How to pick your ITR form
Source: Income Tax Department e-filing portal, AY 2026-27 forms notification.
Answer the questions in order. The first "Yes" tells you which ITR to use.
Q1 — Are you an individual or HUF?
- **No** (you are a firm / LLP / company / trust) → see Q5
- **Yes** → continue to Q2
Q2 — Do you have any income under "Profits and Gains of Business or Profession"?
- **No** → continue to Q3
- **Yes, on the presumptive basis** under Sec 44AD / 44ADA / 44AE AND total income ≤ Rs. 50 lakh AND you are a resident → **ITR-4 (SUGAM)** (unless any of Q4 disqualifications apply)
- **Yes, in any other case** → **ITR-3**
Q3 — Disqualification check for ITR-1 / ITR-4 (any "Yes" means you cannot use these forms)
- Are you a Director of any company at any time during the financial year?
- Did you hold unlisted equity shares at any time during the financial year?
- Do you have any foreign assets or foreign income?
- Did you have any agricultural income above Rs. 5,000?
- Did you have any long-term capital gains under Sec 112A above Rs. 1,25,000?
- Did you have any short-term capital gains?
- Did you have any capital gains other than those listed above?
- Did you have brought-forward losses or losses to carry forward?
- Was your income above Rs. 50 lakh?
- Did you have income from more than two house properties? (the AY 2026-27 notification expanded ITR-1 from one to two — verify against the notified form)
If any "Yes" — you cannot file ITR-1 and (if you went via the Q2 presumptive route) you also cannot file ITR-4. Use ITR-2 if no business / profession income, or ITR-3 if business / profession income.
Q4 — If all of Q3 are "No"
You qualify for ITR-1 (SAHAJ) if you have only:
- Salary / pension
- Income from up to two house properties (per AY 2026-27 notification — verify)
- Income from other sources (interest, family pension)
- Agricultural income up to Rs. 5,000
- LTCG u/s 112A up to Rs. 1,25,000
Q5 — Non-individual / non-HUF entities
- **Firm or LLP** → **ITR-5**
- **Company (other than Section 8 company)** → **ITR-6**
- **Trust / Political Party / Institution claiming exemption under Sec 11 / 12, etc.** → **ITR-7**
Where to file
Direct e-filing portal — incometax.gov.in — using your own credentials or through your CA / authorised representative.
Interactive version
A fully interactive 4-question wizard is in development and will replace this static decision tree shortly. The wizard will compute your applicable form automatically and link directly to the e-filing portal.
For ITR filing support, please reach out via the contact page.