New income tax return forms bring bigger disclosures for LLPs, companies, trusts and political parties

The revised Income Tax Return forms for Assessment Year 2026-27 have introduced sweeping structural and disclosure-related changes for firms, LLPs, companies, trusts, political parties and exempt institutions, reflecting the government’s broader shift toward digitised compliance and simplified post-July 2024 capital gains reporting.

The changes across ITR-5, ITR-6 and ITR-7 align the forms with amendments introduced through the Finance Act, 2024 and Finance Act, 2026, while also expanding disclosures

linked to political funding, donations, Futures & Options trading, audit reporting and presumptive taxation.

Tax experts say the revised forms signal the government’s intent to reduce transitional reporting complexities while simultaneously strengthening traceability and data-backed compliance verification.

ITR-5: LLPs and Firms See Major Structural Realignment

ITR-5, applicable to firms, LLPs and certain other entities, has undergone significant restructuring.

One of the key changes is the redesigned tax regime reporting structure under Section 115BAC.

The revised form now seeks detailed disclosures regarding:

• earlier Form 10IEA filings,


• migration between old and new tax regimes, and


• current-year tax regime choices.

A new due-date option of August 31 has also been inserted in the filing status section, in addition to the existing October 31 and November 30 options.

The revised form additionally introduces:

• separate disclosure for Futures & Options turnover and income,


• disclosure requirements for certain non-resident presumptive businesses,


• a new item for income credited to the profit and loss account but not chargeable to tax, and


• MSMED Act-related interest disallowance disclosures in Part A-OI.

Section 44BBD has also been newly added to the list of special business income provisions covered under the form.

At the same time, the form removes transitional capital gains reporting complexities introduced after July 2024, including multiple pre- and post-rate change bifurcations.

ITR-6: Companies Get Simpler Audit Reporting Structure

For corporates filing ITR-6, the revised form substantially simplifies audit-related disclosures.

The audit reporting block has been reduced from nine fields to four, removing:

• UDIN,


• membership number,


• audit report date, and


• acknowledgement number.

The revised form also introduces:

• turnover-based audit classification,


• primary and secondary address disclosures,


• mandatory separate Futures & Options reporting, and


• donation payment verification requirements.

Another major change is the removal of buyback tax schedules after buyback taxation shifted from the company level to shareholders following Finance Act amendments.

The revised form also incorporates the removal of LTCG indexation-linked bifurcations in line with the amended capital gains regime.

ITR-7: Political Parties, Trusts and Institutions Face Wider Compliance Net

ITR-7 has undergone one of the most extensive structural rewrites among all return forms.

The political party schedule has been renamed from Schedule LA to Schedule PP and now additionally requires taxpayers to specify whether reports were submitted to:

• the Election Commission of India, or


• a State Election Commission.

Capital gains schedules in ITR-7 have also been comprehensively redesigned.

Several earlier capital gains rate buckets have been removed as the form aligns with the revised 12.5% LTCG framework.

Transitional pre- and post-July 2024 capital gains computations have also been significantly simplified.

Other key changes include:

• rationalised audit disclosures,


• expanded address and communication fields,


• revised investment valuation terminology,


• redesigned loss adjustment schedules, and


• revised special rate schedules aligned with the new capital gains structure.

Experts say the revised ITR-7 reflects the government’s increasing focus on transparency for political entities, charitable institutions and exempt organisations.

Shift Toward Data-Driven Tax Administration

The revised forms across ITR-5 to ITR-7 suggest India’s tax administration is steadily moving toward:

• fewer transitional tax computations,


• higher digital traceability,


• pre-filled and analytics-driven scrutiny,


• centralised taxpayer profiling, and


• simplified but more data-intensive reporting.

The changes are also expected to reduce compliance ambiguity arising from the July 2024 capital gains amendments.

“Over time, better upfront disclosures should translate into faster processing, fewer notices and a more trust-based compliance environment,” said Richa Sawhney.