New Delhi: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued the Income Tax Return Form-2 (ITR-2) for the financial year 2024-25. Effective from April 1, 2025, this form is crucial for many taxpayers, especially salaried employees and pensioners.

Who Needs to File ITR-2?

ITR-2 must be filed by individuals earning from salary or pension who also have:

- Income from more than one house property

- Capital gains (short-term or long-term) from selling assets such as real estate, stocks, or mutual funds

- Total income exceeding Rs 50 lakh

- Foreign assets or foreign income

Such individuals can no longer use ITR-1 and must switch to ITR-2.

Major Changes in the New ITR-2 Form

Asset and Liability Disclosure Threshold Raised

Previously, individuals with annual income over Rs 50 lakh had to report their assets and liabilities. Now, this is only required if income exceeds Rs 1 crore, providing relief to many in the Rs 50 lakh–Rs 1 crore income bracket.

TDS Details Expanded

Taxpayers must now specify under which section of the Income Tax Act (e.g., 194C, 194J) the TDS was deducted, instead of just reporting the amount and deductor.

Capital Gains Reporting Enhanced

In the CG schedule (Part A), taxpayers must indicate whether the property transfer causing capital gain or loss occurred before or after July 23, 2024.

Foreign and Digital Asset Reporting

The updated ITR-2 includes stricter disclosure norms for:

Foreign Assets and Income: Mandatory schedules FA (Foreign Assets) and FSI (Foreign Source Income) must be filled.

Virtual Digital Assets (VDA): Details of crypto or NFT transactions must be declared in Schedule VDA. These are taxed at 30 per cent under Section 115BBH.

High-Value Transactions: Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) must be disclosed for certain large-scale transactions.