ITR Filing 2025: The Income Tax Department has released the Excel utility for ITR-1 (Sahaj) and ITR-4 (Sugam) forms for the assessment year 2025-26. Now salaried taxpayers, pensioners, freelancers and small businessmen can file their income returns for the financial year 2024-25 offline and upload them on the portal.
This utility is available on the official e-filing portal https://incometax.gov.in. It allows taxpayers to prepare returns even without internet.
Who can file ITR-1 and ITR-4?
- ITR-1 (Sahaj): For resident individuals with income up to ₹50 lakh, whose income comes from salary, pension, one house property or interest.
- ITR-4 (Sugam): For individuals, HUFs and firms (except LLPs) with presumptive income (sections 44AD, 44ADA, 44AE) up to ₹50 lakh.
What’s new this year?
Now taxpayers whose long term capital gains from listed equity shares are up to ₹1.25 lakh can also show it in ITR-1 and ITR-4. Earlier this was possible only in ITR-2.
What is Excel Utility?
Excel utility is an offline tool in which you can fill in income, deduction and tax details. After filling the data in it, a JSON file is created and uploaded on the portal.
How to use Excel Utility?
- Download ITR-1 or ITR-4 Excel Utility from https://incometax.gov.in.
- Enable Macros in Excel.
- Fill in your income and tax details.
- Check the information with the Validate button.
- Generate the JSON file.
- Upload the file by logging into the e-filing portal.
Deadline for filing ITR
The Income Department has extended the deadline for filing ITR-1 and ITR-4. This time taxpayers will be able to file returns till 15 September 2025. Earlier the deadline was usually 31 July.
Before filing the return, keep the details like Form 16, TDS certificate, Form 26AS and AIS ready.
Why was there a delay this time?
Income tax forms were notified on April 29, 2025, but the Excel utility was delayed by about a month. According to the department, the delay was due to “structural changes and content revisions in the forms”. This required additional technical development and system integration time.
