u/CA_Ted

The Income Tax Department has officially enabled online filing and offline excel utility for ITR-1 and ITR-4 for AY 2026-27 (FY 2025-26) on the e-Filing portal.

You can head over to Income Tax e-Filing portal and start filing right away!

Quick Recap - Which form is for you?

ITR-1 (Sahaj): For Resident Individuals with:

• Total income up to ₹50 lakh
• Income from Salary, own upto two house properties, other sources (interest, etc.)
• LTCG under Section 112A up to ₹1.25 lakh
• Agricultural income up to ₹5,000

ITR-4 (Sugam): For Resident Individuals, HUFs & Partnership Firms with:

• Total income up to ₹50 lakh
• Presumptive business income under sections 44AD, 44ADA, or 44AE
• own upto two house properties, other sources (interest, etc.)
• LTCG under Section 112A up to ₹1.25 lakh
• Agricultural income up to ₹5,000

Due Date: 31 July 2026 for ITR-1 and 31 August 2026 for ITR-4

Key things to note this year:

• AY 2026-27 continues to be governed by the Income-tax Act, 1961.
• New Tax Regime is the default - opt out actively if you want the old regime.
• E-verify within 30 days of filing, or your return will be treated as invalid.

Payment Tip - One of the most common mistakes!

If you're making a self-assessment tax payment during or after filing your return, the correct challan head is Minor Head 300. Make sure you tag this payment back to your ITR on the portal - it won't link automatically!

If you receive an intimation under section 143(1) and are making payment against that demand, use Minor Head 400 instead.

Using the wrong challan head can lead to unnecessary demands and notices!

Not sure whether to file now or wait?

We covered this in detail recently - check out our post on When is actually the right time to file your ITR? before you rush to hit submit!

Filing your ITR for the first time? Drop your questions in the comments!

It’s May 11, and the urge to "get over with" the tax filing for the year is high. However, the
reality is that the e-filing utility for AY 2026-27 is not even active yet. Even once it goes live, filing now is a trap. Read the what and why below:

For all the newbies reading this, AY 2026-27 is the period from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. And this will also be the last year when we will be using the term AY when filing taxes. From 1st April 2026 onwards, it is all "Tax Year".

1. The Start Date: 15th June 2026:

Regardless of when the portal opens, do not file before June 15.

• The Reason: Banks and employers have until May 31 to file TDS/TCS returns. Your AIS, TIS, and 26AS data will not be fully synced or accurate until mid-June.
• The Risk: Filing with incomplete data is an invitation for a Section 139(9) notice for a Defective Return, or maybe not getting the due tax credit available to you, forcing you into a loop of revisions and updates.

2. The New Staggered Deadlines (with our Target Dates):

The deadlines are staggered this year. To avoid being held hostage by a crashing portal, aim for these BeFinLit Target Dates:

• For salaried and HUFs with no business income (ITR 1 & ITR 2), with the due date being 31 July, we recommend the target date as 24 July.
• For non-audited business income persons (ITR 3 & ITR 4), with the due date being 31 August, we recommend the target date as 24 August.
• For audited business income persons, with the due date being 31 October, we recommend the target date as 24 October.

Important: If your income includes F&O or "moonlighting professional" income along with salaried income, you fall in the non-audited business income block.

3. How the government saves us (NOT!)

If you think you can wait until the last minute and hope for an extension due to "technical glitches," look at the track record:

• The GSTR Disaster (March 2026): Recently, the GST portal was unusable on the 20th March 2026. After millions of tweets and request, the government waited until the evening of March 21 to announce a pathetic 1-day extension (or rather 6 hours extension as the extended date was 21 March 2026).
• The September 2025 Mockery: On September 15, the extension was announced at 11:55 PM - literally five minutes before the deadline because of growing technical issues - granting a mere 24-hour relief.

The authorities have shown they are not interested in the difficulties we face due to their system failures. If you miss the window, you pay the late fees and lose the option for the Old Tax Regime. Don't leave your fate in their hands.

4. Your 40-Day Prep Window

We have about 40 days before the filing window actually "opens" logically on June 15. Start collating your documents now.

Stop treating your ITR as just a past-year chore. Your ITR is your Financial Resume. Whether it’s for a Home Loan, a Visa, Insurance, or a high-limit Credit Card, your returns are the proof of your future potential. Use this month to understand your cash flows and plan your finances for the next year, rather than just scrambling to report the last one.

Plan your taxes, don't just pay them.

BeFinLit India | Become Financially Literate