ITR Filing: The deadline to file income tax returns ends tomorrow, and failing to do so may lead to several consequences for the taxpayers. The income tax return (ITR) filing deadline has traditionally been 31 July, often extended at the last minute due to technical glitches on the e-filing portal. However, this year, the I-T department had already extended the deadline to 15 September back in May and so far, the government hasn’t announced any additional extension.
If you haven’t filed your ITR yet, missing tomorrow’s deadline won’t just attract a penalty, it carries other financial repercussions too. Here’s the breakdown:
What a taxpayer would have to deal with if they fail to file ITR by the due date:
Under section 234F of the income tax act, a penalty will be imposed on the taxpayer as a late‐filing fee when you fail to file your ITR after the due date. The fine amount depends on the person’s total income and the time of filing, said Shefali Mundra, tax expert at ClearTax.
For the assessment year 2025‐26 / FY 2024-25, taxpayers with an income of ₹5 lakh and less will have to pay ₹1,000 as the penalty if the miss the due date but pay before 31 December. For people with an income or more than ₹5 lakh, the penalty is set at ₹5000 under the same condition.
“However, there is no late filing fee if your income is below the basic exemption limit, since its non‐taxable income. This varies from situation‐to‐situation as certain requirements (like foreign assets, etc.) might force an ITR even if income is small,” Mundra noted.
In case, a taxpayer fails to clear the tax liability, either because they filed late or did not pay the required advance tax, then the interest is levied under different sections.
| Section | When does it apply | Interest rate and how is it calculated? |
|---|---|---|
| Section 234A | Delay in filing ITR, Having outstanding tax liability (after TDS, advance tax etc.). | 1% per month (or part of a month) on the net outstanding tax liability, from the day after the due date up to the date of filing. |
| Section 234B | If advance tax paid < 90% of your total tax liability or you didn’t pay required advance tax even though you were liable. | 1% per month (or part thereof), on the assessed less advance tax, from 1 April of the assessment year until the tax is paid |
| Section 234C | For shortfall or deferment in instalments of advance tax (quarterly or otherwise). | 1 % per month or part thereof on the shortfall in each instalment or deferred amount. The specific duration depends on which instalment(s) were short / deferred. |
Source: ClearTax
It is important to note that in case of assessed period for penalty, fractions of a month count as a full month.
“Loss of refund interest refers to the interest you could have received had you filed your ITR on time, minus the interest you actually receive given you filed later,” Mundra said.
Example: If the refund due is ₹50,000 and you filed it on time, then the interest that you would received for April–December will be ₹2,250 at an interest rate of 0.5% per month under Section 244A.
However, if you file late late, say in October, so the interest that you will receive for October–December period will be ₹500, which is a loss of ₹1,750 for the taxpayer.
- Ineligibility to carry forward certain losses
If a taxpayer files their ITR before the due date, they would have the rights to carry forward all their losses.
However, if they miss it, filing it later would restrict carry‐forward of certain losses, such as business or capital loss in many cases, Mundra said noting the cons of filing belated return.
What to do if you miss the deadline
In case you miss the ITR filing deadline 15 September, you can take some necessary steps to minimise your losses and improve your financial standing.
“One must prepare and submit a belated return as soon as possible (before 31 December of assessment year) after missing the deadline as doing so limits how many extra months you lose for refund interest, and keeps your record cleaner,” Mundar said.
A belated return is an Income Tax Return (ITR) filed after the due date prescribed under the Income Tax Act, but before the end of the relevant assessment year, which for this month will be before December 31, 2025.
In case of regular ITR filing, the interest starts from April 1 so you receive more months of interest. However, in the case of belated return filing, interest begins only from date of filing so you end up losing the earlier months of interest, Mundra said.
Also ensure that the verification is done (e-verify the return) as soon as you file. Returns must be verified within required time frames; delay in verification might even make the return effectively “invalid” or delay considered further, she warned taxpayers.
As a last step, maintain all records / documents so that you can support any claims, deductions, proofs etc. This helps avoid delays, notices, or rejection of refund due to missing proofs.
