ITR Filing AY 2025–26: Process Begins for Select Taxpayers, Over 54K Returns Filed in 3 Days

Income tax return (ITR) filing for Assessment Year 2025–26 officially began on 30 May 2025, nearly two months later than usual, due to delays in form notifications and software deployment. Within just three days of the start, 54,389 returns were filed, according to data from the Income Tax Department, Financial Express reported.

Delayed Notification and Utilities

Traditionally, ITR forms are notified by early April, with utilities released soon after. This year, however, ITR forms were only notified at the end of April, and only two Excel-based utilities—ITR-1 and ITR-4—were made available on 30 May, significantly delaying the process.

Given the lag in rollout, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) extended the ITR filing deadline for non-audited cases from 31 July to 15 September 2025.

Who Can File Now?

Currently, only ITR-1 (Sahaj) and ITR-4 (Sugam) forms are available for download and use via Excel utilities:

ITR-1 (Sahaj) is meant for resident individuals with income up to Rs 50 lakh from:

• Salary/pension
  • One house property (no carry-forward loss)
  • Other sources (excluding winnings from lotteries/racehorses)
  • LTCG up to Rs 1.25 lakh (no losses)
  • Agricultural income up to Rs 5,000
  • ITR-4 (Sugam) is for individuals, HUFs, and partnership firms (excluding LLPs) opting for presumptive taxation under Sections 44AD, 44ADA, or 44AE with income up to Rs 50 lakh, including:
• One house property (no carry-forward loss)
  • Salary or pension
  • LTCG up to Rs 1.25 lakh (no losses)

Who Cannot File Yet?

Taxpayers cannot use ITR-1 or ITR-4 if:

• Their income exceeds Rs 50 lakh
  • They have income from multiple house properties
  • They hold foreign assets, foreign income, or signing authority in overseas accounts
  • They are company directors
  • They invested in unlisted equity shares
  • They are Non-Residents (NRI) or RNORs

These individuals must wait until other ITR forms and corresponding utilities are made available.

No Returns Processed Yet

Of the 54,389 returns filed so far, 48,975 have been verified, but none have been processed yet, as per the Income Tax Department portal. Processing is expected to commence once backend systems align with the newly released forms.

Industry Reaction

Tax professionals have raised concerns over the delay, particularly for salaried individuals and small business owners trying to align their filings early in the fiscal year. “It compresses the time available for compliant taxpayers and adds to the burden later in the cycle,” said a chartered accountant based in Mumbai.

While the filing window has opened for a subset of taxpayers, most will have to wait for further releases. The extended deadline offers temporary relief, but the initial delays highlight the importance of synchronised policy implementation and software readiness.

Source: ET NOW