Income tax filing last date: How to select the correct income tax return (ITR) form

Income tax returns: A quick guide to the most commonly--used ITR terms you need to be aware of

The due date for filing income tax returns for the financial year 2023-24 - July 31 - is now three days away.

Over 5 crore tax-payers have already filed their returns, as per the income tax (I-T) department. If you are not one of them, you need to hurry, lest you face consequences such as delay in refunds, late-filing fees, interest on taxes due, if any, and so on.

One of the initial tasks in the process is selecting the correct ITR form applicable. Here's a quick guide on relevant forms for individual tax-payers:

Salaried individuals can choose between ITR-1 and ITR-2, depending on their residential status, income level and sources of income.

ITR-1 (Sahaj) is a simple form that residents, salaried taxpayers or pensioners with income of less than Rs 50 lakh can use. Then, there are some other conditions, such as it is relevant to taxpayers with only one house, agricultural income of up to Rs 5,000, and income from savings or fixed deposits, dividends, and family pension.

The form is pre-filled with personal information, income details, and financial transaction data to enable quick and easy filing. Individuals can verify the ITR data with their Form 16 and bank account statements, besides checking Form 26AS and the Annual Information Statement (AIS), and complete the process online.

Also read: How to choose between ITR-1 and ITR-2

If you are a salaried individual or pensioner – someone without any income from a business or profession – with income of over Rs 50 lakh, multiple sources of income, financial transactions, and so on, you cannot use ITR-1.

Put simply, you should file ITR-2 if you are not eligible to file returns using ITR-1. For example, if you are non-resident or resident but not ordinarily resident (RNOR) salaried individual or pensioner, you will have to use ITR-2.

This form is also the relevant form if you have made capital gains or losses during financial year (2023-24). Likewise, if you are a director in a company, own unlisted shares or ESOPs, maintain a foreign bank account or any other assets outside India, you will have to use ITR-2 and not ITR-1.

However, you cannot use ITR-2 if you have profits to show from a business or profession.

Also read: Your one-stop guide to filing income tax returns

Individuals with profits from business or profession (as also Hindu Undivided Families) will have to file their returns using this form. Your other sources of income could include salary or pension, capital gains, house property and so on. Put simply, as per the I-T rules, individuals who are not eligible to file returns under ITR-1, ITR-2 and ITR-4 can use this form.

Also read: Your one-stop guide to filing income tax returns for FY 2023-24

Resident individual taxpayers, Hindu Undivided Families (HUF) or firms (but not LLPs) with incomes of up to Rs 50 lakh from business or a profession can use this form.

Filing returns using Sugam is not mandatory—it is an option given primarily to small-time businesspersons or professionals to ensure simpler returns and fewer documentation hassles. Using this form, you can declare earnings through a business or profession on a ‘presumptive’ basis under sections 44AD, 44ADA or 44AE.

It is applicable only to individuals with income of up to Rs 50 lakh from a business or profession, computed on a presumptive basis (under section 44AD/44ADA/44AE). Effective financial year 2023-24, section 44AD and section 44ADA turnover and gross receipts thresholds have been raised to Rs 3 crore (up from Rs 2 crore) and Rs 75 lakh (up from 50 lakh), respectively. That is, provided the amount or aggregate of the amounts received during the previous year, in cash, does not exceed 5 percent of the total gross receipts.

The other conditions are similar to those of ITR-1: salary or pension income with one house property, income from family pension, dividend or interest from deposits, and agricultural income of up to Rs 5,000.

As with ITR-1, the ITR-4 form cannot be used by an individual who is a director in a company, has held unlisted equity shares, has any foreign income or assets, including dormant bank accounts, has brought forward any loss, has incurred losses that have to be carried forward, and so on.