ITR utilities not live yet: Will the e-filing deadline be extended?
The Income Tax Department has already released all the Income Tax Return (ITR) forms for the assessment year 2025-26. These include ITR-1 to ITR-7, and even a new form called ITR-U. This new ITR-U form lets taxpayers file or fix returns for up to 48 months, as allowed under the latest Finance Act.But even with all these forms ready and available for download, there's a small hiccup as taxpayers still can't file their returns online. That's because the filing tools, also known as utilities, are not yet live on the official income tax website.advertisementWHAT ARE ITR FILING UTILITIES?Filing utilities are tools provided by the Income Tax Department to help taxpayers submit their returns online. Last year, it was available in three formats—online, offline (in Java or JSON), and Excel. Most salaried individuals prefer using the online option as it comes with pre-filled details like salary, interest income, and tax deducted. You can review this, make corrections if needed, and then file the return.
On the other hand, tax professionals often use the offline or Excel formats, which require downloading the form, filling it out on your system, and uploading it back to the portal.WHY IS THERE A DELAY IN UTILITIES THIS YEAR?The tax department hasn't given an official reason for the delay. But experts believe it might be because of the changes made to the ITR forms this year. These updates could take extra time to reflect in the software tools.WILL THE DELAY PUSH THE FILING DEADLINE?advertisementMany taxpayers are wondering if the delay in these filing tools means the return filing deadline will be pushed. But that's unlikely. The deadline for those who don't need to get their accounts audited remains July 31, 2025.Historically, most taxpayers file their returns in June or July anyway, so the department still has enough time to get things up and running. Plus, return processing has become quicker over the past few years.So, unless there's a major technical issue, the deadline is expected to stay the same. It's a good idea to stay prepared and regularly check the income tax portal for updates. Once the utilities go live, you can quickly complete the filing without any rush.Trending Reel
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