Income Tax Department Updates Guidance on New ITR Forms Under Income Tax Rules, 2026

The Income Tax Department has updated its official guidance regarding the availability of new Income Tax Return (ITR) forms under the Income Tax Rules, 2026, providing clarity to taxpayers and tax professionals during the transition to the new Income Tax Act, 2025.

According to the updated guidance available on the Income Tax e-Filing Portal, the new ITR forms applicable for Tax Year 2026–27 will be notified by the Government well before the prescribed due dates for filing returns. Once notified, these forms will be made available on the e-Filing Portal for taxpayers.

Existing ITR Forms Continue for AY 2026-27

The clarification is particularly important because many taxpayers have been confused about whether the newly introduced Income Tax Act, 2025 immediately replaces the existing ITR forms.

The Department has made it clear that returns for Assessment Year (AY) 2026-27, relating to income earned during Financial Year 2025-26, will continue to be filed using the applicable ITR forms notified under the existing framework.

At present, the Department has already enabled filing utilities for several returns, including ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-3, ITR-4, ITR-5 and ITR-7 for AY 2026-27 on the e-Filing Portal. The portal also confirms that the Excel utilities for ITR-5 and ITR-7 are available, while online and offline filing for other notified forms has also been enabled.

New Forms Will Apply to Tax Year 2026-27

The Department explained that the new ITR forms under the Income Tax Rules, 2026 are intended for Tax Year 2026-27, which begins on 1 April 2026 under the Income Tax Act, 2025.

These forms will be notified separately before the relevant filing deadlines and will be made available through the Income Tax e-Filing Portal after notification.

Guidance Notes and FAQs Available

To assist taxpayers and professionals, the Income Tax Department has also published Guidance Notes and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the new forms prescribed under the Income Tax Rules, 2026.

The Department has clarified that these guidance notes are intended purely as educational resources and should not be treated as legal interpretations. In case of any conflict, the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 2025 and the Income Tax Rules, 2026 will prevail.

The updated guidance helps remove uncertainty during the transition to the new income-tax regime.

Taxpayers filing returns for AY 2026-27 should continue using the currently notified ITR forms applicable to them, while the new forms prescribed under the Income Tax Rules, 2026 will become relevant for Tax Year 2026-27 after they are officially notified.

Chartered Accountants, tax practitioners and businesses should continue monitoring notifications issued by CBDT and updates on the Income Tax e-Filing Portal to ensure that the correct return forms are used for the relevant assessment year or tax year.

The clarification is expected to facilitate a smoother transition to the new income-tax framework and reduce confusion regarding return filing under the revised law. CA Sansaar