Every income tax return in India is filed online, so "ITR filing in Hyderabad" is really about two choices: which ITR form fits your income, and whether you file it yourself or use a tax professional. This guide covers both, with the documents, steps, deadlines and fees for AY 2026-27, plus the Hyderabad-specific situations that trip people up, such as foreign RSUs and job changes. If you would rather hand it over, see our income tax consultant in Hyderabad page.
Which ITR Form Do You Need?
| ITR Form | Who should use it |
|---|---|
| ITR-1 (Sahaj) | Resident individuals with salary or pension, one house property and other sources, total income up to Rs 50 lakh, and no capital gains other than Section 112A long-term gains up to Rs 1.25 lakh |
| ITR-2 | Individuals and HUFs with capital gains, more than one house property, foreign assets or income, directorships, or income above Rs 50 lakh, and no business income |
| ITR-3 | Individuals and HUFs with business or professional income taxed on actual profit, including partners receiving salary or interest from a firm |
| ITR-4 (Sugam) | Resident individuals, HUFs and firms (not LLPs) with income up to Rs 50 lakh opting for presumptive taxation under Section 44AD, 44ADA or 44AE |
| ITR-5 | Partnership firms, LLPs, AOPs and BOIs |
Choosing the wrong form is the most common reason for a defective return notice under Section 139(9). If you are unsure, the e-filing portal suggests a form after asking a few questions, but it relies on your answers being complete.
Who Must File an Income Tax Return
You must file an ITR for AY 2026-27 if your gross total income, before deductions, exceeds the basic exemption limit:
| Taxpayer | New regime | Old regime |
|---|---|---|
| Individual below 60 | Rs 4 lakh | Rs 2.5 lakh |
| Resident senior citizen (60 to 79) | Rs 4 lakh | Rs 3 lakh |
| Resident super senior citizen (80 and above) | Rs 4 lakh | Rs 5 lakh |
This applies even when the Section 87A rebate makes your tax zero. A salaried employee in Hyderabad earning Rs 10 lakh pays no tax under the new regime but still has to file.
Filing is also mandatory, whatever your income, if during the year you:
- Deposited Rs 1 crore or more in current accounts, or Rs 50 lakh or more in savings accounts
- Spent Rs 2 lakh or more on foreign travel, or Rs 1 lakh or more on electricity
- Had TDS and TCS of Rs 25,000 or more (Rs 50,000 for senior citizens)
- Had business turnover above Rs 60 lakh or professional receipts above Rs 10 lakh
- Held any asset outside India, including foreign shares or RSUs, or had signing authority over a foreign account
Resident senior citizens aged 75 or more whose only income is pension and interest from the same bank that pays the pension can skip filing if the bank deducts tax under Section 194P.
Documents to Keep Ready
For salaried employees:
- PAN linked with Aadhaar
- Form 16 from every employer during the year
- Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Form 26AS, downloaded from the e-filing portal
- Bank interest certificates, and the bank account for your refund (pre-validated on the portal)
- Rent receipts, home loan interest certificate and investment proofs, if you choose the old tax regime
- Capital gains statements from your broker or mutual fund registrar (CAMS or KFintech)
- RSU or ESOP statements for shares held in a foreign parent company
For freelancers, professionals and business owners:
- Bank statements for the full financial year
- Sales and expense records, or books of account
- TDS certificates (Form 16A) and AIS entries for TDS on your receipts
- GST returns filed during the year, if registered
- Advance tax challans
How to File Your ITR Online, Step by Step
- Log in to incometax.gov.in with your PAN and password.
- Go to e-File, then Income Tax Returns, then File Income Tax Return, and select assessment year 2026-27.
- Choose online mode, your filing status (individual, HUF or other), and the ITR form.
- Check the pre-filled data for salary, interest, TDS and personal details against Form 16, AIS and your bank records. Correct anything missing or wrong.
- Pick your tax regime. The new regime is the default. To use the old regime, you must opt for it in the return (and, if you have business income, file Form 10-IEA before the due date).
- Review the tax computation. If tax is payable, pay it through e-Pay Tax and add the challan details before submitting.
- Submit and e-verify within 30 days using Aadhaar OTP, net banking, or a bank or demat account EVC. If you verify after 30 days, the return is treated as filed on the date of verification, which can attract the late fee. A return that is never verified is treated as not filed.
Filing Without Form 16
If your employer has not issued Form 16, or you left a job mid-year, you can still file. Use your payslips for the salary break-up, and check the employer's TDS entries in Form 26AS and AIS, which the portal pre-fills. Report salary at least equal to what the employer reported, and claim HRA or other exemptions only where you hold proof.
Refunds are usually processed within a few weeks of verification, and the department pays interest under Section 244A on refunds that are delayed.
ITR Filing Deadlines for AY 2026-27
| Return | Due date |
|---|---|
| ITR-1, ITR-2 and non-audit ITR-5 | 31 July 2026 (passed) |
| ITR-3 and ITR-4 | 31 August 2026 (passed) |
| Tax audit report under Section 44AB | 30 September 2026 |
| Audit cases (businesses and professionals under tax audit) | 31 October 2026 |
| Belated or revised return | 31 December 2026 |
| Updated return (ITR-U) | Up to 48 months from the end of the assessment year |
If you missed the original date, a belated return under Section 139(4) still lets you claim your refund, but you pay the Section 234F late fee and cannot carry forward business or capital losses. Our guide to belated, revised and updated returns explains each option.
Income Tax Office in Hyderabad
You never need to visit an office to file an ITR, but you may need one for a notice, a PAN problem or a stuck refund.
- Aayakar Bhavan, Basheerbagh: the main income tax building in Hyderabad, housing the Principal Chief Commissioner's office and the Aaykar Seva Kendra (ASK), which handles taxpayer queries and grievances in person.
- Find your Assessing Officer: log in to incometax.gov.in and use Know Your AO to see the ward or circle that handles your PAN.
- Other offices: the office locator on incometaxhyderabad.gov.in lists income tax offices across Telangana.
- Online first: most issues (refund status, rectification under Section 154, responses to notices) can be handled on the e-filing portal or through e-Nivaran grievances without a visit.
After You File
Intimation under Section 143(1). Once the Centralised Processing Centre processes your return, you receive an intimation by email. Compare its computation with yours. If it shows a demand because of a mistake, you can file a rectification request under Section 154 on the portal.
Defective return notice under Section 139(9). This usually means the wrong ITR form or missing schedules. Reply within the time given, normally 15 days, by filing a corrected return.
AIS disputes. If AIS shows income that is not yours or is wrong, submit feedback on the entry before or after filing and keep your evidence.
Keep your records. ITRs are filed without attachments, so keep Form 16, investment proofs, rent receipts and capital gains statements for at least six years in case of scrutiny or reassessment.
Filing for earlier years. If you missed a year, an updated return (ITR-U) can be filed within 48 months from the end of the relevant assessment year, with additional tax, as long as it does not reduce tax or increase a refund.
Situations Common in Hyderabad
IT employees with RSUs or ESOPs from a US parent. Many HITEC City and Gachibowli employees hold shares in a foreign parent company. Those shares must be reported in Schedule FA every year, even if never sold, which means filing ITR-2 instead of ITR-1. Tax withheld abroad on dividends or RSU sales can be claimed as a foreign tax credit by filing Form 67.
Job changes during the year. When you switch employers, both may apply the standard deduction and basic exemption, so TDS ends up too low. Combine both Form 16s in one return and pay any shortfall with interest before filing.
HRA in Hyderabad. For the HRA exemption under the old regime, Hyderabad is treated as a non-metro city, so the limit is 40% of basic salary, not 50%. If annual rent exceeds Rs 1 lakh, your landlord's PAN is required.
Rental income from a flat. Rent from a second flat in Kondapur, Miyapur or elsewhere is taxed as house property income, with a 30% standard deduction on the net annual value. Owning more than one house property takes you out of ITR-1.
Freelancers and consultants. Professionals with gross receipts within the Section 44ADA limit can declare 50% of receipts as income in ITR-4. If TDS was deducted by clients, match every entry in AIS before filing.
NRIs with income from Hyderabad. NRIs earning rent from a Hyderabad flat, interest on NRO deposits or capital gains on Indian shares must file if taxable income exceeds Rs 2.5 lakh under the old regime or Rs 4 lakh under the new regime, or to claim a refund of TDS. NRIs cannot use ITR-1 and generally file ITR-2.
Common ITR Filing Mistakes
- Using the wrong form, such as ITR-1 when you sold mutual funds or hold foreign shares
- Leaving out interest income from savings accounts, fixed deposits or income tax refunds, which appears in AIS
- Claiming old regime deductions (80C, 80D, HRA) after choosing the new regime
- Ignoring AIS entries for dividends, share sales or high-value transactions
- Missing exempt income such as agricultural income or PPF interest, which still has to be reported
- Not e-verifying within 30 days
- Giving a bank account that is not pre-validated, which delays the refund
Should You File Yourself or Use a Professional?
Filing yourself usually works if you have one Form 16, bank interest, standard deductions, and AIS matches your records.
A tax professional is worth it if you have capital gains, foreign shares or RSUs, business or professional income, more than one employer, rental income, a past notice, or TDS that does not match AIS.
A good tax consultant in Hyderabad will tell you which ITR form applies before quoting, match AIS and Form 26AS before filing, compare the old and new regimes for you, and share the acknowledgement once filed.
ITR Filing Fees at Tax Garden
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| ITR-1 (salary, one house property) | Rs 1,500 |
| ITR-2 (capital gains, foreign assets, directors) | Rs 4,000 |
| ITR-3 (business or professional income) | Rs 5,000 |
| ITR-4 (presumptive income) | Rs 4,000 |
| ITR-5 (firms and LLPs) | Rs 6,000 |
| Reply to an income tax notice | Rs 5,000 per reply |
Fees are confirmed before work starts. The Income Tax Department charges nothing to file on time. See our ITR filing service for details, or visit the Kondapur office at 4th Floor, South Block, CWS One Building, Hanuman Nagar, Kondapur, Hyderabad 500084.
Telangana Professional Tax Is a Separate Tax
Professional tax is often confused with income tax return filing, but it is a state tax under the Telangana Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 1987.
| Monthly salary or wages | Professional tax |
|---|---|
| Up to Rs 15,000 | Nil |
| Rs 15,001 to Rs 20,000 | Rs 150 per month |
| Above Rs 20,000 | Rs 200 per month |
Employers deduct it from salary and deposit it by the 10th of the following month. Self-employed professionals such as doctors, lawyers and chartered accountants pay a flat Rs 2,500 a year once they have been in practice for more than five years. Professional tax paid is deductible from salary income under the old tax regime. Employers can read our guide to professional tax registration in Telangana.
Sources: Income-tax Act, 1961, Sections 44AB, 44AD, 44ADA, 112A, 139, 234A, 234F and 244A; CBDT notifications of ITR forms for AY 2026-27; income tax e-filing portal (incometax.gov.in) user guides; Telangana Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 1987. Rates and dates verified as of September 2026.
