NRI Income-Tax Filing for 2025-26: ITR-2, 31 July 2026, and What Actually Changed

The filing window for AY 2026-27 is open, and the deadline for most NRIs is 31 July 2026. If you own a flat in India that earns rent, or you sold one this year, you file ITR-2. Two of the headline "simplifications" doing the rounds this season are for resident filers, not you.

Every June and July the tax news fills with relief measures. Some apply to you as an NRI owner, some do not, and the gap costs people either a wrong form or a missed deadline. Here is the clean version.

The dates that bind you

For income earned in FY 2025-26, the due date to file is 31 July 2026 for NRIs without a tax audit. Miss it and you can still file a belated return up to 31 December 2026, with a late fee under Section 234F and interest on any unpaid tax.

One genuine improvement this year: under the Budget 2026 changes, the window to file a revised return has been extended to 31 March 2027, three months longer than the old 31 December cut-off. So a good-faith error is easier to correct.

Use ITR-2, not the simple forms

An NRI with rental income, capital gains, or investment income files ITR-2. If you also have India business or professional income, that moves you to ITR-3. You cannot use ITR-1 (Sahaj) or ITR-4, which the tax department reserves for resident individuals.

This matters because of what is being celebrated this season. Two of the widely reported AY 2026-27 reliefs sit only inside ITR-1 and ITR-4:

Both are resident-only, because the forms are resident-only. As an NRI on ITR-2, they do not change your filing. Reporting unpaid rent and multiple properties is handled inside ITR-2 as before.

What did change for you

The capital-gains reporting was simplified across all forms, including ITR-2. The old requirement to split transactions before and after 23 July 2024 into separate buckets has been removed for FY 2025-26. The underlying rates are unchanged; the form is just less fiddly. If you sold a flat this year, the mechanics of the gain, the TDS the buyer deducted, and any lower-deduction certificate are set out in capital gains tax on NRI property.

Two standing rules still catch NRIs out and are worth repeating:

We report the rules here; we do not file your return or give bespoke tax advice. For the how-to, use the guides linked above and your own tax counsel.

FAQ

What is the ITR deadline for NRIs for AY 2026-27? 31 July 2026 for NRIs without a tax audit. A belated return is allowed up to 31 December 2026 with a late fee, and a revised return up to 31 March 2027 under the Budget 2026 change.

Which ITR form does an NRI with rental income or capital gains file? ITR-2. NRIs cannot use ITR-1 (Sahaj) or ITR-4, which are for resident individuals. If you have India business income, use ITR-3.

Does the new unrealised-rent field apply to NRIs? No. That field, and the two-house-property relief, were added to ITR-1 and ITR-4, which NRIs cannot use. On ITR-2 you report those items as before.

Filing from abroad and want the India property facts straight?

66 MG Road keeps NRI owners on the right side of the rental and capital-gains rules so the return is clean: what is taxable, what TDS was deducted, and what to hand your accountant. We operate in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Gurgaon. See NRI rental income tax or request a proposal.

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