under Section 234A. A belated filing also forfeits the option to carry forward certain losses and, for some taxpayers, removes the ability to switch to the old regime for that year.

If you've already filed but spot an error, such as a missed deduction or a wrong bank detail, you can file a revised return under Section 139(5). For AY 2026-27, that window has been extended to 31 March 2027, longer than the 31 December cut-off that applied in earlier assessment years.

A Quick Note on the Income Tax Act, 2025

AY 2026-27 is the last assessment year filed entirely under the Income Tax Act, 1961. The new Income Tax Act, 2025 comes into force from 1 April 2026, but since this year's return covers income earned in FY 2025-26 (before that date), the 1961 Act still governs everything above. Income earned from April 2026 onward falls under the new Act, which also replaces the terms "Previous Year" and "Assessment Year" with a single "Tax Year." Nothing about this changes what you do this filing season, but it's useful context if you've seen the new Act mentioned elsewhere and wondered whether it applies to you yet. It doesn't, not for this year's filing.

What Filing on Time Actually Gets You

• A faster refund if you've overpaid tax through TDS or advance tax.
• No late fee under Section 234F and no interest under Section 234A.
• Income proof that banks and visa offices routinely ask for.
• The ability to carry forward eligible losses to future years.
• A clean, continuous filing history, which matters more than most people expect the first time they apply for a large loan.

FAQ

Is filing ITR mandatory if my tax liability is zero?

Filing is based on your income exceeding the exemption limit, not on whether you actually owe tax. Many taxpayers with zero liability under Section 87A still need to file, and it's worth doing anyway for the income-proof and refund benefits above.

Which ITR form should a salaried person with a home loan file?

Usually ITR-1, provided total income stays under ₹50 lakh and there's no capital gains or second house property involved. A second house property or income above ₹50 lakh moves you to ITR-2.

What's the actual difference between a belated return and a revised return?

A belated return is one filed after the original deadline has passed. A revised return corrects an already-filed return, whether it was filed on time or was itself belated. For AY 2026-27, revised returns can be filed up to 31 March 2027.

Can I switch between the old and new tax regime every year?

Salaried individuals without business income can choose either regime each year at the time of filing. Those with business or professional income face more restrictions on switching back and forth, so it's worth checking the current rule for your category before assuming you can flip freely.

What happens if I don't e-verify my return after submitting it?

An ITR that isn't e-verified within the prescribed window isn't treated as validly filed, which puts you back in the same position as not having filed at all.

How many ITRs can I file with one email ID or mobile number?

Up to 10 income tax returns can be filed using the same registered email ID and mobile number on the e-filing portal.