Which ITR form should I file?

Six questions. Each one that changes the answer tells you why it changed, because the reason is more useful than the form number — it is what stops you getting it wrong again next year.

About your year

Answer for the financial year you are filing for, not for today.

Do you have income from a business or profession?

Presumptive means declaring a fixed percentage of turnover under section 44AD, 44ADA or 44AE, without keeping books.

Did you sell shares, mutual funds or property during the year?

Any amount counts. There is no minimum below which it can be ignored.

How many house properties do you own?

Is your total income above ₹50 lakh?

Any foreign income, foreign assets, or are you a non-resident?

Includes foreign shares from an employer, and any account you have signing authority over.

Are you a company director, or do you hold unlisted shares?

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Why the reason matters more than the form

The e-filing portal will let you submit the wrong form. It does not check whether you were eligible for the one you chose. What happens instead is that the return is later treated as defective under section 139(9), and you get a notice giving you a short window to file it again properly — with the return treated as never filed if you miss it.

Almost every case we see of this starts the same way: someone filed ITR-1 out of habit, having redeemed a small amount of a mutual fund during the year. The transaction is in their AIS whether they reported it or not. Two minutes checking AIS before choosing the form prevents the entire sequence.

Not sure? Send us the documents instead

We will tell you which form applies and what it costs before any work starts. Flat ₹499 including GST for ITR-1 and ITR-4.

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