The Income Tax Department on Monday notified a new set of income tax return forms for the assessment year 2015-16, and has extended the deadline for the filing of returns to August 31.

With the publication of the Gazette order by the Finance Ministry, taxpayers can now file their returns till August 31. The changes to the forms were made public on May 31, but they were notified only on Monday.

The previous deadline for the filing of returns was July 31, but this was extended because of various changes the government made to the return forms.

In the new and simplified forms, filers no longer have to provide the details of their foreign travels. In addition, they need furnish only details about “total number of savings and current bank accounts” held by them “at any time during the previous year [excluding dormant accounts]”.

The most simplified form, ITR-2A, to be filled by those individuals and HUFs who do not have income from business, profession or by way of capital gains and do not hold foreign assets, only asks for the passport number of the tax-filer, “if available”.

With regard to bank accounts, filers only need to provide the IFSC code of their bank and the account numbers of all the current/savings accounts held at any point of time during the previous year. This does not include dormant accounts. In an additional feature, tax filers have been given the option of indicating to which account they would like their refund credited.

In the ITR-2 forms, for individuals and HUFs having income from business or profession, filers will also have to declare if they hold any assets abroad or have any income from any source outside India. Although the notification of the new forms means individuals can begin filing their returns, they were not available on the Department’s e-filing website (https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/) as of 8.30 p.m. on Tuesday.