ITR e-filing utilities: No update yet for AY 2025-26; can it lead to ITR due date extension?

Last year, the income tax department enabled filing ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-4, and ITR-6 for AY 2024-25 in offline and online modes on April 16, 2025.

"ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-4 & ITR-6 for AY 2024-25 are enabled for filing in Offline as well as Online mode at e-filing portal. Excel utilities of ITR-1, ITR-2 & ITR-4 for AY 2024-25 are available under 'Downloads' button at e-filing portal," the tax department had said on April 16, 2024.

The offline and online utilities for ITR-3 and ITR-5 were released on May 9 and May 31, 2024, respectively. The Excel utility for ITR-7 came much later on July 11, 2024, while the offline and online utilities of this ITR form were enabled by June 21, 2204.

What is the ITR e-filing utility?

ITR e-filing utility is a tool provided by the Income Tax Department, which enables taxpayers to file their ITRs electronically. Last year, various e-filing utilities came in three modes: Offline (Java/JSON), Online, and Excel.

While JSON and Excel utilities are generally used by tax professionals, the online e-filing utility can be used for filing an income tax return by self. You can use the e-filing utility to submit returns before the due date, which is July 31, 2025.

The online e-filing utility comes with pre-filled financial data of taxpayers. One can verify or revise these data and submit ITR. This utility is used by most tax filers. In AY 2024-25, over 43.82% of the total 7.28 crore ITRs were filed online by July 31, 2024.

In case of offline and Excel utilities, users can download them from the tax department's website, fill them out, and upload them to the e-filing portal.

Why is there a delay in the e-filing utility release?

Can a delay in e-filing utilities lead to ITR filing due date extension?

No. There is very little possibility of a due date extension. The reasons are explained below:

The delay in the e-filing utilities has led to speculations about the possible due date extension. However, it is unlikely to happen because most of the tax returns are filed in the months of June and July. And the Income Tax Department still has many days left before June. Moreover, the processing of income tax returns has become very fast in last few years.

However, it will be good if the tax department enables these utilities early so that all taxpayers can get enough time to correctly file their returns and claim early refunds (if applicable)