Who Should File ITR-2
Individuals and Hindu Undivided Families who do not have income from business or profession should file ITR-2. This form is suitable for those with salary income alongside capital gains, income from more than one house property, dividend income, foreign income or assets, or income from virtual digital assets. Non-residents and non-ordinarily resident Indians also use ITR-2 for Indian-source income. The filing deadline for ITR-2 is July 31, 2026.
What Is New For AY 2026-27
This year, two auto-selections have been introduced. The filing status field is pre-filled as ‘Filed u/s 139(1)’ — the standard on-time filing section — and the tax regime selector defaults to the new regime. If you intend to file under the old regime, you will need to manually override this. Another important change is the removal of the split capital gains reporting requirement introduced after Budget 2024. Capital gains reporting is now consolidated, simplifying the schedule considerably.
The 15 Key Schedules
Part A General
Start by verifying the pre-filled profile data covering contact details, residential status, bank accounts, and filing status.
Bank Details
All bank accounts must be listed; at least one must be pre-validated for tax refunds to be credited.
Schedule House Property
Report income or loss from self-occupied, let-out, or deemed let-out properties individually. Each property gets its own block with gross rent, municipal tax deduction, 30 percent standard deduction, and home loan interest under Section 24. Land and building transfers must be reported per property — consolidated reporting is not permitted here.
Schedule Capital Gains
Segregates capital gains by asset type. Post-Budget 2024 rates: short-term capital gains under Section 111A are taxed at 20 percent; long-term capital gains under Section 112A are taxed at 12.5 percent. For multiple assets of the same type, consolidated calculation is allowed — except for land and building, which require individual computations.
Schedule VDA
A dedicated schedule for virtual digital asset income including cryptocurrency and NFTs. This auto-populates into Schedule CG.
Loss Schedules You Cannot Ignore
Schedule CYLA
Shows income after adjusting current-year losses across heads.
Schedule BFLA
Applies brought-forward losses from prior assessment years to reduce current income.
Schedule CFL
Identifies losses that are eligible to be carried forward to future years. If you have capital loss carry-forwards from earlier years, these three schedules work together and must be filled in sequence.
Deductions, Clubbing, And Foreign Disclosures
Schedule VI-A
Covers all deductions — Section 80C investments, Section 80D health insurance premiums, and others. This schedule is primarily relevant for taxpayers staying in the old regime.
Schedule SPI
Applies when income from a spouse or minor child must be clubbed with the taxpayer's own income.
Schedule FSI
Mandatory for residents reporting income from foreign sources — whether from employment abroad, interest in a foreign bank, or dividends from overseas holdings.
Schedule TR
Summarises the tax relief claimed for foreign taxes already paid, country by country.
Schedule FA
Requires residents to disclose all foreign assets — bank accounts, equity, immovable property, trusts — held at any point during the year. Non-residents and non-ordinarily resident Indians are exempt from Schedule FA.
High-Income Filers And Special Cases
Schedule AL
Mandatory for all taxpayers whose total income exceeds Rs 1 crore. It requires a full disclosure of movable and immovable assets and the liabilities attached to them.
Schedule 5A
Applies only to taxpayers governed by the Portuguese Civil Code community property rules — relevant for residents of Goa and certain Union Territories. If neither applies to you, both can be skipped.
With roughly half of ITR-2's 26 schedules applicable only to specific situations, the key to filing correctly is not completing every section — it is knowing which ones your financial profile actually requires.
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