ITR-2 Excel Utility for AY-2025-26, My Update on using it

The ITR-2 Excel Utility has plenty of bugs no doubt.

But after struggling for many days [ on something which should not take 30 mins] the tax filer is reaching json creation stage and is stuck.

After spending many days, finally found that this ITR-2 Utility requires massive amount of RAM to create json. So one must use 64Bit Windows and 64Bit MS Excel not lower than 2019 version. 

The FINAL hurdle comes, when the created json fails after uploading in 95% of the cases due to validation failure on Nonsense Reasons.

Thanks Krishnamurthy B for finding out the wayaround the Save json error in ITR 2 excel utility. I was stuck at save json step since it gave me a hidden module compile error ( somewhere at TDS 2 I think) . To get around that as suggested I again reimported TDS 2 data using the blank TDS2 csv file with tool by making one dummy entry which cleared my exisiting data and then tried to save but it still gave the error. I was using windows 10 64 bit with 32 bit excel. Fortunately one of my office computer has windows 11 64 bit and i could upgrade the MS 365 over there to 64 bit excel and then opened the same excel file there and finally the json was saved and created after it was stuck some time at 33 percent at encrypting json step. It took me 4-5 hrs to just save the json trying different things around and getting all the software to correct 64 bit versions. But 99 percent of people are not going to have this combination of windows and excel and if  I did not have access to that i would also have been stuck with no solution. Infosys should have tested this ITR2 utility as part of their QA activity before rollout to make it compatible on all platforms and combinations rather than making users their QA team 

Anyway thanks to this forum for help

@ Prasad H

Congrats for succeeding in json creation using the ITR2 AY25-26 Excel Utility Ver 1.0.

But youhave not mentioned wheter you passed the final stage, Validation by IT Portal of your json file.

Many have got stuck again at that stage.

For information of All, use of this ITR-2 Excel utility + creation of the json and saving it requires a lot of RAM, which is not possible in 32bit software. So must use 64Bit Windows with 64 bit Excel [ 2019 or later ] otherwise all your efforts would fail.

A slightly easier way is to use the Offline Common Utility. It is also based on 64 Bit Windows with Microsoft Edge. It is not a JAVA utility, all should know. This utility is less buggy than the excel utility and many have been able to file their return after it became available on July 23.

yes I uploaded the generated json to IT portal and it passed verification ( Note I did not have any CG's this year so did not have that data ) . My return acknowledgement was also generated after e-verification. I downloaded that but was not able to download the tax return document since server seems to be busy. ( before uploading the json i opened that json in browser and went through line by line to ensure that it is correct and reflects the excel data and it seemed correct )

Even I am facing problem in filing ITR-3 through off-line utility. At the time of validation, it says to enter section from drop down in the schedule "Capital Gains from Listed Securities" but there is no drop down in this schedule and i am stuck there. I even downloaded the Json and uploaded in the excel version but even there when i try to validate the particuar schedule, the same problem is there. Has someone also facing the same problem? I have also faced the same isssue in ITR-2

The ITR-2 Excel utility for AY 2025-26 has a known issue with the prefill flow where it incorrectly requires salary schedule details even for capital gains-only cases. The workaround is to use the online portal on the income tax e-filing site instead of the offline Excel utility, which tends to be more reliable for returns with capital gains or multiple income heads. If you are stuck on a specific schedule, the online portal also lets you save draft and return to it, which the Excel utility does not.

The ITR-2 Excel utility for AY 2025-26 has a known issue with the prefill flow where it incorrectly requires salary schedule details even for capital gains-only cases. The workaround is to use the online portal on the income tax e-filing site instead of the offline Excel utility, which tends to be more reliable for returns with capital gains or multiple income heads. If you are stuck on a specific schedule, the online portal also lets you save draft and return to it, which the Excel utility does not.

The ITR-2 Excel utility for AY 2025-26 has had several known issues across the May 2026 update cycle.

Two things to check before assuming the utility is wrong:
- **Download the latest version** from the e-filing portal ,  check the version number at the top right of the utility. The pre-fill import bug was patched in the version released after May 10, 2026
- **Compare pre-filled data with Form 26AS and AIS** before editing ,  the pre-populated income figures sometimes lag the AIS update, so editing without checking the source can cause a mismatch during processing

For Schedule 112A (LTCG from equity), the earlier versions had rounding errors in the indexed cost calculation. The fix is to manually validate the purchase cost and fair market value before generating the XML.

Also: if you are already thinking about AY 2026-27 filings, CBDT notified revised ITR forms in April 2026 with significant changes to how capital gains are reported. The [new ITR forms guide for AY 2026-27](https://taxgarden.in/blog/new-itr-forms-ay-2026-27-cbdt-notification-key-changes) covers what has changed so you can plan ahead.