New Delhi, May 19 -- The Income-Tax Department has notified all I-T return forms (ITR-1 to ITR-7) and the updated returns form ITR-U, for financial year 2025-26 (FY26) or assessment year 2026-27 (AY27) as of last week. Notably, it has also made available Excel Utility for the ITR-1 and ITR-4 forms, which means that taxpayers can prepare returns offline using the excel-based utilities, before uploading them digitally.

And while most taxpayers may think that filing their returns immediately is the most beneficial, experts caution that being early could be detrimental. The ideal time, especially for salaried taxpayers is after 15 June, till at least a week before the deadline 31 July to avoid last minute hassles and technical glitches.

Mos...