Home loan interest column for self-occupied house disabled in ITR utility? Know what to do while ITR filing for AY 2026-2027

July 31, 2026 is the due date for filing Income Tax Return (ITR) by students, pensioners, salaried and other taxpayers who are not required to conduct income tax audit for AY 2026-2027. For Tax Year 2026-2027, the ITR filing due date is July 31, 2027.

At the time of ITR filing, you might run into a few minor issues with the utility and some of these could even be due to misunderstanding on the taxpayer's part.

If you have opted for the new tax regime, (Section 115BAC), the section for claiming tax deduction on interest for borrowed capital related to self-occupied house property will be disabled in the ITR utility. This is because under the new tax regime, you can claim home loan interest only if the property is rented out (let out) and not if it's occupied by you or your family (self-occupied).


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Chartered Accountant Naveen Wadhwa, vice president, Taxmann says: "If the field to claim deduction for interest on borrowed capital in respect of a self-occupied house property is disabled in the ITR utility, it generally indicates that you have opted for the new tax regime under section 115BAC."

The new tax regime is the default tax regime for individuals, HUFs and certain other taxpayers. Under this regime, deduction for interest on borrowed capital in respect of a self-occupied house property is not allowed.

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Consequently, the ITR utility disables this field if the new tax regime has been selected. If you wish to claim deduction for interest on housing loan in respect of a self-occupied house property, you have to opt for the old tax regime, subject to the fulfilment of the prescribed conditions under the Income-tax Act.