ITR Filing 2026 Deadlines: July 31 is not the last date for every taxpayer, know different deadlines

Business Desk – ITR Filing 2026 Deadlines: The process of filing Income Tax Return (ITR) has started for the financial year 2026-27. Generally, the last date for filing this for salaried taxpayers is considered to be 31st July 2026, but it is not applicable to all taxpayers. The Income Tax Department has set different deadlines for different categories of taxpayers, so that the tax filing process can be completed in a systematic manner.

Employed and pensioner taxpayers

For those taxpayers whose income is not subject to any audit and who file ITR-1 or ITR-2 form, the last date for filing income tax return has been fixed as July 31, 2026. This is the most common category, which mostly includes salaried people and pensioners.

Non-audited businesses and professionals

Taxpayers who are engaged in business or profession and file ITR-3 or ITR-4 form, but whose accounts are not required to be audited, have been given a little extra time this time. The last date for filing ITR for them has been fixed as 31 August 2026.

Tax audited taxpayers

For taxpayers whose accounts are subject to mandatory tax audit, the last date for filing ITR has been set as 31 October 2026. This category generally applies to large businesses and professionals with high turnover.

Taxpayers covered under transfer pricing

The last date for filing returns for taxpayers covered under Section 92E has been fixed as 30 November 2026. This rule mainly applies to matters related to international transactions and multinational transactions.

Facility of late and revised returns

If a taxpayer is not able to file ITR within the prescribed time limit, he can file a belated return till December 31, 2026. At the same time, if any mistake is found after filing the return, then to correct it, the facility to file revised return has been given till 31 March 2027.

Under what circumstances is it necessary to file ITR?

As per Income Tax rules, it becomes mandatory to file ITR in certain circumstances, even if the tax liability is zero. These include spending Rs 2 lakh or more on foreign travel, electricity bill payments of more than Rs 1 lakh in a year, or deposits of Rs 1 crore or more in one or more current accounts. Apart from this, many other conditions have been set by the Income Tax Department.

Penalty for late filing

Under Section 234F of the Income Tax Act, if ITR is not filed on time, a penalty can be imposed on the taxpayer. In normal cases this fine can be up to a maximum of Rs 5000. Whereas, if the taxable income is up to Rs 5 lakh, the penalty is limited to Rs 1000.