ITR filing due dates for AY 2026-27

Status on 14 September 2026: both non-audit deadlines have passed and CBDT has not notified an extension for AY 2026-27 — the 15 September date being shared online was last year’s extension for AY 2025-26. If you have not filed, the belated route below stays open until 31 December 2026.

The tax audit report itself must be filed a month before the return — generally by 30 September for taxpayers whose return is due 31 October.

Late filing fee under section 234F. ₹5,000 where total income exceeds ₹5 lakh, and ₹1,000 where it does not.

Interest under section 234A. 1% per month on unpaid tax from the due date until you file.

Loss of carry-forward. This is the one that actually hurts. Business losses and capital losses cannot be carried forward if the return is filed after the due date. For a business with a loss year, that is a permanently forfeited future deduction — frequently worth far more than the fee.

Delayed refunds. Interest on refunds runs from the date of filing rather than the start of the assessment year where the return is late.

Waiting until July to think about tax is already too late if you had liability above ₹10,000 for the year. Advance tax is payable in four instalments — 15% by 15 June, 45% cumulative by 15 September, 75% by 15 December and 100% by 15 March.

Shortfalls attract interest under sections 234B and 234C. Taxpayers using the presumptive schemes under sections 44AD or 44ADA pay the whole amount in a single instalment by 15 March.

An unverified return is treated as never filed, and the late-filing consequences apply as though you had missed the deadline entirely. Verification must be completed within thirty days of filing.

E-verification through Aadhaar OTP takes under a minute. Returns lost to non-verification are one of the more avoidable problems in the system.

A belated return can be filed up to 31 December 2026 with the section 234F fee. Losses cannot be carried forward, but the return is otherwise valid and any refund due is still payable.

Beyond that, an updated return under section 139(8A) allows you to come forward later on payment of additional tax over and above the normal liability. It cannot be used to claim a refund or increase a loss — it exists to let taxpayers regularise under-reported income, not to recover missed deductions.

Current utilities and forms are published on the income-tax e-filing portal.

A salaried employee, income ₹9 lakh, all tax already deducted. The ITR-1 was due on 31 July 2026 and is filed on 15 November 2026. Late fee under section 234F: ₹5,000, because total income exceeds ₹5 lakh. Interest under 234A: nil, because no tax was unpaid. Cost: ₹5,000, plus any refund earning interest only from November rather than April.

A consultant, income ₹18 lakh under section 44ADA, ₹1.2 lakh of self-assessment tax unpaid until filing. The ITR-4 was due on 31 August 2026 and is filed on 20 December 2026. Interest under 234A runs at 1 percent a month from September to December, with December counted in full: 4 percent of ₹1.2 lakh, or ₹4,800. Add the ₹5,000 fee, and any shortfall interest under 234B and 234C on advance tax that should have been paid by 15 March. Cost: about ₹10,000 before the advance tax interest.

A trading business with a ₹6 lakh loss for the year. Filed belated in December. The fee is ₹1,000 if total income is below ₹5 lakh, and there is no interest because there is no tax. But the loss cannot be carried forward. At a 30 percent rate that is ₹1.8 lakh of future tax the business will pay because a return was filed four months late. This is the case where the deadline is worth far more than the fee suggests.

Tax audit applies to a business with turnover above ₹1 crore, or ₹10 crore where cash receipts and payments are each within 5 percent, and to a profession with gross receipts above ₹50 lakh. It also applies where a presumptive taxpayer declares less than the presumptive rate and has income above the basic exemption.

Since 1 April 2025 an updated return under section 139(8A) can be filed within 48 months of the end of the assessment year, up from 24. For AY 2026-27 the window runs to 31 March 2031. The price rises with time: additional tax of 25 percent of the tax and interest due if filed within 12 months of the end of the assessment year, 50 percent within 24 months, 60 percent within 36 months and 70 percent within 48 months.

ITR-U cannot be used to claim or increase a refund, to reduce tax, or to increase a loss, and it is not available where a search or survey has been initiated or an assessment is pending. It exists to let taxpayers regularise under-reported income before the department finds it, at a known price, and for that purpose it is usually far cheaper than the alternative.

• 14 September 2026: confirmed no extension for AY 2026-27; added the 31 August date for ITR-3 and ITR-4, the 31 March 2027 revised-return date, worked examples, the audit and transfer-pricing table and the ITR-U window.
• 16 August 2026: reviewed against the notified forms and utilities.
• 10 August 2026: published.