ITR filing deadline extends till 31st July for salaried taxpayers and 31st August for business people.
The income tax return (ITR) filing season has started with reminders to taxpayers that the deadline to file the returns can vary according to the category of taxpayers. The government has allowed an extra month for certain business and professional taxpayers who have to file ITR-3 and ITR-4 (IRS cases that are not audited) to file their returns by August 31, while salaried and taxpayers who file ITR-1 and ITR-2 will have to submit their returns by July 31.
The new filing calendar is part of the modifications that have been incorporated into the Finance Act 2026, which will provide business owners, freelancers and professionals with additional time to prepare their financial statements and comply with tax obligations without the stress of having to adhere to a single common filing deadline. Those who are salaried, retired or retired officers or tax payers having income from salary, one house property and/or capital gains, those who file ITR-1 or ITR-2 will remain under the new schedule wherein they will still need to file their returns by July 31, 2026.
Those who have business or professional income, but do not need to be audited, can, however, file their returns till August 31st, 2026 with ITR-3 or ITR-4. For audit cases, the deadline remains as it was, October 31, with November 30 being the deadline for taxpayers with transfer pricing obligations. The delayed deadlines are likely to allow small businesses and the self-employed more time to ensure compliance, as they often need more time to reconcile accounts, determine taxable income and organize supporting documents, tax experts say. One of the major changes in the year 2010 is that the income tax return filing period for revised income tax returns has been extended. Errors or omissions in original returns may be corrected until March 31, 2027 – a longer correction period than previously.
Excluding some categories, the deadlines have been extended but experts are recommending that taxpayers avoid the last minute. Early filing allows the processing of returns to be completed on time, refunds (if applicable) to be received on time and enough time to correct any discrepancies identified by the Income Tax Department. All taxpayers are also advised to check their Form 26AS, Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS), review the taxpayer’s TDS credits and ensure that all the income sources are properly reported before filing their returns. Late filing of the return by the relevant due date could result in paying a late filing penalty as per the Income-tax Act, interest charges on the outstanding tax dues, and some of the tax losses may be restricted in certain cases. Hence, the taxpayers should know the correct ITR form to be filled and follow the filing deadline accordingly.
