On May 30, 2025, the Income Tax Department announced the launch of Excel utilities for filing ITR-1 (Sahaj) and ITR-4 (Sugam) forms for Assessment Year 2025–26 NDTV Profit. This move follows the recent extension of the ITR filing deadline to September 15, 2025, from the earlier July 31 cutoff for non-audit cases, granting taxpayers extra time amid significant form revisions and system updates NDTV Profit.
The updated ITR-1 and ITR-4 forms now include dedicated sections for reporting long-term capital gains (LTCG) of up to ₹1.25 lakh from listed shares or mutual funds NDTV Profit. Previously, taxpayers had to use ITR-2 for disclosing such exempt gains. By enabling ITR-1 and ITR-4 to accommodate LTCG under Section 112A, the department simplifies filing for salaried individuals and small business owners managing modest investments NDTV Profit.
Steps to Download and Use the Excel Utilities
- Visit the Income Tax e-filing portal: Go to www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/.
- Navigate to Downloads: On the homepage, select “Downloads” and choose “2025–26” as the Assessment Year.
- Select the Utility: Click on the link for either the ITR-1 or ITR-4 Excel utility to download the offline tool.
- Fill in Details Offline: Enter personal, income, and deduction information directly into the designated sheets.
- Validate and Generate JSON: Use the “Validate” feature to check for errors, then export a JSON file for submission via the e-filing portal NDTV Profit.
Who Should Use These Utilities?
- ITR-1 (Sahaj): Applicable to resident individuals with total income up to ₹50 lakh from salary, a single house property, and interest income. This form also permits reporting agricultural income up to ₹5,000 NDTV Profit.
- ITR-4 (Sugam): Suited for resident individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), and firms (excluding LLPs) with total income up to ₹50 lakh under the presumptive taxation scheme (Sections 44AD, 44ADA, or 44AE) NDTV Profit.
These Excel utilities empower taxpayers to prepare returns offline, ensuring accurate data entry and reducing errors. After preparing and validating the JSON file, users can upload it once the e-filing portal reopens for submissions. With the extended deadline and enhanced form features, the Income Tax Department aims to streamline the return-filing process for AY 2025–26.
