ITR Filing 2025: What is Causing Delay in Releasing ITR-2 and ITR-3? What Should Taxpayer Do?:

ITR Filing 2025: What is Causing Delay in Releasing ITR-2 and ITR-3? What Should Taxpayers Do? The income tax return (ITR) filing season for Assessment Year 2025-26 moves ahead, and many taxpayers are stuck in uncertainty because the utilities for ITR-2 and ITR-3 have not been released yet. While those filing simpler returns using ITR-1 and ITR-4 can already access the Excel and JSON utilities, the individuals who need to report capital gains or business income are still waiting for the ITR forms to become available.

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Additionally, the Income Tax Department has extended the deadline for filing income tax returns to September 15, 2025, for individuals who do not need to get their accounts audited. This extension gives both taxpayers and the department more time for the updated ITR utilities to be finalised and tested.

Who Must File ITR-2

Individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) must file ITR-2 if they have income from the following sources:

• Income from Capital gains
• Income from Salary or pension
• Income from more than one house property
• Income from other sources (other than business or professional income)

Who Must File ITR-3

Individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) must file ITR-3 if they have income from the following sources:

• Income from business and profession
• Income earned from a partnership in firms
• Income earned from Freelancing, rendering professional services, and consultancy

Why Delay in Releasing ITR Utility?

As per experts, the delay in releasing ITR-2 and ITR-3 utilities is because of the recent update of the capital gains tax rules for the financial year 2024-25. Since there have been major changes in how capital gains are taxed, the Income Tax Department had to make big updates to the ITR forms by redesigning them. This takes extra time for the development and its testing. The systems must be upgraded to handle new compliance rules, ensure accurate data validation, and incorporate backend changes. All these tasks, combined with the update in capital gains tax reporting, have contributed to the delay in releasing the updated tools.

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What Should Taxpayers Do for Now?

Until the utilities are released, taxpayers can download and take a look at the PDF versions of ITR-2 and ITR-3 to get an idea of the forms and can keep the required documents accordingly. If you still have some doubts regarding the ITR forms, consult a tax professional. Keep checking the Income Tax Department's e-filing portal to view any updates.