Wed Jul 02 18:20:00 UTC 2025: ## Income Tax Department Tightens ITR Filing with Stricter Disclosure Norms for AY 2025-26

**New Delhi, [Current Date]** – The Income Tax Department has rolled out significant upgrades to its Income Tax Return (ITR) filing utility for Assessment Year (AY) 2025-26, introducing stricter disclosure requirements aimed at curbing false claims and accelerating processing. The updates particularly affect salaried individuals and those opting for the old tax regime, signalling a strong emphasis on transparency and data pre-validation.

One of the key changes impacts taxpayers claiming House Rent Allowance (HRA) exemptions. Filers are now required to provide a detailed breakdown including their place of work, actual rent paid, basic salary, and the exact HRA received, a departure from the previous system where only the exemption amount was manually entered.

Similarly, individuals claiming deductions under Section 80C for investments like PPF and life insurance will now have to disclose policy numbers or document identification numbers. These stringent measures extend beyond HRA and Section 80C, impacting various other deductions:

* **Section 80D (Health Insurance):** Detailed information on policy type, insurer, and payment mode.
* **Section 80E (Education Loan Interest):** Outstanding loan balance as of March 31st.
* **Sections 80EE/80EEA (Home Loan Interest):** Lender details, loan account numbers, sanction dates, loan amounts, and year-end outstanding balances.
* **Section 80EEB (Electric Vehicle Loan Interest):** Identical loan details as required for home loans.
* **Section 80DDB (Treatment of Specific Diseases):** Name of the disease being treated.

“The new system is moving towards pre-validation, capturing details upfront rather than relying solely on post-filing checks,” said leading tax professionals, emphasizing the shift towards enhanced compliance and minimizing erroneous claims.

**Offline Filing Options Updated:**

The department has also released updated offline filing tools. Excel Utilities are available but lack advanced integration features. Common Offline Utilities, built using JavaScript and JSON, offer dynamic forms, comprehensive validations, and seamless prefilled data import from the tax portal.

Tax experts are advising filers to carefully choose the utility that best suits their needs while ensuring strict adherence to the new disclosure norms. As the ITR filing season progresses, understanding and complying with these changes will be crucial to avoid errors, delays, and potential scrutiny from the Income Tax Department.

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