Chhajer Yash & Co.

Which ITR Form for Your Business?

Individuals and HUFs have their own form-selection question. Firms, companies, and institutions work off a different map entirely, and filing the wrong one gets the return marked defective too.

Direct Tax

Which ITR Form Applies to You?

Which ITR Form for Your Business?

New Tax Regime vs Old Tax Regime

TDS, Basics for Individuals

Capital Gains, Rates and Computation

Income from House Property

Advance Tax, Who Pays and When

Deductions under Chapter VI-A

Presumptive Taxation Scheme

Updated Return (ITR-U)

Scrutiny Notices, How to Respond

A note on the law: section numbers here are from the Income tax Act, 1961, the operative law for the current filing cycle. The Income tax Act, 2025 renumbers these provisions from returns filed for Tax Year 2026-27 onward.

Individuals and HUFs have their own form-selection question, already covered in Which ITR Form Applies to You?. Businesses, firms, and institutions work off a different map entirely, and filing the wrong one gets the return marked defective under Section 139(9) just like it does for individuals.

Entity to form, at a glance

Entity type	Form
Partnership firm	ITR-5
LLP	ITR-5
AOP / BOI	ITR-5
Co-operative society	ITR-5
Local authority	ITR-5
Company (not claiming Section 11 exemption)	ITR-6
Trust, political party, or institution filing under Section 139(4A)-(4D)	ITR-7

The pattern worth remembering: ITR-5 is the default for anything that isn’t an individual, HUF, or company. ITR-6 is company-specific. ITR-7 is reserved for entities making a specific exemption claim, charitable or religious trusts, political parties, research associations, universities and colleges registered under the relevant sections, not for NGOs generally.

Due dates

No audit required: 31 July
Audit required (most companies, and firms/LLPs above the Section 44AB turnover thresholds): 31 October
Transfer pricing cases, where Form 3CEB applies: 30 November

In practice, most companies and a meaningful share of larger firms and LLPs fall into the audit-linked date, not the July one.

FAQs: Which ITR Form for Your Business?

Can an LLP file ITR-4?

No. ITR-4 (Sugam) is for resident individuals, HUFs, and partnership firms opting for presumptive taxation. LLPs are excluded regardless of turnover or how simple the LLP’s income is, they file ITR-5.

Does a company always need a tax audit?

Not automatically under the Income Tax Act, Section 44AB’s turnover thresholds still apply. But nearly every company needs a statutory audit under the Companies Act regardless of turnover, a separate requirement from the tax audit. The two get conflated often enough that it’s worth stating both exist independently.

Which form does a co-operative society use?

ITR-5, the same form as firms, LLPs, and AOPs/BOIs.

Does ITR-7 apply to every NGO?

Only to those filing under the specific exemption-claiming sections, 12A/12AB-registered charitable or religious trusts, political parties, research associations, and similar institutions. An NGO structured as a Section 8 company without that registration files ITR-6 like any other company.

What happens if a firm’s turnover crosses the presumptive threshold mid-year?

The firm moves out of ITR-4 eligibility for that year and files ITR-5 with full books of account, audited if the turnover also crosses the Section 44AB threshold.

Can a trust with no income still be required to file?

Yes, registered trusts generally have a filing obligation regardless of whether income exceeds the basic exemption limit, tied to the registration itself rather than the income level.

Last updated on 30 July 2026