Income Tax Return Filing Deadline Not Extended for Salaried Taxpayers; Late Fees Apply

The July 31, 2026, income tax return filing deadline remains unchanged for many taxpayers. Those who missed this date must now file a belated return and pay a late fee. Taxpayers with business income and those requiring a tax audit have different filing deadlines. The due date for business income without audit is August 31, 2026. Taxpayers needing a tax audit must file by October 31, 2026.

The Income Tax Return (ITR) filing due date of July 31, 2026 for students, pensioners, salaried taxpayers who don’t have any business income is not extended. While expectations were high about the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) granting an ITR filing due date extension due to various glitches and errors most notably on July 25, 2026, as reported by social media users, the CBDT did not do so, since the ITR e-filing portal glitches were resolved and were working fine later on. This means if you need to file an ITR and missed the July 31, 2026, due date, you need to pay a late fee of up to Rs 5,000 and file a belated ITR.

However, not every taxpayer was required to file their ITR by July 31, 2026, as this due date is not relevant for those taxpayers with a business income and/or liable for tax audit. The due date to file ITR by those with business income without tax audit is August 31, 2026. The taxpayers who are required to conduct a tax audit need to file their ITR by October 31, 2026.

Here’s a snapshot of the ITR filing due dates of various taxpayers:

Assessees required to file transfer pricing report under section 172 of 2025 Act (corresponding to section 92E of 1961 Act) have a due date of November 30. Companies not requiring a transfer pricing report, and assessees (other than those in 'a' and 'b') including partners of a firm whose accounts are required to be audited under this Act or under any other law in force, have a due date of October 31. Assessees (other than 'a' and 'b') with PGBP income and partners of a firm whose accounts are not required to be audited under Income tax Act or under any other law in force have a due date of August 31. Any other assessee has a due date of July 31.

As per a tweet from the CBDT today, more than 5.5 crore ITRs had been filed till July 30, with over 42 lakh filed on June 30 alone. The CBDT is yet to provide data for July 31.

If you miss the July 31 income tax return (ITR) filing date, you still have a chance to file your return. Alternative choices offered by the Income-tax Act 2025 include filing a belated return and, in some circumstances, a revised return. However, delaying income tax filing can result in late fees, interest, delayed refunds, and the loss of some tax benefits.