Income tax dept enables online ITR-2 filing with pre-filled data: How this is a big relief

The Income Tax Department has now allowed online filing of ITR-2 with pre-filled data available on the e-filing portal.

Notably, this form is meant for people who need to file their Income Tax returns (ITR) on income earned through salary, pension, capital gains, or other sources.

Those who have income from a business or profession are required to use Form ITR-3 instead.

So, what’s new this time? Who is expected to use this form? And what about the other ITR forms?

Let’s take a look:

What’s new?

The Income Tax Department posted an update on X: “Kind Attention Taxpayers! Income Tax Return Form of ITR-2 is now enabled for filing through online mode with pre-filled data at the e-filing portal.”

This means salaried individuals, those who own more than one house, and people with capital gains can now file their returns more easily, without needing to download Excel sheets or deal with manual uploads.

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Kind Attention Taxpayers!

Income Tax Return Form of ITR-2 is now enabled for filing through online mode with pre-filled data at the e-filing portal.

Visit: https://t.co/uv6KQUbXGv pic.twitter.com/u8EiumigEb

— Income Tax India (@IncomeTaxIndia) July 18, 2025

Earlier, only ITR-1 and ITR-4 could be filed online. ITR-2 was only available through the Excel utility, which was a slower and more manual process.

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Now, those eligible for ITR-2 can either file it directly online using pre-filled data or download the Excel utility and upload it after filling it out.

With this change, the portal now:

• Automatically fills in details from Form 26AS, AIS, PAN, and TIS

• Lets users file their returns directly on the portal

• Removes the need to create and upload JSON files

This update makes it easier for people with more complex financial details to file their returns.

Why was it delayed?

Usually, the department rolls out online filing utilities by April or May.

But this year, there was a delay of over 100 days in releasing ITR-2 and ITR-3, which left many taxpayers waiting.

Because of this delay and the changes made to ITR forms, the government extended the deadline for filing returns (for non-audit cases) from July 31 to September 15, 2025.

As of July 18, more than 1.41 crore returns have been filed, and 1.12 crore of them have already been processed.

Who should use ITR-2?

Form ITR-2 is for individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) who:

• Have income from salary or pension

• Own more than one residential property

• Have capital gains from shares, mutual funds, or property sales

• Hold foreign assets or earn income abroad

However, this form cannot be used by anyone earning income from a business or profession, or by those receiving payments from a partnership firm.

ITR forms: Who should use which one?

ITR-1

This form is for resident individuals with a total income of up to Rs 50 lakh.

Earlier, individuals with capital gains were not allowed to use ITR-1.

However, the updated version now lets them file through ITR-1 if they have long-term capital gains from the sale of listed equity shares or equity mutual fund units, and the total gain does not exceed Rs 1.25 lakh in a financial year, according to The Economic Times.

ITR-3

ITR-3 is meant for individuals earning from a business or profession. This includes freelancers, consultants, traders (including those trading in stocks or cryptocurrency), and people with foreign assets or complex income structures.

The Excel utility for ITR-3 has been made available, but the online filing with pre-filled data has not yet been enabled.

So, people in this category must still use the Excel utility and upload a JSON file.

ITR-4

This form is for resident individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), or firms (excluding LLPs) with income up to Rs 50 lakh.

It covers those with income from a business or profession under the presumptive taxation scheme (sections 44AD, 44ADA, or 44AE), along with income from salary or pension, one house property, agricultural income up to Rs 5,000, and income from other sources.

ITR-5

This form is for entities such as firms, Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs), Associations of Persons (AOPs), Bodies of Individuals (BOIs), and Artificial Juridical Persons (AJPs).