Which ITR form should I file?

The form is decided by what your income is made of and by your residential status — not by how much you earn. Answer the questions below and you will get the form, and the reason.

The questionnaire needs JavaScript. The decision table below covers the same ground and is complete without it.

The decision table

Read it from the top. The first row that describes you sets the floor — a later row can move you up a form, never down.

If this describes your year	The form is
Salary or pension only, one house property, interest income, resident	ITR-1 Sahaj
Any capital gain beyond ₹1.25 lakh of 112A gain	ITR-2
More than one house property	ITR-2
Foreign assets, foreign income, or signing authority abroad	ITR-2
Director in a company, or holder of unlisted shares	ITR-2, or ITR-3 with business income
Non-Resident or RNOR	ITR-2, or ITR-3 with business income
Presumptive business or profession, resident, total income up to ₹50 lakh	ITR-4 Sugam
Business or profession on regular books, or a partner in a firm	ITR-3
Firm, LLP, AOP, BOI, local authority or co-operative society	ITR-5
Company, other than one claiming exemption u/s 11	ITR-6
Trust, institution, political party or electoral trust claiming exemption	ITR-7

These are the rules BharatTax itself applies. The product runs the same checks against your figures as you enter them, names the reason a form was ruled out, and moves you to the right one before you file.

Why the form matters

A return filed on a form you were not eligible for is liable to be treated as defective under Section 139(9). The department issues a notice, and a defect not cured within the window can leave the return treated as though it was never filed — with the late-filing consequences that follow, and losses that can no longer be carried forward.

The most common way to get it wrong is to file ITR-1 out of habit after a year in which something changed: a few mutual fund units sold, a second property inherited, a directorship taken in a family company, an ESOP allotted by a foreign parent. None of them is large. Each of them changes the form.

What does not change the form

The regime. Old or new is a separate choice, available on the same form.
A refund. Whether you are owed money or owe it makes no difference to which return you file.
Having no tax to pay. A nil return is filed on the same form as any other.

Questions

What decides which ITR form I file?

The composition of your income and your residential status, not the amount. A capital gain, a second house property, a directorship or a foreign asset each change the form regardless of how small they are.

What happens if I file on the wrong form?

A return filed on the wrong form is liable to be treated as defective u/s 139(9). The department issues a notice and gives you a window to file a correct return; if it lapses, the original return can be treated as never filed.

Can I switch forms after I have started?

Yes. BharatTax applies these rules to your figures as you enter them and moves you to the correct form before you file, carrying what you have already entered across.

Does the ₹50 lakh limit apply to salary or to total income?

To total income — gross total income less Chapter VI-A deductions. A salary above ₹50 lakh that comes below the line after deductions still qualifies for ITR-1, and a smaller salary with other income that pushes the total over does not.

Found your form?

Start the return and BharatTax will keep checking as you go — if something you enter rules the form out, it says so and moves you.

Start your return Find my ITR form