Filing ITR

Filing your return

The Income Tax Return (ITR) reports your income, deductions and tax for the year. Choosing the correct form and filing on time avoids notices and penalties.

Which ITR form?

ITR-1 (Sahaj) suits resident salaried individuals with income up to ₹50 lakh from salary, one house property and other sources. ITR-2 is for those with capital gains or multiple properties. ITR-3 covers business/professional income. ITR-4 (Sugam) is for presumptive business income. Picking the wrong form can make the return defective.

The e-filing process

File online at the income-tax portal: pre-filled data is populated from Form 26AS and the Annual Information Statement (AIS). Verify income, claim deductions, compute tax, pay any balance, and submit. Crucially, e-verify within the permitted window (via Aadhaar OTP, net banking, etc.) — an unverified return is treated as not filed.

Deadlines and consequences

The usual due date for individuals is 31 July. Late filing attracts a fee under Section 234F and interest, and you may lose the ability to carry forward certain losses. A belated return can be filed later but with costs.