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Income Tax (IT) Return Filing Which ITR form to use?
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It is income tax (IT) return filing season. And as usual, it is a time for much confusion!! And the most puzzling thing for most of us: Which form to use to file the income tax return?
Here is your guide to the most commonly used income tax return forms. |
Update: Latest Income Tax Return (ITR) Forms: AY 2009-10 / FY 2008-09
The IT returns for AY 2009-10 (FY 2008-09) have been notified now. Click below to download the form relevant to you. (For downloadable IT return forms for AY 2008-09, and to know which form you should be filling, please scroll down)
(You need to be logged-in to download the forms. For free registration that takes less than a minute, please click here. To know the benefits of registration, please click here.)
Income Tax Return Form 1 (ITR 1)
Income Tax Return Form 2 (ITR 2)
Income Tax Return Form 3 (ITR 3)
Income Tax Return Form 4 (ITR 4)
Acknowledgement (Please scroll to the last page of the downloaded form for the acknowledgement)
(You need to be logged-in to download the forms. For free registration that takes less than a minute, please click here. To know the benefits of registration, please click here.)
Please read "Income Tax (IT) Slabs / Brackets and rates" to know the latest slabs and Income Tax (IT) Rates.
(Dont understand terms like assessment year and previous year? Please read "Income Tax (IT) Jargon Financial Year (FY), Assessment Year (AY) and Previous Year (PY)")
(Confused about filling the income tax return form - ITR? Want step by step guidance, and a video tutorial? Please read "How to fill Income Tax Return Form 1 (ITR1)")
Form ITR1
ITR-1 is the most basic IT return form, and is applicable only for people having most basic incomes!!
It is for individuals having income from:
- Salary / Pension / Family Pension
- Interest
Thus, it is for people having a salary (or pension) and having savings bank accounts, fixed deposits, National Savings Certificates (NSCs), or other interest bearing instruments.
Form ITR-1 is not for people having capital gains, or for people having income from house property or business / profession.
Thus, ITR1 is not for you if:
- You are filing on behalf of a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF)
- You have sold shares / mutual funds in the past year (FY 07-08)
- You have sold house / land in the past year (FY 07-08)
- You have paid EMI for your house to repay your home loan
- You have rented out your house
- You have income from your business or profession
Download Income Tax Return Form ITR 1 (AY 2008-09 / FY 2007-08)
Download Income Tax Return Form ITR 1 Instructions (AY 2008-09 / FY 2007-08)
Download Income Tax Return Acknowledgement (AY 2008-09 / FY 2007-08)
(You need to be logged-in to download the forms. For free registration that takes less than a minute, please click here. To know the benefits of registration, please click here.)
Form ITR2
ITR-2 is for individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) having income from:
- Salary / Pension / Family Pension
- Interest
- House Property
- Capital Gains
ITR2 is for you if:
- You have income from salary or pension
- You have savings bank accounts, fixed deposits, National Savings Certificates (NSCs), or other interest bearing instruments
- You have sold shares / mutual funds in the past year (FY 07-08)
- You have sold house / land in the past year (FY 07-08)
- You have paid EMI for your house to repay your home loan
- You have rented out your house
- You are filing on behalf of a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) that doesnt have income from business or profession
ITR2 is not for you if:
- You have income from your business or profession
Download Income Tax Return Form ITR 2 (AY 2008-09 / FY 2007-08)
Download Income Tax Return Form ITR 2 Instructions (AY 2008-09 / FY 2007-08)
Download Income Tax Return Acknowledgement (AY 2008-09 / FY 2007-08)
(You need to be logged-in to download the forms. For free registration that takes less than a minute, please click here. To know the benefits of registration, please click here.)
Form ITR3
From ITR-3 is for individuals or HUFs that are partners in firms, but who are not carrying out business or profession under any proprietorship.
ITR3 is for you if:
- You are a partner in a firm
- You are filing on behalf of an HUF that is a partner in a firm
ITR3 is not for you if:
- You have a proprietary business
- You are filing on behalf of an HUF, and it has a proprietary business
- You or your HUF are not a partner in any firm
Download Income Tax Return Form ITR 3 (AY 2008-09 / FY 2007-08)
Download Income Tax Return Form ITR 3 Instructions (AY 2008-09 / FY 2007-08)
Download Income Tax Return Acknowledgement (AY 2008-09 / FY 2007-08)
(You need to be logged-in to download the forms. For free registration that takes less than a minute, please click here. To know the benefits of registration, please click here.)
Form ITR4
Form ITR-4 is for individuals and HUFs that have income from a proprietary business or profession.
ITR4 is for you if:
- You have a proprietary business
- You are filing on behalf of an HUF, and it has a proprietary business
ITR4 is not for you if:
- You or your HUF do not have a proprietary business
Download Income Tax Return Form ITR 4 (AY 2008-09 / FY 2007-08)
Download Income Tax Return Form ITR 4 Instructions (AY 2008-09 / FY 2007-08)
Download Income Tax Return Acknowledgement (AY 2008-09 / FY 2007-08)
(You need to be logged-in to download the forms. For free registration that takes less than a minute, please click here. To know the benefits of registration, please click here.)
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Feb 21, 2009
You have income from salary, income from business and profession and income from capital gains.
Therefore, you should use ITR4.
Mar 26, 2009
I went thruogh your profile, its amazing you are doing all this as a hobby, really great, there are very few people who does this kind of community service, you are surely one of them, great and keep it up.
My query is regarding filing of income tax and form 16.
I filed ITR for 08-09 alright. In april 08 I joined a new company and left this company in Feb 09. Now, my query is that my previous employer is supposed to provide me with form 16.
I submitted all the investment proofs to them in Dec 08 for that purpose, but would that be enough to file ITR, since I am working with another company now since Feb 09.
I am really confused, should I file ITR on the form 16 provided to me by my previous employer, but that would not include all the income till March 31.
In short,what options do I have in this situation ?
Thanks a lot for the very kind words.... Encouragement like this keeps me going! Please do let your friends and family know about this website!
For filing the ITR, you need full details of your income. If you have worked in two companies, this means that you need Form 16 from both the companies - only then, you would have the full salary for the year.
But I don't understand your problem - you are saying that the old company would issue you a form 16. Your new company would anyway issue you a form 16.
So, you would have form 16 from both employers - which means there is no problem.
A point to note: Please note that you are not supposed to submit any documents (form 16, investment proofs, etc) along with your ITR. These are to be presented only if asked by the assessing officer (AO).
Mar 26, 2009
As I understand I can file returns for this in 2009 or 2010. If I want to file it in 2010 what do I srite in the returns to be filed in 2009?
Moreover if I have to file about it in 2009 then whether the cost incurred towards major maintenance few times between sale & purchase can be included in computing the capital gain?
Please explain.
Thank you.
G.P.Mishra
If you have sold your house in Sep 08, you have to consider that in the calculations when you file your return for AY 2009-10. You do not have the option to do it in the next year (AY 2010-11).
And yes, cost incurred towards major maintenance / repair can definitely be included as a cost while calculating your capital gain.
I have written a detailed article on calculation of capital gain on sale of a house - please read "Long Term Capital Gains (LTCG) on Sale of a House Calculation and Income Tax" for more details.
I have also written an article on saving income tax on LTCG from sale of a house - please read "How to save / avoid Long Term Capital Gain (LTCG) Tax on Sale of a house" ".
Mar 28, 2009
Apr 01, 2009
Is it necessary to verify all documents by any charted accountant before filling the returns?
If I am not able to find any charted accountant then what is the way forward.
I am not experienced in dealing with income from partnerships and businesses. Therefore, I would not be able to help you here. Sorry!
It is not mandatory for all businesses - only businesses having revenue / income over a certain level need to get their profit and loss accounts and balance sheets audited by a chartered accountant (CA).
Again, they only need to get results audited - filing of income tax returns through CAs is not mandatory.
But businesses usually take help of chartered accountants as they are aware of all the latest rules (and rule changes!), and can help you avoid any penalties and can help minimize your income tax liability.
Apr 20, 2009
I have income from interest provide by bank and no other source of income. Which ITR form I am supposed to fill for AY 2009-10.
Since there is a capital loss, you would need to fill ITR2.
Apr 25, 2009
Apr 29, 2009
I am working in limited company and my monthly salary is 10000Rs/-
i want to submit my returns
because i want to take house lone
Thanks for the compliments... I am glad that you liked the website.
For your purpose, you can use ITR1. All your income would come under "income from other sources".
Ideally, since your total income is below the taxable limit, you need not file any income tax return.
However, if you want to file one for taking a home loan, please file ITR1.
The process is the same as for everyone else. Please indicate your total salary as "income from salary". And in the tax payable, the amount would be zero.
May 26, 2009
In this financial year 2008 -2009 , I worked in 2 Companies, From April 2008 to July 2009 in one company & from August 2008 to march 2009 is 2nd company. I didn't submitted my previous employee income details to present company. So both side tax is deducted as per the details provided. Now after calculation I may have to pay extra tax from both income. Both companies will give the FORM 16 so now how can pay the extra amount to IT dept & what needs to be done. Please guide.
May 28, 2009
Impressive Resume and an equally impressive quality of advices and help being rendered to people especially the "beginners" like me.
I had a question about the ITR Form to be used. I am a salaried person who has now been involved in equities for the past few months. I am in the process of preparing for AY09-10. I have a regular income with interests on FDs, Home loan, short term delivery trades and lots of intra-day square-off trades. My questions:
1.) What form should I be using to file my returns.
2.) Is there a limit to the total transaction amounts for speculations beyond which I need to prepare for Tax Audits?
Regards,
Sachin
Jun 01, 2009
I have lost my previous year ITR and now I need them. Is there any way to get the duplicate ITR receipts either online or from any income tax office.
Regards
Faiyaz
You would need to pay something called a "self assessment tax".
You can pay this at many banks, including most branches of State Bank of India (SBI).
You would need to fill up a simple challan, and pay the amount. You would get a stamped copy of the challan for your records.
1. You need to fill and file ITR2.
2. There is no specific limit. However, if the assessing officer (AO) thinks that your trading income is a large proportion of your total income, he can treat it as "business income" instead of short term capital gain (STCG).
In that case, you would need to pay tax on the gains as per the IT slabs applicable to you instead of the concessional rate of tax on STCG.
Relevant articles:
- Income Tax (IT) Slabs / Brackets and rates FY 2008-09 AY 2009-10
- Long Term and Short Term Capital Gain - Income Tax Calculation
I am sorry, but I do not know of any particular method of getting a duplicate IT return.
I believe your best bet would be to approach your AO, and make an application for getting a duplicate IT return.
Jun 06, 2009
Kindly inform me which ITR should be used for filling of Income Tax Return whose income source is from Commission from LICI/Sahar etc. etc. ???
Thanking you.
Income from commission from LIC etc would be treated as "income from business and profession".
Therefore, you need to file ITR4.
Jun 14, 2009
Thanks for the inputs. However, intra-day square off transactions, the gains or losses made can be shown under STC(G/L)? I was under the impression that this set comes under Speculations and hence ITR-IV.
Regards,
Sachin
Jun 16, 2009
I have some income from insurance
pl advice which ITR Form to be used
Sorry for posting the question without reading the article. I have to file the IT returns for the FY08-09. I was salarised and did share trading on the months of FEB'09,MARCH'09. I got loss as a whole. Which form i have to fill for filing IT returns. Please suggest.
For salaried people, generally, share trading income is treated as STCG / LTCG.
However, if the trading income is a large as a proportion of your total income, then the AO can treat it as "business income".
The logic is that if you earn a large proportion of your income from share trading (Say your salary income is Rs. 4 Lakhs and you earned profit of Rs. 3.5 Lakhs from share transactions), then it means that it is also one of the primary sources of your income.
In that case, it would be treated as business income.
Since you have income from insurance (I assume you sell insurance and have received commission), you should file ITR4.
Jun 22, 2009
Which ITR form should I use?
Jun 23, 2009
If you were on contract, were you not getting a salary? If you were getting a fixed monthly payment, I believe you can still file ITR1.
Jul 01, 2009
My car has been hiered by a Company. The company issued me a form 16 A. Which ITR form I have to use?
Also what will be the source of income in ITR form?
Is hiring out the car your business? In that case, this is business income and you should file ITR4.
Otherwise, this would be other income, and you need to file ITR1 or 2 depending on your other incomes.
pl reply to my query:
I am working in a pvt.co.on full time salary basis
I have some income from insurance commission
I have some profit/loss from intra day share trading(Same day Squareing up) as well as short term delivery based trading
pl.advise which ITR form will be used for income tax return