How to Prepare File & Upload Form 145 & 146 JSON in Income Tax Offline Utility: Step-by-Step Guide

Complete Guide: How to Prepare & Upload JSON in the Income Tax Offline Utility

Prerequisites Before You Begin

Before starting the offline filing process, ensure you have the following ready:

• A registered account on the Income Tax e-Filing portal (incometax.gov.in).
• Your valid User ID (PAN for taxpayers, TAN for deductors, or ARCA + 6-digit membership number for CAs) and password.
• A stable internet connection to download the utility and upload the final JSON file.

Phase 1: Downloading the Official Offline Utility

You must always download the latest version of the utility directly from the official portal to avoid schema validation errors.

1. Go to the official Income Tax e-Filing website (incometax.gov.in). You do not need to log in for this step.
2. Navigate to the top menu and click on Downloads.
3. Select Offline Utilities and then choose Statutory Forms.
4. Locate the specific form you need (e.g., Form 145/146 for remittances) and download the ZIP file to your computer.
5. Extract the downloaded ZIP folder and launch the utility application.

Phase 2: Downloading Your Pre-Filled JSON (Highly Recommended)

To save time and prevent mismatch errors, the Income Tax portal allows you to download a pre-filled JSON file containing your basic profile data.

1. Log into the e-Filing portal using your credentials.
2. Go to e-File > Income Tax Forms > File Income Tax Forms.
3. Select the Form you wish to file, choose the Assessment Year, and select Offline as the Mode of Filing.
4. Click on the option to Download Pre-filled Data (JSON) and save this file to your computer.

Phase 3: How to Prepare JSON in the Income Tax Offline Utility

With the utility installed and your pre-filled data downloaded, you can now prepare your return offline.

1. Open the Utility: Launch the offline utility you extracted in Phase 1. Go to the Forms in Utility tab and select your form.
2. Import Pre-filled Data: Click on Import Pre-filled JSON. Browse your computer, select the pre-filled file you downloaded in Phase 2, and click Proceed. Your basic details will automatically populate.
3. Enter Remaining Details: Navigate through the form tabs to manually enter the remaining financial data (such as remitter details, remittee details, and tax amounts).
4. Validate: After filling in the data, the utility will run a validation check. If any fields are missed or formatting is incorrect, the utility will highlight the specific errors. Correct all errors to proceed.
5. Generate JSON: Once validation is successful, click the button to generate the final file. The utility will save a finalized, schema-compliant JSON file to your computer.

Phase 4: Uploading the JSON to the e-Filing Portal

The final step is to submit your prepared JSON file to the government.

1. Log back into the e-Filing portal.
2. Navigate to e-File > Income Tax Forms > File Income Tax Forms.
3. Select your Form, Assessment Year, and choose Offline filing mode.
4. Click Attach File and select the final JSON file you generated in the offline utility.
5. The portal will instantly validate the uploaded JSON against its schema rules. If successful, click Proceed to Verification.
6. e-Verify: Verify your submission using Aadhaar OTP, a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC), or an Electronic Verification Code (EVC) to complete the filing process.

---

While the official government utility is free and effective, manually typing data into it for every single client can be incredibly time-consuming for tax professionals handling bulk records. To bypass repetitive manual entry, the XLTOOL Form 145 & 146 JSON Bulk Generator allows you to copy and paste unlimited records directly from your existing Excel sheets. Our software instantly validates your data and generates a bulk, schema-compliant JSON file that is ready for immediate upload on the e-filing portal. Explore our software to automate your tax compliance workflow today.