ITR-4 Form for FY 2025-26 / AY 2026-27

Professionals who are freelancers such as bloggers, Instagram Influencers, YouTubers, consultants, or any professionals like doctor, lawyer, engineer or CA who report their income on presumptive basis are required to file ITR-4, depending on the eligibility criteria.

Presumptive Taxation Scheme

Presumptive taxation allows small taxpayers, e.g. traders, professionals, transporters and others, to declare income at a specified percentage of their turnover, or receipts, typically no books of accounts are need to be maintained. The scheme was designed to ease compliance and simplify the tax return process for small taxpayers who may lack the necessary environment to keep sophisticated financial records.

Key Features of the Presumptive Taxation Scheme are:

• No books of accounts need to be maintained.

• Income is assumed at a prescribed percentage of turnover or gross receipts.

• No separate deductions for individual business expenses are permitted.

• Deductions under Chapter VI-A (e.g. Sections 80C to 80U) may still be claimed.

• 100% of advance tax must be paid in a single instalment on or before 15 March of the relevant financial year.

• A lower presumptive rate of 6% (instead of 8%) applies when receipts are collected digitally, encouraging cashless transactions.

Sections under Presumptive Taxation Scheme

The different sections under presumptive taxation scheme are discussed below:  

Professions Covered Under Section 44ADA

The below-mentioned professions fall under Section 44ADA:

• Legal (lawyers, advocates)

• Medical (doctors, surgeons)

• Engineering or Architectural

• Accountancy (chartered accountants, cost accountants)

• Technical Consultancy

• Interior Decoration

• Any other profession notified by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)

Who is Not Eligible for the Presumptive Taxation Scheme under Section 44AD?

The purpose of Section 44AD is to provide relief to small taxpayers operating any type of business, with the exception of the following:

• Businesses that ply, hire, or lease goods carriages (these fall under Section 44AE).

• Persons earning income in the form of commission or brokerage (e.g. insurance agents).

• Persons carrying on any agency business.

• Any business whose total gross receipts exceed Rs.2 crore (or Rs.3 crore under the digital receipts threshold).

• Persons required to maintain books of accounts under Section 44AA(1) (i.e. those carrying on a specified profession under that section).

Who can/cannot file ITR-4?

Who Can File ITR-4

ITR-4 Form must be submitted by people whose income is derived from the sources listed below:

• Total income does not exceedRs.50 lakh during the financial year.

• Has business income computed under Section 44AD or Section 44AE.

• Has professional income computed under Section 44ADA.

• Has income from salary or pension of up toRs.50 lakh.

• Has income from up to two house properties (not co-owned), with income not exceedingRs.50 lakh — this was expanded from one property starting AY 2026-27.

• Has Long-Term Capital Gains (LTCG) under Section 112A (on listed equity shares or equity mutual funds) not exceedingRs.1.25 lakh, with no losses brought forward or carried forward under the capital gains head.

• Has income from other sources up toRs.50 lakh (excluding lottery winnings and income from horse racing).

• Has agricultural income up toRs.5,000.

Who is Not Eligible to File ITR-4

• Residents but Not Ordinarily Resident (RNOR), and Non-Resident Indians.

• Total income exceedsRs.50 lakh.

• Is a director in a company.

• Holds unlisted equity shares at any point during the previous year.

• Has assets (including financial interests in any entity) outside India, or is a signing authority on any account held outside India.

• Has income from more than two house properties, or co-owns a house property.

• Has taxable capital gains (short-term or long-term), other than LTCG under Section 112A up toRs.1.25 lakh with no carry-forward or brought-forward losses.

• Has income from lotteries, horse racing, legal gambling, or income taxable at special rates under Section 115BBDA or Section 115BBE.

• Has income from Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs) / cryptocurrency.

• Has agricultural income exceedingRs.5,000.

• Has income from sources outside India.

• Claims relief under Section 90, 90A, or 91 (foreign tax relief / double taxation avoidance).

• Has a tax credit claim for TDS in the name of another person.

• Claims deductions under Section 57 (other than a deduction for family pension).

• Has income for which TDS has been deducted under Section 194N (cash withdrawals above the threshold).

• Has deferred income tax on Employee Stock Options (ESOPs) received from an eligible start-up under Section 80-IAC.

• Has income from a business or profession that falls outside the scope of Sections 44AD, 44ADA, or 44AE (e.g. commission, brokerage, speculative business income).

• Has losses brought forward or losses arising under any head of income.

Documents Required to File ITR-4 in FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27)

Identity and Income Documents

• PAN Card
• Aadhaar card (12-digit Aadhaar number; the 28-digit enrolment ID is no longer accepted)

• Form 16 (certificate of TDS on salary issued by your employer)

• Form 16A (certificate of TDS on income other than salary)

• Form 26AS and Annual Information Statement (AIS) from the income tax e-filing portal

• Bank statements for all accounts held during the financial year

Business or Professional Home

• Records of total gross receipts or turnover for the year

• GSTIN (if registered under GST) and GST return details for optional cross-reporting

• Details of cash in hand, stock-in-trade, sundry debtors, sundry creditors, and fixed assets

Deduction or Professional Home

• Investment premium payment receipts (LIC, ULIP, PPF, ELSS, etc.) for Section 80C

• Health insurance premium receipts and policy number for Section 80D

• Housing loan interest certificate and loan account details for Sections 80E, 80EE, 80EEA

• Donation receipts with the donee's PAN for Section 80G

• Rent receipts and rental agreement for Section 80GG (and mandatory Form 10BA before filing)

• PRAN (Permanent Retirement Account Number) for NPS deductions under Sections 80CCD(1) and 80CCD(1B)

• Form 10IA acknowledgement if claiming deductions under Sections 80DD or 80U

Other Documents

• Advance tax payment challans (BSR code, date of payment, challan number)

• Self-assessment tax payment challans

• Form 10-IEA acknowledgement number and filing date (if opting out of the new tax regime)

How to File ITR-4 for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27)?

Registered users have access to the pre-filling and filing of ITR-4 services on the e-Filing portal. Individual taxpayers, HUFs, and firms (not including LLPs) can use this service to submit their ITR-4 tax returns online through the e-Filing portal. Before submitting the form online, you must complete all six sections of the ITR-4. There is a preview page where you can check the accuracy of the information you have entered. These are the sections:

• Personal Information
• Gross Total Income
• Disclosures and Exempt Income
• Total Deductions
• Taxes Paid
• Total Tax Liability

Step 1: Personal Information - You must double-check the information that is automatically filled in from your e-Filing profile in the ITR's Personal Information section. Some of your personal information cannot be changed directly in the form. You can, however, visit your e-Filing profile to make the necessary modifications.

In your e-Filing profile, you can edit your contact information, filing type information, partner information (if applicable), bank information, and authorised representative.

Step 2: Gross Total Income - To verify the details of your income sources, such as your real estate holdings, business or profession, pension or pay, and other sources, you must go over the pre-filled information in the Gross Total Income section.

Step 3: Disclosures and Exempt Income - You must include information about your company's financial details, gross receipts reported for GST (optional), and exempt income in the Disclosures and Exempt Income section.

Step 4: Total Deductions - You must add and confirm any deductions that you wish to claim under Chapter VI-A of the Income Tax Act in the section labelled ‘Total Deductions.’

Step 5: Taxes Paid - You must confirm the taxes you paid in the previous year in this section. Included in the tax information are TDS from Salary and Other Income as reported by the Payer, Advance Tax, Self-Assessment Tax, and TCS.

Step 6: Total Tax Liability - You can view your income computation, tax computation, total tax, interest, and cess. You must verify your tax liability information according to the fields you had earlier filled out in the computation of tax section.

Structure of the ITR-4 Form

ITR 4 - Indian Income Tax Return for Individuals and HUFs having income from a proprietary business or profession for Assessment Year 2024-25 is as follows:

ITR 4 Instructions

The above sections will have to be addressed in the form. Please note the following:

• Put '----NA----' to the schedule that is not applicable to you.
• Put Nil if there is no figure to denote.
• If you have to include a negative balance in the profit column, then put '-'sign before the figure.
• Round off the figures to the nearest one rupee.
• The total income or loss payable must be rounded off the nearest multiple of Rs.10.

Finally after filling out the Part A and B, verify the document.

Process to File and Submit ITR-4 Online for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27)

Step 1: Use your user ID and password to log in to the e-Filing portal.

Step 2: Under the ‘e-File’ section, go to ‘Income Tax Returns’ and click on ‘File Income Tax Return.’

Step 3: Click Continue after selecting the Assessment Year as 2023–24 and the Mode of Filing as online.

Step 4: If your income tax return has already been completed and is waiting to be submitted, click on 'Resume Filing.' Click on 'Start New Filing' if you want to start over and delete the previously saved return.

Step 5: Select Status if it applies to you and click on the ‘Continue’ button.

Step 6: Choose the appropriate Income Tax Return and click the ‘Proceed with ITR-4' option.

Step 7: Click 'Let's Get Started' after carefully reading the form's instructions and noting the list of required documents.

Step 8: Review your pre-filled information and make any necessary changes. At the conclusion of each section, enter any additional information if necessary and click on ‘Confirm.’

Step 9: Choose ‘Yes’ in ‘Have you ever opted for new tax regime in earlier years’ if you have previously chosen a new tax regime, otherwise, choose ‘No.’ If you chose ‘Yes,’ select the AY, enter the date that Form 10 IE was filed, and enter the Acknowledgement number.

Step 10: If you did not opt for the new tax regime in previous years, choose ‘No’ and then choose ‘Opting in now for the current year’ (if you want to), or choose ‘Not Opting.’

Step 11: You will notice that some deductions and allowances are unavailable if you choose the new tax regime. Click on ‘Proceed.’

Step 12: If you have business income, you must enter your Form 10IE Acknowledgement Number and the date you filed it in order to choose a new tax bracket.

Step 13: Fill in the various sections with information about your income and deductions and click on ‘Proceed.’

Step 14: Depending on the information you provided, you will get a summary of your tax computation.

Step 15: You will find the ‘Pay Now’ and ‘Pay Later’ options at the bottom of the page if the computation indicates that there is tax liability due.

Step 16: A Preview Return page will appear if there isn't any tax liability due or if there is a refund according to the tax computation.

Step 17: A success message is shown following a successful payment via the e-Filing portal. Click on the ‘Back to Return Filing’ option.

Step 18: Click on ‘Preview Return.’ Place, name, and other information will be automatically filled in on the page.

Step 19: Choose the declaration checkbox and click on the ‘Proceed to Preview’ option.

Step 20: Click on the ‘Proceed to Validation’ button.

Step 21: Now, Click on ‘Proceed to Verification’ after validation.

Step 22: Choose the option you prefer and click 'Continue' on the 'Complete your Verification' page.

Step 23: Choose the method for e-Verifying the return on the ‘e-Verify’ page, then click ‘Continue.’

Due Dates for Filing ITR-4 – FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27)