ITR Due Date Checker for AY 2026-27 — Days Left

Quick answer

Your ITR due date depends on the kind of income you have. For income of FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27), the tool's calendar shows 31 July 2026 for salary, pension and capital gains (ITR-1 and ITR-2), 31 August 2026 for business or profession without audit, 31 October 2026 for tax audit cases and 30 November 2026 for transfer pricing cases. Missed it? A belated return is allowed till 31 December 2026, with late fee.

How to use this ITR due date checker

The checker has only one question, because your due date depends on one thing: the type of taxpayer you are. Pick the option that matches you.

• Salary, pension, interest, capital gains (ITR-1/ITR-2) — salaried people, pensioners, and individuals with house property, interest, dividends or capital gains, but no business income.
• Business / profession without audit (ITR-3/ITR-4) — shop owners, traders, freelancers, consultants, doctors and other professionals whose accounts do not need a tax audit, including those using presumptive taxation under 44AD or 44ADA.
• Business needing tax audit — businesses and professionals whose turnover or receipts cross the audit limits, companies, and partners of firms whose accounts are audited.
• Transfer pricing cases — taxpayers who have international transactions or specified domestic transactions with related parties and must file a transfer pricing report.

As soon as you choose, the tool shows your due date and the number of days left. If seven days or fewer remain, the result is shown as a warning. There is also an "Add to my calendar" button, which saves the due date to your phone or computer calendar so you get a reminder.

If the due date has already passed, the checker tells you so, and shows whether you can still file a belated return and how many days remain for that. If the belated window has also closed, it tells you that an updated return (ITR-U) may still be possible. It also shows the last date for a revised return, in case you have filed but found a mistake.

The dates come from the site's tax calendar, which is updated when the department notifies a change. Before filing at the last minute, still confirm on the official income tax e-filing portal, because extensions are announced by CBDT circular and can come late.

ITR due dates for AY 2026-27 at a glance

These are the dates loaded in the tool's calendar for income earned between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026.

When a due date is extended

CBDT sometimes extends a due date by circular, usually because of portal issues, form changes or natural calamities. An extension moves the date for the late fee and for the benefits linked to the due date, such as carrying forward losses. It does not always change how interest is worked out, so read the circular itself, not just the news headline. When an extension is notified, the dates in this tool are updated, and the days-left count follows the new date.

A return counts as filed on the date it is uploaded, as long as it is e-verified within 30 days. So uploading on the last day is enough, even if you verify a few days later. Leaving verification for later is risky, though, because it is easy to forget.

If you are not sure which form applies to you, the which ITR form tool asks a few questions and tells you. Picking the right category matters here too, because a person with business income cannot use the salary deadline.

Which category am I in? Tricky cases

Salaried with a side income

If you earn a salary and also do freelance work, run a small business or trade in futures and options, you have business income. Your due date is the business one, and you will file ITR-3 or ITR-4. If your side business needs an audit, the audit date applies.

Intraday and F&O traders

Intraday share trading is treated as speculative business, and futures and options as non-speculative business. Both mean you have business income, even if your main income is salary. Delivery-based share sales are capital gains, which stay in the salary category if you have no business.

Partners of a firm

A partner whose firm's accounts must be audited gets the same due date as the firm — the audit date. This is true even if the partner's own income is only the share of profit, interest and remuneration from the firm.

Pensioners and senior citizens

Pension is taxed as salary, so the salary due date applies. Senior citizens aged 75 or more who have only pension and interest from the same specified bank may not need to file at all, if the bank deducts the full tax. In all other cases, the normal rules apply.

Started a business during the year

The category is decided by the income you had during the financial year, not by what you did for most of it. If you were salaried until December and started consulting in January, you had business or professional income in that year, so the business due date and ITR-3 or ITR-4 apply for the whole return.

NRIs

Non-residents follow the same dates as residents, based on the type of income. An NRI with rent and capital gains in India files by the salary-category date; one with a business in India follows the business dates.

What happens if you miss the due date

You can still file, but filing after the due date has costs. Some are direct money costs; others quietly take away benefits.

The late fee is calculated by our 234F late fee calculator, and the interest under 234A, 234B and 234C by the interest calculator on this site. Both are worth running before you file late, so that you pay the full amount with the return and do not get a demand later.

Not filing at all is worse than filing late. If the department's data shows taxable income or high-value transactions and there is no return, it can send a notice asking you to file, and then assess your income on the information it has, with tax, interest and penalty. Serious and wilful failures can also attract prosecution. A late return closes the issue at a known, limited cost.

Worked example 1: salaried person who files late

Neha is salaried. Her total income for FY 2025-26 is ₹18,00,000, including ₹3,00,000 of FD interest. After TDS, she still owes ₹30,000 of tax, because her bank deducted TDS at 10% on the interest while her slab rate on it is higher. She files on 15 October 2026.

• Her due date was 31 July 2026, so the return is belated.
• Late fee under 234F: her income is above ₹5 lakh, so the fee is ₹5,000.
• Interest under 234A: from 1 August to 15 October is 2 months and 15 days, counted as 3 months. ₹30,000 × 1% × 3 = ₹900.
• Minimum extra cost: ₹5,000 + ₹900 = ₹5,900, plus any interest under 234B and 234C for short advance tax.

She also loses the option of the old regime for this year, because a belated return is taxed under the new regime. If her deductions were large, that could cost her more than the fee itself. Had she paid the ₹30,000 and filed by 31 July, she would have paid no late fee and no 234A interest at all.

Worked example 2: small income, still required to file

Vikas has total income of ₹4,60,000 (after the standard deduction) for FY 2025-26 and chose the new regime. Because his income is within ₹12 lakh, the 87A rebate makes his tax nil. But his income is above the ₹4 lakh basic exemption limit of the new regime, so filing is still required.

• If he files by 31 July 2026: no fee.
• If he files on 10 November 2026: late fee of ₹1,000, because his total income is not more than ₹5 lakh. There is no 234A interest, because no tax is unpaid.

The fee is small, but if Vikas had a TDS refund due, filing late would also delay that refund and reduce the interest on it.

Worked example 3: a business with an audit

Gupta Traders is a proprietorship whose turnover crosses the tax audit limit. It checks the tool on 4 October 2026 and picks "Business needing tax audit".

• Due date: 31 October 2026.
• Days left on 4 October 2026: 27.
• The tax audit report itself was due by 30 September 2026, before the return.

Because more than seven days remain, the result is not a warning yet. But with the audit report date already over, the owner should check with the auditor that the report has been uploaded and accepted on the portal. The return cannot carry audit details that are not on record.

Missing the audit itself is a separate problem from missing the ITR date. Failing to get the accounts audited and furnish the report when required can attract a penalty of 0.5% of turnover or gross receipts, up to ₹1.5 lakh, on top of any late fee for the return.

Belated, revised and updated returns: your options after the due date

Belated return

If you miss the due date, you can file a belated return up to 31 December of the assessment year, or before the assessment is completed, whichever is earlier. For AY 2026-27, that is 31 December 2026. You pay the late fee and interest, and you lose the benefits listed above. On 4 October 2026, the checker would show 88 days left for a belated return.

Filing a belated return works the same way as an original return. You use the same ITR form and, in the filing section, select that the return is filed after the due date under section 139(4). Pay the late fee and any interest as self-assessment tax before you upload, and enter the challan details in the tax-paid schedule. If you skip this, the return is still accepted, but CPC will raise a demand for the unpaid fee and interest when it processes the return.

Revised return

If you filed on time or late and then find a mistake — a missed interest income, a wrong deduction, a wrong bank account — you can file a revised return. The checker shows the last date for revision from the site calendar. A revised return replaces the earlier one completely, so include everything, not just the correction.

Updated return (ITR-U)

After the belated and revised windows close, an updated return is the only way to report income you missed. It can be filed up to 48 months from the end of the assessment year. You must pay additional tax on top of the tax and interest:

An updated return cannot be used to claim a refund, increase a refund, reduce your tax or declare a loss. So if you are owed money, filing the original return on time is the only safe route.

Due dates you should not forget during the year

The ITR due date is the end of the cycle, not the only deadline. If your tax after TDS is ₹10,000 or more for the year, you must pay advance tax in instalments. Missing these dates leads to interest under 234B and 234C, even if you file the return on time.

Salaried people whose only income is salary usually do not need advance tax, because the employer deducts TDS. Those with large interest, rent, capital gains or freelance income often do. The advance tax calculator splits your tax into these instalments.

For example, if your tax after TDS for the year is estimated at ₹80,000, you should have paid ₹12,000 by 15 June, ₹36,000 in total by 15 September, ₹60,000 by 15 December and the full ₹80,000 by 15 March. Paying less by any date leads to interest under 234C for that instalment.

For old-regime taxpayers, 31 March is also the last date to make tax-saving investments for the financial year. Investments made in April count for the next year, even if you file the return in July.

Who must file even when tax is nil

Many people assume that if no tax is payable, no return is needed. That is not always true. You must file by the due date if your total income before deductions is above the basic exemption limit of your regime, even if rebates bring the tax to zero.

Filing is also required in certain other cases, even below the exemption limit. Some of the common ones are:

• You hold any asset outside India, or have signing authority in a foreign account, as a resident.
• You deposited more than ₹1 crore in one or more current accounts during the year.
• You spent more than ₹2 lakh on foreign travel for yourself or anyone else.
• You paid electricity bills of more than ₹1 lakh in the year.

Similarly, if TDS or TCS of a significant amount was deducted from your income during the year, the rules may require you to file even when your income is below the exemption limit. Check this if a bank, employer or buyer deducted tax from you.

And even when filing is not compulsory, it is often worth doing — to claim a refund of TDS, to carry forward a loss, or to have a record of income for a loan or visa application.

A simple plan to file well before the deadline

Most late returns are not caused by laziness. They happen because documents arrive late, a mismatch shows up at the last minute, or the portal slows down near the deadline. A simple plan avoids all three.

1. April and May — let the data settle. Employers and banks file their TDS statements for the January–March quarter by 31 May. Until then, your Form 26AS and AIS may be incomplete. Filing too early can mean missing TDS credit.
2. By mid-June — collect Form 16. Employers must issue Form 16 by 15 June. Ask for it if it has not come. Collect interest certificates and capital gains statements at the same time.
3. June — compare AIS with your papers. Download AIS and Form 26AS. Check every TDS entry and every income item. If something is wrong, give feedback on AIS or ask the deductor to correct it now, while there is time.
4. Early July — decide the regime and file. Use the income tax calculator to compare regimes, then file and e-verify the same day.
5. After filing — watch your email. CPC may send a communication about a mismatch. Reply within the time given so the return is processed without trouble.

Business owners can follow the same plan, shifted by a month for non-audit cases. For audit cases, the work with the auditor should start soon after the year closes, because the audit report has to be filed before the return.

Documents to collect before your due date

Starting early is the simplest way to never miss a deadline. Collect these a few weeks before your date:

• Form 16 from each employer, and Form 16A for TDS on other income.
• Form 26AS and AIS from the portal, to check that all income and TDS are reported correctly.
• Bank interest certificates and statements for all accounts.
• Capital gains statements from your broker and mutual fund registrars.
• Proofs for deductions, if you will use the old regime.
• For business: books of accounts or turnover summary, GST returns and the audit report, where applicable.

Common mistakes about ITR due dates

• Using the salary date with business income. A salaried person with F&O trades or freelance income has the business date, not the salary date.
• Not e-verifying. A return filed on 30 July but e-verified after 30 days is treated as filed on the date of verification, which may be after the due date.
• Waiting for an extension. Extensions are not guaranteed. Plan for the date as it stands.
• Filing in the last two days. The portal gets slow near the deadline, and an AIS mismatch found at the last minute leaves no time to fix it.
• Paying tax but not filing. Self-assessment tax paid on time does not replace the return. The late fee still applies if the return is late.
• Confusing the audit report date with the ITR date. The audit report comes first; the ITR follows by its own due date.
• Thinking a belated return is "illegal". It is a fully valid return. It only costs a fee and some benefits, so file it rather than skip the year.
• Forgetting the regime choice for business income. If you have business income and want the old regime, Form 10-IEA has to be filed before the due date, separately from the return.
• Ignoring a small refund. A refund of even a few thousand rupees is lost if you never file. An updated return cannot be used to claim it later.

The new Income-tax Act and future due dates

The Income-tax Act, 2025 applies from 1 April 2026. Income earned in tax year 2026-27 (1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027) falls under the new Act, and its return will be filed in 2027. The new Act uses "tax year" in place of "previous year" and "assessment year", and renumbers sections such as 139, 234A and 234F. This page uses the familiar section numbers, and the tool will show the due dates notified for each year once they are added to the calendar.

Returns for income of FY 2025-26, filed during 2026, are for AY 2026-27 and follow the dates in the table above. Belated, revised and updated returns for earlier years also follow the rules of the year they relate to. If you are filing an old year's return now, check the specific rules for that year rather than this year's calendar.

Get it checked by an expert

Close to your due date, or already past it? A TaxCaller expert can confirm your correct deadline, work out any late fee and interest, and file your original, belated, revised or updated return with the right form. You are told the fee upfront before we begin, and the first call is free. See our income tax filing service to get started.