India’s Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has introduced new income tax return (ITR) forms, ITR-1 to ITR-6, for diverse taxpayers in the fiscal year 2023-24 (1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024), aligned with the assessment year 2024-25. Notifications No. 105/2023, Notification No.16/2024 and No. 19/2024, issued on 22 December 2023, 24 January 2024, and 31 January 2024, respectively, specify the forms applicable. The ITRs for the Assessment Year 2024–25 include the following six forms:

  1. ITR-1 (SAHAJ): Applicable to resident individual taxpayers (excluding non-residents) with a total income up to INR 5 million. Eligibility requires salary income, income from a single house property, income from other sources (such as interest), and agricultural income up to INR 5,000. Exclusions include directorship in a company, investments in unlisted equity shares, withholding under Section 194N of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and deferment under employee stock option plan (ESOP) rules.
  2. ITR-2: Individuals or Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) who do not meet the eligibility criteria for ITR-1 are required to submit ITR-2 forms. This includes those without income from a business or profession, individuals not receiving income from a partnership firm in the form of interest, salary, bonus, commission, or remuneration, or those having the income of another person to be clubbed. ITR-2 also entails additional information such as Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) details, contributions to political parties, and deductions related to the maintenance of a dependent with a disability.
  3. ITR-3: ITR-3 is obligatory for individuals whose income falls under the category of “profits and gains from business or profession,” which encompasses interest, salary, bonus, commission, or remuneration subjected to taxation.
  4. ITR-4 (SUGAM): Meant for resident taxpayers (individuals, HUFs, and firms excluding LLPs) with total income from a business or profession under sections 44AD, 44ADA, or 44AE not exceeding INR 5 million. Specific exclusions include directorships, investments in unlisted equity shares, deferred tax under ESOP rules, and agricultural income exceeding INR 5,000.
  5. ITR-5: The ITR-5 form is designated for specific categories of taxpayers, including Associations of Persons (AOPs), Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs), firms, Bodies of Individuals (BOIs), estates of deceased individuals, Artificial Juridical Persons (AJPs), Business Trusts, Estates of Insolvents, and Investment Funds. Individuals, corporations, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), and those utilizing the new ITR Form 7 for filing income tax returns are not required to use the ITR-5 Form. Furthermore, the ITR-5 form is not applicable to entities filing income tax returns under sections 139(4A), 139(4B), 139(4C), or 139(4D), such as trusts, political parties, institutions, colleges, etc.
  6. ITR-6: ITR-6 is intended for companies registered under the Indian Companies Act of 1956 or any other applicable law, irrespective of whether they are availing of exemption under Section 11.

The filing for all Forms ITR1 to ITR6 will be effective from 1 April 2024.