Income Tax guide
ITR filing guide: choosing the right form, regime and deadline
10 min readUpdated
Pick the form before anything else
- ITR-1 (Sahaj) — salary, one house property, other income, total income up to ₹50 lakh.
- ITR-2 — capital gains, more than one house property, foreign income or assets, or you are a director.
- ITR-3 — income from business or profession with regular books.
- ITR-4 (Sugam) — presumptive income under 44AD, 44ADA or 44AE within the prescribed limits.
Filing on the wrong form makes the return defective under section 139(9), and the clock to fix it is short.
Old regime vs new regime
The new regime is the default. It offers wider slabs and a standard deduction, but drops HRA, LTA, 80C, 80D and most other deductions. The old regime keeps them all but taxes at higher slab rates.
There is no universal answer. A taxpayer paying rent in a metro with a home loan and full 80C usually wins under the old regime; someone with few deductions almost always wins under the new one. Compute both on your actual numbers — our income tax calculator does exactly that.
Salaried taxpayers can switch each year. Taxpayers with business income get one opt-out and one opt-in, so the choice needs more thought.
Match AIS and 26AS before you file
The department already holds your interest, dividend, share transactions, property deals and high-value spends in the AIS, and your TDS credits in 26AS. A return that disagrees with either gets flagged automatically. Download both, reconcile every entry, and file feedback on anything in AIS that is genuinely not yours.
Deadlines and what late costs
The usual due date is 31 July for non-audit cases and 31 October where audit applies. After that a belated return is possible until the year-end date, with a late fee under 234F and interest under 234A. Losses other than house-property loss cannot be carried forward in a belated return — often the most expensive consequence.
Verification is part of filing
An unverified return is treated as never filed. E-verify within 30 days through Aadhaar OTP, net banking or a pre-validated bank account. Pre-validate the bank account first, or the refund will not be credited even after processing.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I have to file if my income is below the exemption limit?
- Not always, but filing is compulsory in cases such as high bank deposits, large electricity spends, foreign travel spends or foreign assets — and a return is needed to claim a refund.
- Can I change my regime after filing?
- Salaried taxpayers can change regime while filing each year, but only up to the due date. A belated return must use the default new regime.
- What if I spot a mistake after filing?
- File a revised return under section 139(5) before the year-end deadline, or an updated return (ITR-U) later, with the additional tax it carries.
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