New ITR Filing Rules for AY 2026-27: Salaried Filer's Guide
Filing season for FY 2025-26 (Assessment Year 2026-27) is open, and the rulebook changed in three ways that quietly trip up high earners: deadlines now depend on your form, ITR-1 covers more people, and the disclosure schedules are stricter. Pick the wrong form or skip a schedule and you get a defective-return notice in August — after the free window to fix it has closed.
Summary
| What changed for AY 2026-27 | Old position | New position |
|---|---|---|
| Filing deadline (ITR-1/ITR-2) | 31 Jul | 31 Jul 2026 |
| Filing deadline (ITR-3/ITR-4, non-audit) | 31 Jul | 31 Aug 2026 |
| ITR-1 house property limit | 1 property | Up to 2 properties |
| LTCG you can keep in ITR-1 | Not allowed | Up to ₹1.25 lakh |
| Revised return deadline | 31 Dec 2026 | 31 Mar 2027 |
| Late fee u/s 234F (income > ₹5L) | ₹5,000 | ₹5,000 |
The deadlines now depend on your form
The single 31 July date is gone. For AY 2026-27 the due date is tied to which return you file:
Salaried, capital gains, two house properties — ITR-1 or ITR-2
Due 31 July 2026. If your only income is salary, interest and listed-equity LTCG up to ₹1.25 lakh, ITR-1 still works. Cross that gain threshold, sell unlisted shares, or carry forward a loss, and you move to ITR-2 — same deadline, more schedules.
Freelance or business income — ITR-3 or ITR-4
Due 31 August 2026 for non-audit cases. If a tax audit applies under Section 44AB, you get until 31 October 2026. Moonlighting on the side counts as business income — that pushes your whole return to the August date.
The corrections window got longer
A revised return can now be filed up to 31 March 2027 (was 31 December). A belated return is still 31 December 2026, and ITR-U as a last resort runs to 31 March 2031. More room to fix mistakes — but the late fee on a belated return doesn't disappear.
ITR-1 now stretches further
From this year, ITR-1 (Sahaj) accepts income from up to two house properties, not one. A salaried filer with a self-occupied flat and one rented unit no longer needs ITR-2 just for that — provided total income stays within the ITR-1 ceiling. You can also report listed-equity LTCG up to ₹1.25 lakh directly in ITR-1, so a small mutual-fund redemption no longer forces a heavier form.
The trap: the moment LTCG crosses ₹1.25 lakh, or you have foreign assets, or any capital loss to carry forward, ITR-1 becomes invalid and the system flags a defective return.
The disclosures you can no longer skip
This is where AY 2026-27 bites salaried tech and finance professionals hardest.
Foreign assets and RSUs — Schedule FA
If you hold RSUs or ESOPs of a foreign-listed parent, foreign bank accounts, or any overseas asset, Schedule FA is mandatory — regardless of whether you sold anything. Global data-sharing means this is the most-scrutinised box this year. Missing it can attract penalties far larger than any late fee.
Capital gains — Schedule CG
Listed-equity LTCG above ₹1.25 lakh is taxed at 12.5% without indexation. Intraday and F&O are business income and go in ITR-3 with turnover disclosed — they cannot hide in a salary return.
Rental income — the new annual-value math
Taxable rent is now stated as Annual Value = Gross Annual Rent − Unrealised Rent − Municipal Taxes, after which the 30% standard deduction under Section 24 applies. Rent you couldn't recover from a tenant is deductible, and previously unpaid rent received later still gets the 30% treatment.
Real example: Salaried + RSU sale, ₹28L CTC, Bengaluru
Priya, a product manager, sold ₹3 lakh of vested RSUs (US-listed parent) during FY 2025-26 and filed ITR-1 in a hurry, treating the gain as "other income."
| Item | Before (ITR-1, refiled late) | After (ITR-2, on time) |
|---|---|---|
| Form validity | Defective (notice u/s 139(9)) | Valid |
| LTCG tax (12.5% on ₹1.75L) | ₹21,875 | ₹21,875 |
| Late fee u/s 234F | ₹5,000 | ₹0 |
| Interest u/s 234A | ~₹650 | ₹0 |
| Schedule FA (foreign RSUs) | Missed | Filed |
| Refund timeline | Stuck behind notice | ~3 weeks |
Same tax on the gain either way — but the wrong form cost her ₹5,650 in avoidable fees and a delayed refund, plus exposure on the unfiled foreign-asset schedule.
What to do this week
- Confirm your form first. Any LTCG above ₹1.25 lakh, foreign RSUs, or a loss to carry forward means ITR-2, not ITR-1.
- Pull your AIS and Form 26AS and reconcile every entry — mismatches are the top reason refunds stall.
- Fill Schedule FA if you hold any foreign asset, sold or not. This is non-negotiable this year.
- File by 31 July 2026 if you're salaried — the longer revised-return window is for fixing mistakes, not for filing late.
Don't let the form choose itself
The numbers on your return rarely go wrong — the form and the missing schedule do. Five minutes deciding ITR-1 versus ITR-2, and one honest pass at Schedule FA, is what separates a three-week refund from an August notice.
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