Over 1.46 cr I-T returns filed so far; 90.8 lakh taxpayers file ITR-1

Over 1.46 crore income tax returns have been filed so far, of which 90.8 lakh have been filed by individuals with total income up to Rs 50 lakh.

As per data compiled by the revenue department, a total of over 7.94 lakh tax returns were alone filed on July 16, of which over 5.26 lakh was ITR-1 or Sahaj.

ITR-1 can be filed by resident individuals having a total income of up to Rs 50 lakh, from salaries, one house property, other sources (interest), and agricultural income up to Rs 5,000; excluding those who are directors or have invested in unlisted companies.

Further, over 9.68 lakh ITR-2 meant for individuals and 'Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs)' not having income from profits and gains of business or profession, and 14.94 lakh ITR-3 for individuals and HUFs having income from profits and gains of business or profession, have been filed till July 16.

Officials said the higher return filing is on account of convenience, mainly due to pre-filled return forms which have been made available from this year. The pre-filled columns can also be edited by the taxpayers.

Nearly 28 lakh ITR-4 or Sugam has been filed so far by individuals, HUFs and firms with a total income of up to Rs 50 lakh under the presumptive income scheme from business and profession, provided the assessee is neither a director nor have invested in any unlisted company.

Over 24,000 companies have filed ITR-6 so far this fiscal.

Taking together, the total number of income tax returns filed till July 16 stood at over 1.46 crore.

The deadline for filing income tax returns for individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUF) and those taxpayers whose accounts are not required to be audited is July 31. For companies and firm which have to get their accounts audited, the deadline is September 30.

The income tax department had on Tuesday refuted reports in social media about changes being made in ITR forms 2 and 3, saying that only the utility software has been updated which does not hamper the filing of returns.

The updation in utility of ITR forms is based on feedback and mainly aimed at easing the compliance burden of the taxpayers by facilitating easier e-filing, it had said.