ITR Form Finder

If you're a resident individual with salary income up to Rs 50 lakh, one house property (not carried-forward loss), interest income, family pension and agricultural income up to Rs 5,000, ITR-1 (Sahaj) works. Once you have capital gains, more than one house property, foreign assets, business income, or total income above Rs 50 lakh, you graduate to ITR-2. For AY 2026-27, ITR-1 also disallows you if you've claimed certain deductions or are a director in a company or hold unlisted shares. When in doubt, ITR-2 is safer; the form auto-disables sections that don't apply, so you won't accidentally over-disclose or under-report.

Capital gains from listed shares, equity mutual funds, debt funds, gold or property all require ITR-2 if you have no business income, or ITR-3 if you also run a business or profession. ITR-1 specifically excludes capital gains, so a salaried person who sold even one mutual fund unit during the year cannot use ITR-1. Schedule CG in ITR-2 captures STCG and LTCG separately, with sub-fields for Section 111A and 112A treatment. AIS and broker capital gains statements should be reconciled before filing. Broker errors and missing buy-side data are common; always verify the figures rather than blindly importing.

No. ITR-1 (Sahaj) is restricted to income from only one house property. The moment you own and earn from a second house (let-out or even self-occupied with deemed treatment in earlier years), or you have brought-forward losses under the head house property, you must move to ITR-2. The same applies if you have a single property but with carried-forward losses to set off, since ITR-1 cannot capture Schedule CFL entries. ITR-2 has a fuller Schedule HP that handles multiple properties, joint ownership percentages, municipal taxes, standard deduction and home loan interest separately for each property.

Freelancers, consultants and other independent professionals report their income under business or profession, so they use ITR-3 if maintaining regular books, or ITR-4 (Sugam) if opting for presumptive taxation under Section 44ADA. Under 44ADA, professionals like doctors, lawyers, architects, IT consultants and others listed in Section 44AA can declare 50% of gross receipts as deemed income, provided gross receipts don't exceed Rs 75 lakh (with at least 95% receipts in non-cash mode). It can be a clean, audit-free route for eligible freelancers earning under that threshold. ITR-3 is unavoidable once you have capital gains or foreign assets too.

Yes, in most cases. NRIs cannot use ITR-1; they must file ITR-2 if their income is from salary, house property, capital gains, other sources or foreign assets. ITR-3 applies if they have business or profession income in India. Only Indian-source income (salary earned in India, rent from Indian property, capital gains on Indian assets, interest from Indian banks) is taxable for NRIs, and the residential status section in the form must be filled accurately. Schedule TR and Schedule FA come into play if there are any tax credits or foreign assets to report. DTAA benefits are claimed in Schedule TR with Tax Residency Certificate evidence.

Futures and options trading income is treated as non-speculative business income under Section 43(5)(d), even if you're a salaried person trading on the side. So you must file ITR-3, not ITR-2. Maintain books of accounts; tax audit under Section 44AB is triggered if turnover crosses prescribed thresholds, or if you declare profit below 6% of turnover (under presumptive 44AD, where eligible). F&O turnover is computed as the absolute sum of profits and losses of all trades, not the contract value. Many traders get this wrong and either skip audit or wrongly classify F&O as capital gains. The result is reassessment notices later.

Once total income crosses Rs 50 lakh, ITR-1 and ITR-4 are off the table. Schedule AL (Assets and Liabilities) becomes mandatory, requiring disclosure of immovable property, jewellery, vehicles, financial assets, cash and corresponding liabilities at year-end book values. Use ITR-2 if income is from salary, house property, capital gains, other sources or foreign assets without any business; use ITR-3 if you also have business or professional income. Surcharge of 10% kicks in above Rs 50 lakh, so ensure your tax computation reflects it. Foreign asset disclosure under Schedule FA is non-negotiable for residents holding any foreign account, share or property.