Income Tax Department Sets July 31, 2026 Deadline for Most Individual Taxpayers

The Income Tax Department has set July 31, 2026, as the deadline for most individual taxpayers, including the salaried class, to file their Income Tax Returns (ITR) for AY 2026-27. However, different due dates apply based on income sources and audit requirements, with some non-audit businesses and professionals now having until August 31, 2026.

The Income Tax Return (ITR) filing deadline for a majority of individual taxpayers, including the salaried class, is July 31, 2026. However, the Income Tax (I-T) Department has different ITR filing due dates for different taxpayers in AY 2026-27 (FY 2025-26). Depending on your source of income, whether your accounts need to be audited, or whether you are a partner in a firm, your deadline to file ITR can be different.

Who should file ITR?

According to I-T Department rules, taxpayers who satisfy conditions for mandatory ITR filing as per the Seventh proviso of Section 139(1) of the Income Tax Act are as follows:

a) Spent Rs 2 lakh or more (either in single transaction or on an aggregate basis) for himself or any other person on travelling to a foreign country.

b) Paid Rs 1 lakh or more (either in a single transaction or on an aggregate basis) as an electricity bill during a financial year.

c) Deposited Rs 1 crore or more in one or more current accounts either in a single transaction or on an aggregate basis.

d) Any other prescribed conditions.

Also read: Do you need to file ITR if you only incurred losses from equities or mutual funds? Check the details

Which are the key ITR filing deadlines in AY 26-27 (FY 25-26)?

Chartered accountant Abhishek Soni, CEO & co-founder, Tax2win, explains, “The noteworthy change this year is that non-audit businesses and professionals filing ITR-3 or ITR-4 get an additional month and can file their ITR until August 31, 2026, while salaried taxpayers continue to have a 31 July deadline. This effectively creates separate filing windows even among non-audit taxpayers.”

ITR filing due dates for different categories of taxpayers (AY 2026-27)

Taxpayer category

Due date

1. Salaried individuals, pensioners, and other taxpayers not requiring audit (ITR-1 & ITR-2)

July 31, 2026

2. Non-audit business owners and professionals (ITR-3 & ITR-4)

August 31, 2026

3. Taxpayers whose accounts are subject to tax audit

October 31, 2026

4. Taxpayers covered under transfer pricing provisions

November 30, 2026

5. Belated return

December 31, 2026

6. Revised return

March 31, 2027

Source: CA Abhishek Soni

Penalty for late filing of ITR

As per Section 234F of the Income Tax Act, 1961, a late fee of up to Rs 5,000 is charged at the time of filing ITR after the due date. For taxpayers with taxable income up to Rs 5 lakh, the penalty is Rs 1,000. The penalty applies even if no tax is payable at the time of filing ITR.

Why should you file your income tax return (ITR)?

As per the Income Tax website, “Filing your return is your duty and earns for you the dignity of consciously contributing to the development of the nation. Apart from this, your income tax returns validate your credit worthiness before financial institutions and make it possible for you to access many financial benefits such as bank credits, etc.”

What are the key provisions relating to the filing of return of income under the Income Tax Act, 2025?

The provisions related to the filing of return of income are contained in Section 263 of the Income Tax Act, 2025. Section 263 contains provisions for original return (Sub-section 1), belated return (Sub-section 4), revised return (Sub-section 5), and updated return (Sub-section 6) into one unified section. The fundamental structure- mandatory filing, due dates, categories of persons obligated to file- remains the same as that under the Old Income Tax Act, 1961.

ITR filing due date for accounts not required to be audited in AY 2026-27

July 31, 2026, is the ITR filing deadline for individuals and other taxpayers whose accounts are not required to be audited and who are not covered under transfer pricing provisions (Section 92E).

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