Income Tax Dept. Releases ITR-1, ITR-4 Utilities 45 Days After Court Indicated April 1 Timeline

Despite a judicial direction that income tax return filing utilities be made available from April 1 every year, the Income Tax Department on Friday (May 15) released the ITR-1 and ITR-4 utilities for Assessment Year 2026-27, formally opening the return filing season for salaried taxpayers and small businesses.

The utilities for ITR-1 (Sahaj) and ITR-4 (Sugam) were made available on the Income Tax Department's e-filing portal, allowing eligible taxpayers to begin preparing and filing returns for income earned during Financial Year 2025-26 corresponding to Assessment Year 2026-27.

ITR-1 can be used by resident salaried individuals with total income up to ₹50 lakh from salary, one house property and other sources such as interest income. ITR-4 applies to individuals, Hindu Undivided Families and firms opting for the presumptive taxation scheme under Sections 44AD, 44ADA and 44AE of the Income Tax Act, and is commonly used by freelancers, professionals and small businesses.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes had earlier this year notified the updated income tax return forms with disclosure-related changes and revisions aimed at simplifying compliance, but the corresponding filing utilities were made available only on Friday.

A public interest litigation is pending before the Gujarat High Court over the delayed release of income tax return filing utilities despite court directions that the forms and related filing infrastructure be made operational from April 1 each assessment year.

At the last hearing, the High Court adjourned the matter after the Centre sought time to place its response on record.

The matter is next scheduled for hearing on June 23, 2026.

The due date for filing ITR-1 is July 31. For ITR-4, the deadline is August 31 where an audit is not required and October 31 for audit cases.

Utilities for other return forms, including ITR-2 and ITR-3, are expected to be released in phases over the coming weeks.

For salaried taxpayers, freelancers, and small businesses, the release marks the start of the annual income tax return filing exercise.