ITR-3 excel utility now available on income tax portal; Here's how taxpayers can use it

The Income Tax Department has enabled the Excel Utility for ITR-3 on its e-filing portal for the financial year 2025-26 (assessment year 2026-27), allowing taxpayers with business or professional income to prepare and file their returns offline before uploading them digitally.

The department announced the development through its official account on social media platform X, stating that online filing and the Excel Utility for ITR-3 are now available on the e-filing portal.

The move comes after the tax authority had earlier released the Excel Utilities for ITR-1 (Sahaj), ITR-2 and ITR-4 (Sugam).

Who should file ITR-3?

ITR-3 is meant for individual taxpayers and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) earning income from business or profession and who are required to maintain detailed books of accounts.

Taxpayers can access and download the utility from the Income Tax Department's e-filing portal. The offline utility enables users to fill in details, generate a JSON file and upload it online after verifying and cross-checking information.

First-time users need to register on the portal using their PAN, Aadhaar and other required details.

MUST READ: Income tax return calendar for AY 2026-27: July 31 is not the deadline for everyone; check key due dates

Which ITR form should you choose?

Selecting the correct ITR form is crucial, as filing with the wrong form can lead to notices and delays in processing.

ITR-1 (Sahaj): For resident individuals with income up to ₹50 lakh from salary, one house property and other sources.
ITR-2: For individuals and HUFs who are not eligible to file ITR-1 and do not have business income.
ITR-3: For individuals and HUFs earning income from business or profession.
ITR-4 (Sugam): For resident individuals, HUFs and firms (excluding LLPs) with income up to ₹50 lakh and presumptive income under Sections 44AD, 44ADA or 44AE.
ITR-5: For firms, LLPs, Association of Persons (AOPs), Body of Individuals (BOIs) and Artificial Juridical Persons.

MUST READ: Got your Form 16 for ITR filing? CA warns high earners against this costly mistake

Rules for F&O traders

Futures and options (F&O) traders will face stricter disclosure requirements while filing income tax returns for AY 2026-27. Under the revised ITR-3 form notified by the CBDT, derivative traders must now separately report their F&O turnover and income under "Schedule Part A – Trading Account".

Tax experts say the move is aimed at improving transparency and creating a clearer audit trail for derivative transactions. Failure to fill these new fields could result in the return being flagged as defective. Intraday traders will also report turnover and income under the same schedule.

Experts caution that many F&O traders mistakenly file ITR-4, even though F&O income is generally treated as non-speculative business income and requires ITR-3. The due date for filing ITR-3 for non-audit cases is August 31, 2026, while audit cases have until October 31, 2026.

MUST READ: ITR due dates, revised returns and audit penalties: 3 big tax changes from AY 2026-27