Every June, lakhs of salaried people open the income-tax portal, see ITR-1 (Sahaj)sitting there looking friendly, and click it out of habit. It's the easy one. It's what they filed last year. So it must be theirs again.
Here's the part nobody warns you about: in 2026 the line between forms moved, and reaching for the wrong one doesn't just "get sorted later." The department marks your return defective, and your refund sits frozen until you file again — correctly. So before you tap Sahaj on muscle memory, take sixty seconds and actually find your form.
Find your ITR form
Do you earn any income from a business or profession?
Includes freelancing, consulting, F&O or intraday trading, a shop, or a directorship in your own firm.
The 60-second test
Start at ITR-1 and walk down this list. The moment one line is true for you, ITR-1 is not your form — you move up to ITR-2 (or further):
You're out of ITR-1 the moment any of these is true
- Total income above ₹50 lakh
- Any short-term capital gains, or LTCG above ₹1.25 lakh
- More than two house properties
- Crypto or other virtual digital asset income
- Foreign assets, foreign income, or signing authority abroad
- You're a company director, or held unlisted shares
- Brought-forward losses to carry or set off
None of them true, and you have salary, one house and bank interest? ITR-1 is yours. Have a business or profession instead? Skip straight to ITR-3 or ITR-4 below.
₹50 lakh
The income ceiling for ITR-1. Above it — or with any short-term capital gains, a third house, crypto or foreign assets — your form changes.
The four forms that actually matter for you
There are seven ITR forms in total, but if you're an individual, only four are ever in play. Firms and LLPs use ITR-5, companies use ITR-6, and trusts, charities and the like use ITR-7 — you can ignore those. Here's the short version of the four that decide it for the rest of us:
| Form | In one phrase | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|
| ITR-1 (Sahaj) | Salaried, simple | Resident, income up to ₹50L: salary/pension, up to two house properties, interest/dividends, agri up to ₹5,000, and LTCG under Sec 112A up to ₹1.25L. |
| ITR-2 | Salaried, but complex | No business income, but you fail ITR-1: any short-term capital gains, LTCG over ₹1.25L, a third house, foreign assets/income, crypto gains, or you're a director. |
| ITR-3 | Business / profession | You have income from a business or profession (and aren't eligible for ITR-1, 2 or 4). |
| ITR-4 (Sugam) | Presumptive scheme | Resident up to ₹50L taxed on a presumptive basis under 44AD / 44ADA / 44AE. Optional, not mandatory. |
The split is cleaner than it looks. No business income? You're in the ITR-1 or ITR-2world — and the only question is whether your life is simple enough for Sahaj. Have business or professional income? You're in ITR-3 or ITR-4 — and the only question is whether you report it on the presumptive scheme.
What quietly changed in 2026
Three shifts (notified by CBDT on 30 March 2026) catch people who file on autopilot:
Small market gains no longer banish you to ITR-2.Until last year, a single rupee of long-term capital gain meant you couldn't use Sahaj. For AY 2026-27, the portal lets you keep LTCG under Section 112A up to ₹1,25,000 inside ITR-1. So a salaried investor who booked a modest profit on equity mutual funds can often stay on the simple form — a genuine relief, and the change most people will miss. (Note the limit: cross ₹1.25 lakh, or book anyshort-term gain, and you're back to ITR-2.)
A second house is now welcome in Sahaj. ITR-1 used to be a one-house form. From this year you can report income from up to two house properties (say, the flat you live in and one you rent out) and still file ITR-1. Only a third property tips you into ITR-2.
Your due date may not be July 31. The calendar split this year. ITR-1 and ITR-2 filers — most salaried people — file by 31 July 2026. But if you file ITR-3 or ITR-4 and aren't under audit, you get an extra month, to 31 August 2026. Miss your date and a belated return is allowed till 31 December 2026 — with a late fee.
A worked example
Take Riya. Salaried, ₹18 lakh a year, the flat she lives in plus a small second flat she rents out, a savings account, and this year she sold some equity mutual funds for an ₹80,000 long-term gain. A year ago, either that second house or that ₹80,000 gain would have pushed her into ITR-2.
Run her through the test for AY 2026-27: income under ₹50 lakh? Yes. Two house properties? Now allowed. Any short-term gains? No. Her LTCG is ₹80,000 — under the ₹1.25 lakh Section 112A limit. Riya files ITR-1. But push that gain to ₹1.4 lakh, add a third property, or make even one short-term trade, and she crosses into ITR-2. Those thresholds are where most salaried investors will slip this year.
The form you pick isn't paperwork. It's the difference between a refund that lands and a return that bounces back "defective."
What it means for you
Honest take: for most salaried readers this is simpler than the seven-form list makes it look. If your money life is salary, one home and some bank interest — with maybe a small equity gain under ₹1.25 lakh — ITR-1 is genuinely yours, and 2026 made it a little roomier. The people who get burned are the ones who grew a second income stream this year — a few short-term stock trades, some crypto, a freelance gig on the side — and file the same form they always have without noticing the line moved under them.
Once you've landed on your form, the next question is which tax regime keeps more of that income. Don't guess — run your numbers through the old vs new regime calculator and, if you want your real reportable take-home, drop your CTC into the in-hand salary calculator. Pick the right form, then pick the regime that pays you back.
Form eligibility and deadlines are for AY 2026-27 (FY 2025-26) and are based on the official Income Tax e-Filing portal at the time of writing; rules and dates can change. Always confirm your specific case on incometax.gov.in before filing. This is general information, not tax advice.