ITR Filing 2026: Till now more than 1.7 crore people have filed ITR, if the deadline of July 31 is missed, a fine of ₹ 5000 will be imposed.

If you are also a taxpayer and have not yet filed your income tax return, then this news is an important reminder for you. The pace of ITR filing for assessment year 2026-27 (income for financial year 2025-26) has increased very fast. According to the latest data of the Income Tax Department, till now more than 1.7 crore taxpayers have successfully filed their returns. The speed can be gauged from the fact that on Friday alone, a record number of more than 10 lakh people filed ITR. The Income Tax Department has appealed to people on social media platform X (Twitter) to file their returns as soon as possible to avoid last-minute technical difficulties and heavy traffic. The last date for filing ITR-1 (Sahaj) and ITR-2 forms for the income earned during the financial year 2025-26 (FY 2025-26) has been fixed as 31 July 2026. This deadline is for all those individual taxpayers whose accounts are not required to be audited. Understand which form is right for you: ITR-1 or ITR-2? Who is ITR-1 (Sahaj) form for? This form is for most of the taxpayers in the country. You can choose ITR-1 when: Your total annual income is up to ₹50 lakh. Your main source of income should be salary (salaried employee) or pension. Your income should be coming from only one house property. Your total agricultural income should be limited to ₹ 5,000 annually. Who is ITR-2 form for? This form is for individual taxpayers and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) who: Do ​​not earn income from any type of business or profession. Those who have made capital gain from share market, mutual fund or selling property. Those whose income is more than ₹ 50 lakh or who own more than one house. If you miss the deadline of 31st July, you will have to suffer these 4 big losses. If you miss filing your return by 31st July 2026, then you will have to face heavy financial penalty under the Income Tax Act: Late Fee up to ₹ 5,000: Under Section 234F of the Income Tax Act, if you file belated return (Belated ITR) after the deadline, you will have to pay a late fee of ₹ 5,000. However, it is a matter of relief that if your total annual income is only up to ₹ 5 lakh, then this late fee will be limited to a maximum of ₹ 1,000. Additional interest of 1% on tax: If you have any tax liability, interest will be charged at the rate of 1% for every month or part of the month after the due date under Section 234A. Huge delay in income tax refund: If any of your tax has been deducted in excess (TDS) and you are waiting for the refund, then filing ITR late will stop the processing. This means that there may be a delay of months in getting your refund. No opportunity to carry forward losses: The biggest disadvantage of late filing of returns is that you lose the legal right to adjust (Carry Forward) any business loss or capital loss (such as loss in shares) incurred in the current financial year from the profits of the following years.