New ITR Forms AY 2017-18 (FY 2016-17) : Which ITR Form should you file?

Central Board of Direct Taxes has notified the new ITR Forms AY 2017-18 (for FY 2016-17). In order to make Income Tax Return filing easy, quite a few changes in ITR Forms have been implemented.

The new ITR forms in PDF format have been made available, while the excel utilities (or) Java Utilities for AY 2017-18 will soon be made available on incometaxindia e-filing website.

What is AY & FY?

Financial year (FY) is the year in which you have earned the income. If you are filing a return this year, the financial year will be 2016-17.

For example, if you have had an income between 1st April 2016 and 31 March 2017, then 2016-17 will be referred to as FY. Assessment Year (AY) is the year in which you file returns i.e., 2017-18. The last date to file returns for the financial year 2016-2017 is July 31st 2017 (as of now).

Income Tax Slabs & Rates for FY 2016-17 (AY 2017-18)

The below table gives you clear idea about Income tax slabs / rates for all Tax payer categories. (For general category, Senior Citizens & Very Senior Citizens).

Income Tax Returns Filing & New ITR Forms AY 2017-18 | Which ITR Form should you file?

Below are the main details about new ITR forms. You can download the ITR Forms which are in PDF format.

• The number of ITR Forms have been reduced from the existing nine to seven forms.
• Kindly note that it is now mandatory to quote your Aadhar number / Aadhar Enrollment ID and also disclose Cash deposits of more than Rs 2 lakh made during demonetisation period (between 9-Nov-2016 & 30-Dec-2016). (Quoting of Aadhaar number in ITR forms is not mandatory for NRIs / individuals who are not citizens of India / who are above 80 years of age / who are residing in States of Jammu & Kashmir, Meghalaya & Assam.)
• The existing ITR Forms ITR-2, ITR-2A and ITR-3 have been rationalized and a single ITR-2 has been notified in place of these three forms.
• The existing ITR 4 has been re-numbered as ITR 3.
• ITR 4S (Sugam) is now ITR 4 (Sugam).
• All ITR forms have to be filed electronically. The only exception being ; in the case of individuals of the age of 80 years or more, whose income does not exceed Rs 5 lakh and who has not claimed any refund in the return of income, have an option to file return in paper form.

New ITR 1 (Sahaj) Form For Assessment Year 2017-18 :

• The existing multiple pages ITR 1 form has now been simplified into a single page ITR Form.
• ITR 1 Form (Sahaj) can be filed by an individual having income of up to Rs 50 lakh from salary, one house property and interest income.
• In this ITR form, important tax deductions like Section 80C, 80D, 80G & 80TTA have only been provided. For other tax deductions, you can just mention the section and amount details.
• If you have LTCG of Rs 2.5 Lakh or more, It is mandatory to e-file tax returns, even if your total taxable income may be below Rs 2.5 lakh.
• A separate provision has been provided to disclose Long Term Capital Gains (LTCG) as Exempt income under section 10 (38).
• A separate provision has been provided to disclose Dividend income received from an Indian company as Exempt income under section 10 (34).
• Click here to download new simplified ITR 1 Form for AY 2017-18.

New ITR 2 Form for Assessment year 2017-18 :

•  ITR2 form can be filed by an Individual or Hindu Undivided Family (HUF). This form can be used if you have;
  •  Salary or Pension Income
  •  Income under the head ‘Capital Gains’
  •  Income from multiple houses
  •  No business / professional income under any proprietorship
  •  An asset in foreign country or income from a source outside India
  • Agricultural income of more than Rs 5,000
  • Income from lottery or horse racing
• If your income is more than Rs 50 Lakh, ITR 2 has a Schedule AL requiring assessees to declare their assets and liabilities at the end of the fiscal.
• Click here to download new ITR 2 Form.

New ITR 3 for AY 2017-18 Income tax filing

• The existing ITR 4 is now re-numbered as ITR 3 form.
• New ITR 3 form is for individuals and HUFs having income from a proprietary business or profession (or having income as a partner in a Partnership firm).
• This ITR covers all kind of businesses and professions irrespective of any income limit. Assesse can also report his income from salary, multiple house properties, lottery winnings, capital gains, speculative income i.e. horse race in ITR3 together with the Business Income.
• Click here to download new ITR 3 Form.

New ITR 4S (Sugam) form for AY 2017-18

• This form can be used by individuals who have;
  • Presumptive income from Business or Profession.
  • No Capital Gains
  • Agricultural Income which is less than Rs 5k
  • No asset in foreign country or no income from a source outside India
  • Income from one house property
  • Income from other sources
• Click here to download new ITR 4S form.

Latest Update (31-July-2017) : Income Tax Return filing deadline for AY 2017-18 has been extended till 5th August, 2017. (Source : ET)

Continue reading :

• List of Income Tax Deductions For FY 2016-17 / AY 2017-18
• List of Income Tax Exemptions for FY 2017-18 / AY 2018-19

(Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net) ( (Post first published on 31-March-2017) (This post will be updated with more information after going through the latest ITR forms in detail..)