ITR‑2, ITR‑3 Excel forms released—Are you required to file one?
What's the story
The Income Tax Department has launched the Excel utilities for ITR-2 and ITR-3 for Assessment Year 2025-26. The move allows taxpayers with capital gains, crypto income, and foreign assets (using ITR-2), and those with business income (using ITR-3), to start filing their income tax returns for FY 2024-25.
Submission timeline
Deadline for filing these returns is September 15, 2025
Taxpayers must note that the deadline for filing these returns is September 15, 2025. Until now, only ITR-1 and ITR-4 were available, limiting filings to salaried individuals and small businesses under presumptive taxation. Taxpayers can download the Excel packs directly from the Income Tax e‑filing portal, extract them, fill in the details, and validate entries offline. Once completed, they export a JSON file and upload it to the portal, with e‑filing verification required within 30 days of submission.
Form updates
Key changes in ITR-2 and ITR-3 forms
The Income Tax Department has made some major changes to ITR-2 and ITR-3 forms. These include bifurcation of capital gains for asset transfers before/after July 23, 2024, allowing loss on share buyback if related dividends are disclosed as "income from other sources." The reporting threshold for assets & liabilities has been raised to ₹1 crore (from ₹50 lakh) and TDS deduction section code is now mandatory in Schedule-TDS.
User guidelines
Who should file which return?
ITR-2 is meant for individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) without business income but having capital gains, clubbed income, or foreign assets. On the other hand, ITR-3 is for those with income from business or profession, including freelancers, consultants, and sole proprietors. The online filing interface for these forms is expected to go live soon.