ITR Filing 2026: The Income Tax Department has already notified forms such as ITR-1 (Sahaj), ITR-2, ITR-4 (Sugam), and ITR-6. This signifies that the framework for filing returns this year has been finalized.

ITR Filing 2026-27: Coinciding with the commencement of the new financial year on April 1st, the government has released all Income Tax Return (ITR) forms for the Assessment Year (AY) 2026-27. With this, the upcoming filing season has officially begun. Consequently, taxpayers can start filing their returns starting this month.

In this regard, the Income Tax Department has already notified forms such as ITR-1 (Sahaj), ITR-2, ITR-4 (Sugam), and ITR-6. Shortly thereafter, the necessary utilities—initially offline and subsequently online—will be enabled; these tools facilitate taxpayers in filing their returns. Now that the ITR forms have been notified, the corresponding utilities are also expected to be activated very soon.

According to a report by News18, an Income Tax Practitioner—speaking on the condition of anonymity—stated, "Typically, ITR filing commences in the month of April. Last year, the process was delayed due to significant amendments to income tax regulations, which included changes related to LTCG (Long-Term Capital Gains), STCG (Short-Term Capital Gains), and indexation. However, since the Income Tax Department has already notified the tax return forms in advance this time around, it is anticipated that ITR filing will begin within this very month." Nevertheless, salaried individuals should wait for their Form 16 before filing their ITR for AY 2026-27.

Keep This in Mind

It is important to note here that although the Income Tax Act, 2025—which replaces the 1961 Act—came into effect on April 1st, the rules applicable during the financial year 2025-26 will govern your tax liability, as you are paying taxes on income earned during that specific year. In other words, the Income Tax Act, 1961, will continue to guide this tax return filing. The new 2025 Act will apply only to income earned on or after April 1, 2026. Taxpayers will still encounter terms such as 'Previous Year' and 'Assessment Year'—terms that have been an integral part of this system for decades; these terms will be used instead of the proposed new 'Tax Year.' Furthermore, please note that the deadline for filing ITR this year remains July 31st.