ITR-2 for AY 2026-27: New FAQ Clarifies Two Self-Occupied Houses, Secondary Address and Revised-Return Fee

Current development

The Income Tax Department's current ITR-2 FAQ for Assessment Year 2026-27 sets out several filing changes that taxpayers and return preparers should review before submitting the return. The guidance is particularly relevant for individuals and Hindu Undivided Families that do not have business or professional income but may have salary, house-property income, capital gains, foreign assets, unlisted shares or total income above ₹50 lakh.

While ITR-2 remains the familiar form for this category, the AY 2026-27 FAQ introduces or confirms a number of practical changes in reporting. These include the treatment of two self-occupied houses, a new secondary-address field, additional disclosures for certain deductions and a new fee regime for revised returns filed after 31 December.

Who should use ITR-2 for AY 2026-27?

The Department states that ITR-2 is meant for individuals, including residents and non-residents, and HUFs whose income does not include profits and gains from business or profession. The form can be used for salary or pension, house-property income, short-term or long-term capital gains, other-source income and agricultural income exceeding ₹5,000.

There is no ₹50 lakh ceiling for ITR-2. The Department also says that an individual who is a director in a company or who held unlisted equity shares during the year is required to use ITR-2 where the return otherwise falls within this non-business category.

Two self-occupied houses get simpler treatment

A significant clarification concerns self-occupied house property. The Department says that from AY 2026-27, the earlier specified conditions for treating two houses or parts of houses as self-occupied have been removed. The older wording linked self-occupation to use by the owner for residence or inability to occupy because of business, profession or employment elsewhere.

The practical effect is that taxpayers owning two residential properties should revisit the house-property schedule rather than automatically assuming that one property must be treated as deemed let-out. The exact tax computation must still reflect the facts of each property and the law applicable to the year.

Secondary address becomes a specific reporting field

The FAQ also confirms a change in Part A – General Information. A field for a secondary address has been introduced, and the taxpayer must answer whether the secondary address is the same as the primary address. If it is different, the additional address details have to be provided.

For CAs and preparers, this means contact and profile data should be checked before final validation. A return can otherwise get held up at the filing stage even when the tax computation itself is complete.

More information is required for several deductions

AY 2026-27 ITR-2 also places greater emphasis on supporting information for deduction claims. For deductions under sections 80DD or 80U, the Department lists fields such as nature and type of disability, dependent details, PAN or Aadhaar of the dependent and the acknowledgement number of Form 10-IA.

For deductions under sections 80E, 80EE, 80EEA and 80EEB, the form requires loan-related details including lender name, loan account number, sanction date, total loan amount, outstanding balance and interest amount. A taxpayer claiming section 80GG must file Form 10-BA before the return and report the acknowledgement number. Section 80G claims also require additional transaction information, including the transaction reference number and the bank's IFSC code.

Capital-gains reporting changes again

The FAQ states that the requirement to split capital-gains reporting based on whether the transfer occurred before or after 23 July 2024 has been removed from AY 2026-27. It also notes that short-term and long-term capital-gains rates in the return have been aligned with the rates applicable for AY 2026-27.

This is important for taxpayers with securities transactions because return utilities and broker statements may still contain historical classifications that were relevant in earlier years. Preparers should map the data to the current ITR-2 schedule instead of mechanically reusing last year's workings.

Revised returns can run to 31 March, but a fee may apply after December

The Department's current FAQs also explain that from AY 2026-27, a revised return can be filed up to the end of the assessment year, i.e. 31 March of the relevant assessment year. However, if the revised return is filed after 31 December and up to 31 March, an additional fee under section 234I applies.

The ITR-2 FAQ lists the additional fee as ₹1,000 where total income is up to ₹5 lakh and ₹5,000 where total income exceeds ₹5 lakh. This fee is separate from the ordinary filing and tax consequences that may arise from filing the original return late.

Practical filing checklist for CAs and taxpayers

- Confirm that there is no business or professional income that would require a different ITR form.

- Review whether two residential properties can be reported as self-occupied under the AY 2026-27 rules.

- Complete the new secondary-address response in Part A – General Information.

- Collect loan, disability-form, donation and rent-related details before starting the deduction schedules.

- Map capital-gain data to the AY 2026-27 schedule instead of copying prior-year date-based bifurcations.

- Reconcile Form 26AS, AIS, Form 16 and capital-gains statements before submission.

- If a revised return becomes necessary after 31 December, factor in the section 234I additional fee.

Key takeaway

The AY 2026-27 ITR-2 form is not merely a repeat of last year's return. The Income Tax Department's current FAQ confirms changes in house-property treatment, contact-detail reporting, deduction disclosures, capital-gains presentation and revised-return fees. Taxpayers with capital gains, multiple properties, high income, foreign assets or other ITR-2 triggers should review these changes before filing rather than relying on the previous year's return structure.