ITR due dates: when to file your income tax return
Updated 11 October 2026
If you are salaried or a pensioner, your income tax return is due by 31 July after the financial year ends. Since Budget 2026, people with business or professional income who do not need a tax audit get until 31 August, and audited taxpayers until 31 October. Miss your date and you can still file a belated return until 31 December, but with a late fee of up to ₹5,000.
Due dates at a glance
Your due date depends on the kind of income you have, which in practice means the ITR form you file. Returns for FY 2025-26 were filed in 2026 under the Income-tax Act, 1961. Returns for tax year 2026-27, the first year under the Income-tax Act, 2025, will be filed in 2027.
| Who | Usual form | FY 2025-26 (filed in 2026) | Tax year 2026-27 (filed in 2027) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salaried people and pensioners, with or without rent, interest or capital gains | ITR-1, ITR-2 | 31 July 2026 | 31 July 2027 |
| Business or profession without a tax audit, including presumptive income | ITR-3, ITR-4 | 31 August 2026 | 31 August 2027 |
| Companies, businesses whose accounts must be audited, working partners of audited firms | ITR-3, ITR-5, ITR-6 | 31 October 2026, extended to 21 November 2026 | 31 October 2027 |
| Cases that need a transfer pricing report | ITR-3, ITR-5, ITR-6 | 30 November 2026 | 30 November 2027 |
| Belated return (filed after the due date) | Same form | 31 December 2026 | 31 December 2027 |
| Revised return (correcting a filed return) | Same form | 31 March 2027 | 31 March 2028 |
The 2027 dates are the ones in the law today. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) can extend any of them, as it did for audit cases in September 2026, so check the e-filing portal before you plan around a date. Not sure which form is yours? See which ITR form to file.
What changed in 2026
Until FY 2024-25, everyone who did not need an audit had the same 31 July deadline. The Finance Act, 2026 split it from FY 2025-26 onwards: ITR-1 and ITR-2 filers stay at 31 July, while non-audit business and professional cases, such as freelancers, shopkeepers and consultants filing ITR-3 or ITR-4, moved to 31 August. The 2025 Act has the same dates, so the split continues for tax year 2026-27.
Two other changes matter:
- More time to revise. A return can now be revised until 31 March, 12 months after the year ends, instead of 31 December. Revisions made after 31 December carry a fee of ₹1,000 (income up to ₹5 lakh) or ₹5,000. See belated and revised returns.
- Audit cases got more time this year. A CBDT press release of 28 September 2026 moved the tax audit report deadline for FY 2025-26 from 30 September to 21 October 2026, and the return due date for audit cases from 31 October to 21 November 2026. Transfer pricing cases stay at 30 November.
There was no extension for salaried people in 2026: the 31 July 2026 date for ITR-1 and ITR-2 held.
Other dates in the tax calendar
- 15 June: employers issue the salary TDS certificate, Form 16, which the Income-tax Rules, 2026 rename Form 130.
- 15 June, 15 September, 15 December and 15 March: advance tax instalments of 15%, 45%, 75% and 100% of the year's tax, if your tax after TDS is ₹10,000 or more. People using presumptive taxation may pay it all by 15 March.
- Updated return: an updated return (ITR-U), which lets you declare missed income with extra tax, can be filed up to 48 months after the end of the year that follows the income year: for FY 2025-26, until 31 March 2031; for tax year 2026-27, until 31 March 2032.
What happens if you miss the due date
You can still file a belated return until 31 December, but it costs you in four ways:
- Late fee: ₹5,000, or ₹1,000 if your total income is ₹5 lakh or less. There is no fee if your income is below the basic exemption limit.
- Interest: 1% a month, or part of a month, on tax still unpaid, counted from the day after the due date.
- No old regime: salaried people and pensioners can choose the old regime only in a return filed by the due date, so a belated return is taxed under the new regime. See old vs new regime.
- Lost losses: business and capital losses cannot be carried forward from a late return, though a loss from house property still can.
Refunds still come, but interest on a refund runs only from the date you file, not from 1 April.
Late fee: ₹5,000, because his income is above ₹5 lakh.
Interest: August and part of September count as 2 months, so 2% of ₹5,600 = ₹112.
Filing late costs him ₹5,112 on top of the ₹5,600 tax. Had he filed by 31 July with the ₹5,600 paid, he would have paid nothing extra, and he could have chosen the old regime if it suited him. Work out your own figure with the income tax calculator.