If you are preparing to file Income Tax Return (ITR), then this news is important for you. So far, the Income Tax Department has not made ready ITR e-filing utilities on its portal for Assessment Year 2025-26 (FY 2024-25).
What is the latest status on ITR utilities?
As of May 20, 2025, there is no update on the e-filing portal of the tax department, while forms from ITR-1 to ITR-7 have already been notified. This has raised the question in the minds of taxpayers whether the last date for filing returns will be extended this time too?
“The Income Tax Department has officially notified all 7 Income Tax Return (ITR) forms for Assessment Year (AY) 2025–26. However, despite the notification, taxpayers are currently unable to file their returns. This is because the Income Tax e-filing utility for these forms has not yet been made operational on the e-filing portal,” says CA (Dr.) Suresh Surana.
Also read: ITR Filing 2025: No more tax filing hassles with digital Form 16 — Know how it works
What are ITR utilities and how do they make difference?
The utility provides the structured digital interface necessary for form submission and validation, and its deployment is a prerequisite for filing returns either online or through offline upload. As such, taxpayers need to monitor the official e-filing portal (www.incometax.gov.in) for updates regarding the availability of the utilities and plan their compliance accordingly.
The release of the utility is a crucial next step, as it incorporates schema validation, online digital interface, and system integration with third party softwares required for return submission. The e-filing functionality is typically rolled out in phases, beginning with simpler forms such as ITR-1 and ITR-4, followed by more complex forms.
Importantly, taxpayers will not be unable to file their income tax returns for Financial Year 2024–25 until these online utilities are released and activated.
Also read: ITR Forms Sahaj and Sugam: What’s the difference and which form is right for you?
Income Tax Dept released utilities in April last year
If you look at last year’s timeline, the department had started the facility of filing ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-4 and ITR-6 in both online and offline mode on April 16, 2024.
“ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-4 & ITR-6 for AY 2024-25 are enabled for filing in Offline as well as Online mode at e-filing portal.
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