The Income Tax Department has notified a new set of forms this year doing away with the old ones. You can now use the much simpler ones for filing income tax returns for FY 2014-15 or assessment year 2015-16.

Form ITR I

This is also called the Sahaj form and is meant only for individuals. The second point to remember while filing the ITR 1 is that it can be used by individuals who only have salary. So, if you have income from business you cannot use this form. However, interest income can be mentioned in the ITR Form 1 and also agricultural income that does not exceed Rs 5000.

Form ITR2

Form ITR 2 is slightly different from ITR 1 in the sense that those having capital gains income need to file this form. So, if you have a salary and have made capital gains from either sale of property or shares you need to fill this form. This form is for individuals and can also be used if you have agricultural income less than Rs 5000. Again this form is to be used only by individuals.

Form ITR 4S

While the earlier two forms could be used only for individuals having salary and capital gains, this form can be filled by those having business income. This also means that agricultural income, capital gains etc., cannot be mentioned in this form.

Important things to note while filing income tax return forms for FY 2014-15 or assessment year 2015-16

The earlier form which were scrapped had to mention travel undertaken abroad. That has been done away with. However, some disclosure pertaining to bank details have still to be made. For example, you need to mention the IFSC code of the active bank accounts that you have.

If you have a bank account that has remained dormant without any transactions in the last three years you can ignore the same.

The new forms also have the IFSC code that can be mentioned for receiving credit into your account. You can also mention your Aadhar Number when filing the tax returns.

The date to file income tax returns has also been extended to Aug 31, 2015.

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