ITR Filing 2025: Delay in ITR-2 and ITR-3? Here is What Taxpayers Should Know

Taxpayers who use ITR-1 (Sahaj) and ITR-4 (Sugam) can already file their income tax returns, as these forms are simpler and not impacted by recent changes in tax laws. ITR-1 is typically used by salaried individuals, while ITR-4 is meant for small business owners or freelancers opting for presumptive taxation. Since these forms don’t require complicated disclosures, the filing utilities for them have been released and are ready to use.

However, those using ITR-2 and ITR-3 are facing delays. ITR-2 is used by individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUF) who do not earn salaries but also have many properties, capital gains, or other income. ITR-3 is for individuals who earn from a business or profession, like freelancers and consultants. These forms are usually more complicated and ask for more detailed information, particularly about capital gains.

This year, there have been major changes in the capital gains tax structure, especially concerning listed securities, mutual funds, and property transactions. As a result, the Income Tax Department needs to make significant updates to the software and filing utilities for ITR-2 and ITR-3.

The delay was due to all of the work on the back-end (new data format, new validation rules, and also ensuring the software complies with the new taxation rules). For all of those reasons, and to give taxpayers an opportunity, the ITR filing deadline for an individual has been extended to 15 September 2025. Until then, those with complex income profiles will need to wait for the updated tools before they can file their returns offline.

Till the utilities are released, taxpayers can use the PDF versions of these forms that are available for reference and get an overview of the forms and should keep the necessary documents; however, the actual Excel or Java-based utilities required for offline filing have not been released yet.