Filing ITR-2 or ITR-3? Check these common mistakes and tips to avoid them

India Today

15-07-2025

With the excel utilities for ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-3 and ITR-4 now released, it's vital for taxpayers to file correctly and on time. But using these excel utilities can get tricky if you're not careful. One wrong entry and you could mess up your entire tax calculation, and nobody wants a notice from the tax department, right?Take for example a recent case. A taxpayer who sold shares found that while his Long-Term Capital Gains (LTCG) showed up correctly in Schedule 112A, the main Capital Gains section showed zero tax payable. If he had filed it like that, he would have surely got a tax notice later for wrong tax payment.advertisementWHY DO THESE ERRORS HAPPEN?Tax experts say these issues mostly come up if you don't fill every part of the excel utility correctly. Mihir Tanna, Associate Director at S.K Patodia LLP while speaking to The Economic Times, said that people often forget to fill the last row in the Capital Gains schedule, which is row F. 'You must mention the quarter-wise details and click on 'Validate' at the top of the sheet. Without this, your capital gains and taxes may not show up correctly,' he explains.
Chartered Accountant Suresh Surana added that the excel utility only shows the correct tax once you have resolved all errors. 'Unless you validate all parts and click on 'Compute Tax', the figures may appear blank or wrong. Once you upload it on the portal, the correct tax will show if all your details are right,' he said to ET.OTHER MISTAKES YOU MUST AVOIDSo what else should you watch out for while using the excel ITR utility? Experts shared a few easy but important tips:Use the pre-filled data: CA Gaurav Aggarwal pointed out that many taxpayers lose time by entering every detail manually. He suggested logging in to the income tax portal, downloading the pre-filled JSON file, and importing it into the Excel utility to reduce simple errors, mentioned the report.Enable macros in Excel: Without this, the ITR excel utility simply wouldn't work. Also, shortcuts like Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V won't work here. You have to use the F2 key to edit or copy.Validate every section: Each schedule (like salary, capital gains, deductions) has its own 'Validate' button. Use it. Once you check each part, then click on 'Calculate Tax'. This makes sure the entire return has no mistakes.Always keep a copy: It is advisable to keep a backup. A single error can sometimes damage the entire Excel file, forcing taxpayers to begin again. Keeping a copy of the file or JSON midway ensures that if anything goes wrong, the work isn't lost.Filing taxes can feel confusing, but if you follow these simple steps, you'll avoid many headaches later. Take your time, double-check your details, and don't rush to hit that 'Submit' button. After all, nobody wants to waste time fixing tax notices later!- Ends