Two deadlines this year — find yours
The deadline everyone quotes — 31 July — now applies to a narrower group than most people assume. If your income for FY 2025-26 came from salary, pension, one or more house properties, interest or dividends, you file ITR-1 or ITR-2, and your date is 31 July 2026.
If you earned business or professional income — a freelancer invoicing clients, a shop or trading business, a consultant on presumptive tax, a seller on Amazon or Flipkart — you file ITR-3 or ITR-4, and as long as your accounts do not require a tax audit, your date is 31 August 2026. The extra month was introduced for AY 2026-27 to give business filers time to close their books properly. Use it for exactly that: reconcile bank accounts, match your books to your AIS and Form 26AS, and — if you sell on marketplaces — remember that your payout is not your revenue, so tie your sales back to gross figures before you file.
Audit cases file by 31 October 2026, and taxpayers with transfer-pricing reporting by 30 November 2026.
The calendar in one place
THE AY 2026-27 FILING CALENDAR
- 31 July 2026 — ITR-1 and ITR-2: salary, pension, house property, interest, dividends, capital gains without business income.
- 31 August 2026 — ITR-3 and ITR-4: business or professional income where no tax audit is required, including presumptive taxation.
- 31 October 2026 — taxpayers whose accounts require audit under the Income-tax Act or any other law.
- 30 November 2026 — taxpayers with international or specified domestic transactions requiring a transfer-pricing report.
- 31 December 2026 — last date for a belated return for AY 2026-27, with late fee and interest.
- No extension notified — as of mid-July 2026 the CBDT has not extended any of these dates. Do not plan around one.
What missing the date actually costs
A belated return is legal; it is just expensive in three separate ways. First, the late fee under Section 234F: ₹1,000 if your total income is up to ₹5 lakh, ₹5,000 if it is more. Second, interest under Section 234A at 1% per month, or part of a month, on any unpaid tax from the due date until you file — and that sits on top of any interest under Sections 234B and 234C you may already owe for shortfalls in advance tax. If those sections are unfamiliar, our guide to avoiding interest under 234B and 234C explains how the instalment system works.
Third, and least appreciated: filing after the due date means you lose the right to carry forward most business and capital losses. A trading loss or a loss on shares that could have sheltered next year's profits simply lapses. For a business having a rough year, this is usually the biggest cost of the three, and no late fee waiver can bring it back.
New regime by default — decide before you file
FY 2025-26 is the first year the Budget 2025 slabs apply. Under the default new regime, income up to ₹4 lakh is tax-free at slab level, and the Section 87A rebate of up to ₹60,000 means income up to ₹12 lakh effectively attracts zero tax. Salaried taxpayers also get the ₹75,000 standard deduction, taking the zero-tax line to roughly ₹12.75 lakh of salary income.
The old regime still exists, but only by choice, and mainly makes sense if your deductions — home-loan interest, 80C investments, health insurance, HRA — are large enough to beat the new regime's lower rates. Run the comparison before you file, not after.
The last return under the 1961 Act
This filing season closes an era. The Income-tax Act, 2025 replaced the 1961 Act from 1 April 2026, so FY 2025-26 is the final year assessed under the law every Indian taxpayer grew up with. Your return this year still cites the familiar sections — 234A, 234B, 234C, 87A — but from next season the same rules answer to new numbers: interest for late filing moves from Section 234A to Section 423, and advance-tax interest under 234B and 234C becomes Sections 424 and 425. The rules themselves carry over largely unchanged; the citations do not. If you run a company, this transition lands on top of your regular ROC calendar — see our first-year compliance guide for how the pieces fit together.
Practically, this year's documentation matters more than usual: notices and rectifications for FY 2025-26 will run under the 1961 Act's framework for years while your future filings switch to the new Act. A clean, correctly filed return now saves you arguing across two statutes later.
Frequently asked questions
What is the last date to file ITR for FY 2025-26?
31 July 2026 for ITR-1 and ITR-2 filers, and 31 August 2026 for ITR-3 and ITR-4 filers who do not need a tax audit. Audit cases have until 31 October 2026, and transfer-pricing cases until 30 November 2026.
Will the deadline be extended like last year?
No extension has been notified for AY 2026-27 as of mid-July 2026. Last year's extension to September was driven by delayed form utilities and is not a precedent. Treat 31 July or 31 August as firm; if an extension comes, it is a bonus, not a plan.
What happens if I miss my due date?
You can file a belated return up to 31 December 2026, paying the Section 234F fee (₹1,000 up to ₹5 lakh of income, ₹5,000 above) plus 1% per month interest under Section 234A on unpaid tax. You also permanently lose the carry-forward of most business and capital losses for the year.
Which regime applies when I file — old or new?
The new regime applies by default. You can still opt for the old regime while filing if your deductions justify it, but business filers should take advice first — their choice carries forward and cannot be switched freely each year.
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Send an enquiry →This guide is published for general information and does not constitute professional advice. Rates, thresholds and due dates change; please verify the position or consult the firm before acting. Section references follow the Income-tax Act, 1961, which governs income earned up to FY 2025-26; corresponding sections of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — in force for tax year 2026-27 onwards — are indicated where relevant.