The ITR last date for Assessment Year 2026-27 is not 31 July for everyone. If your income is only salary, pension, house property, capital gains or interest, 31 July 2026 has already passed. If you have business or professional income and you are not liable for a tax audit, your due date is 31 August 2026. Audit cases generally run to 31 October; transfer-pricing cases to 30 November. Miss your own date and you can still file a belated return until 31 December 2026, with a late fee.
This is an explainer of who files when and what a delay costs — not personal tax advice. We checked the Income Tax Department’s e-filing FAQs and named newspaper explainers as of 15 August 2026. Confirm your category on incometax.gov.in before you rely on a date.
Key facts for AY 2026-27
Income year: Financial Year 2025-26 (1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026).
Return year: Assessment Year 2026-27, still filed under the Income-tax Act, 1961. The new Income Tax Act, 2025 governs Tax Year 2026-27 (income from 1 April 2026), a separate return due in 2027.
ITR-1 / ITR-2 (no business income): due 31 July 2026 — already over if that is you.
ITR-3 / ITR-4, no tax audit: due 31 August 2026.
Tax audit under section 44AB (or any other law): ITR due 31 October 2026; audit report typically one month earlier.
Transfer pricing (section 92E): 30 November 2026.
Belated return (section 139(4)): 31 December 2026, or before assessment is completed, whichever is earlier.
Revised return (section 139(5)): generally 31 March 2027, or before assessment is completed, whichever is earlier.
Late fee (section 234F): ₹1,000 if total income does not exceed ₹5 lakh; ₹5,000 otherwise.
Portal: file only on the official e-filing site, not a lookalike app or WhatsApp “agent”.
Has the 31 July ITR deadline been extended?
No — not for salaried people, pensioners, and others without business or professional income. In late July 2026 many taxpayers waited for a CBDT circular pushing 31 July to August after portal glitches. That blanket extension did not come. If your only heads of income are salary, pension, house property, capital gains or other sources, 31 July 2026 was your section 139(1) due date. Filing now is a belated return, not an on-time return.
What did change is the calendar for a different group. The Finance Act, 2026 split non-audit filers: ITR-1 and ITR-2 stay on 31 July; ITR-3 and ITR-4 without a tax audit move to 31 August. The Department’s FAQ on Income Tax Returns puts it in one line: the due date is “31st July, 2026 or 31st August for non-audit cases, etc.”
That split is why search results disagree. One site says “last date 31 July.” Another says “last date 31 August.” Both can be true. The question is which bucket you are in.
Your due date follows the nature of your income and whether a tax audit applies. It does not follow the ITR form number alone, and it is not a general “government extended it” rumour.
Who must file ITR by 31 August 2026?
Use this decision tree. Stop at the first yes.
Are your accounts required to be audited under section 44AB, or under any other law? If yes, your ITR due date is 31 October 2026 (30 November if a transfer-pricing report is required). The 31 August date is not yours.
Do you have income from business or profession — freelance fees, consulting, a proprietorship, a shop, creator income, F&O treated as business, or a share of profit as partner in a non-audit firm? If yes, and step 1 was no, your due date is 31 August 2026. You will usually file ITR-3 or ITR-4 (Sugam).
Is all your income salary, pension, house property, capital gains, interest or dividends — with no business or profession? Then 31 July 2026 was your date. You typically file ITR-1 (Sahaj) or ITR-2. You are already late.
People who usually land on 31 August: freelancers and self-employed professionals below the audit line; small proprietors; presumptive filers under sections 44AD, 44ADA or 44AE; and partners of non-audit firms filing a non-audit ITR-3. CBDT’s ITR-4 validation rules for AY 2026-27 treat that form’s section 139(1) date as 31 August unless extended.
A common trap: you have a salary and a side freelance practice. The side income is business or profession. You are not an ITR-1 case. Whether you are 31 August or 31 October depends on audit, not on Form 16. If you are close to the 44AB tests, do not guess.
ITR last date 2026: the full calendar
31 July 2026 — no business/profession income and no audit (typical ITR-1 / ITR-2).
31 August 2026 — business or professional income, accounts not required to be audited (typical ITR-3 / ITR-4).
31 October 2026 — accounts required to be audited. The audit report is generally due one month earlier (30 September in the usual case).
30 November 2026 — cases that must furnish a transfer-pricing report under section 92E.
31 December 2026 — last date for a belated return under section 139(4), unless assessment is completed earlier.
31 March 2027 — last date to revise an already-filed return under section 139(5), unless assessment is completed earlier.
A portal outage on 31 August does not automatically move the statutory due date. Only a CBDT circular extends a date. File in the last week, not at 11:50 p.m. on the 31st.
ITR-4 (Sugam) is for eligible presumptive filers under 44AD, 44ADA or 44AE. If you are a genuine non-audit ITR-4 filer for AY 2026-27, treat 31 August 2026 as your date. Presumptive does not mean “no deadline.” If turnover or receipts cross the audit tests, you may be a 31 October case. F&O traders get this wrong every year: the form you wish to use is not always the form the law requires.
What belated filing costs
A belated return is still valid. It is more expensive, and some choices close.
Section 234F (Department FAQ for AY 2026-27): ₹1,000 if total income does not exceed ₹5 lakh; ₹5,000 otherwise. No 234F fee is generally levied if income is below the basic exemption limit — still file if you have a refund, a loss, or a legal obligation to file.
Section 234A interest can apply at 1% per month or part of a month on tax that remained unpaid from your original due date until you file. 234B and 234C can also apply if advance tax was short. Paying 234F does not wipe 234A.
Losses: to carry forward business loss, capital loss, or loss from owning race horses, the return of loss generally has to be filed by the section 139(1) due date. A belated return can cost those carry-forwards.
Old tax regime: the default is the new regime. Opting out (Form 10IEA, where it applies) is tied to filing by the section 139(1) due date. CBDT validation rules for ITR-1 and ITR-2 for AY 2026-27 say the old regime cannot be selected after that date. Do not plan a late filing around old-regime deductions. Refunds also tend to move slower, and some lenders still ask for an on-time acknowledgement.
What to do next
Decide your bucket today — salary-only vs business/profession vs audit. A chartered accountant for one hour is cheaper than a wrong due date.
If 31 August is yours: gather AIS/TIS, Form 26AS, bank interest, GST or sales summaries, and presumptive workings. File on incometax.gov.in well before 31 August 2026. Verify with Aadhaar OTP, net banking or DSC.
If 31 July was yours and you have not filed: file a belated return under section 139(4) now. Pay remaining tax plus interest first so 234A stops running. Expect the 234F fee. Do not wait for December — a notice can close the window earlier.
If you already filed and spotted a mistake: use a revised return under section 139(5), generally until 31 March 2027.
Keep AY 2026-27 and Tax Year 2026-27 separate. This return is for FY 2025-26. Do not mix April 2026 onwards receipts into it.
If you are joining a government job this year — for example through RRB JE recruitment 2026 or other Jobs & Exams notifications — your first salary year is usually an ITR-1 / ITR-2 story (31 July), unless you also run a business. Do not wait for the employer to “do ITR for you.”
This page starts the Money cluster. National explainers live under India, including our Independence Day 2026 explainer.
FAQ
Has CBDT extended the ITR last date to 31 August 2026 for everyone?
No. 31 August is the due date for non-audit business and professional income (typical ITR-3 / ITR-4). It is not a general extension of 31 July for salaried ITR-1 and ITR-2 filers.
I am salaried. Can I still file?
Yes. File a belated return under section 139(4) on the e-filing portal by 31 December 2026, unless assessment is completed earlier. Budget for the 234F fee and any 234A interest on unpaid tax.
What is the late fee under section 234F?
₹1,000 if total income does not exceed ₹5 lakh; ₹5,000 otherwise, as stated in the Department’s AY 2026-27 FAQ. The portal computation shows the fee before you submit.
Can I choose the old tax regime if I file after my due date?
Usually no. CBDT’s AY 2026-27 validation rules block selecting the old regime on ITR-1 and ITR-2 after the section 139(1) due date.
What is the difference between belated, revised and updated (ITR-U) returns?
Belated (139(4)) is your first return, filed after the due date, until 31 December 2026. Revised (139(5)) corrects a return you already filed, generally until 31 March 2027. Updated (ITR-U under 139(8A)) is a later window with extra tax. They are not interchangeable.
Will I have to file two ITRs in 2026 because of the new Income Tax Act?
Not for the same income. AY 2026-27 covers FY 2025-26 under the 1961 Act. Tax Year 2026-27 covers income from 1 April 2026 under the 2025 Act and is due in 2027. The Department’s FAQ is explicit: these are two separate years.
Sources
Income Tax Department, Income Tax Returns FAQs (belated date, 234F, July vs August).
E-filing portal: incometax.gov.in.
CBDT e-filing validation rules, ITR-4 AY 2026-27 — 139(1) date 31 August unless extended.
CBDT validation rules, ITR-1 and ITR-2 AY 2026-27 — old regime blocked after the due date.
Business Standard, 31 July 2026 — Finance Act, 2026 split of due dates.
Last checked: 15 August 2026. If a later CBDT circular extends a date, that circular wins over this page — we will update when that happens.