With 6 crore Indians already having filed their Income Tax Returns, failure to file income tax returns on time is likely to be a risky proposition.
The deadline to file the Income Tax Return (ITR) for assessment year 2025-26 has been set as on Monday, September 15, 2025.
With barely few moments left, retired, senior citizens, salaried employees, freelancers, professionals, and businesses alike have been in a hurry mode during the weekend to meet the ITR deadline.
But what if you miss the cut-off? Not filing ITR on time can invite a penalty.
The Income Tax Department charges a late fee under Section 234F of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The amount of this fine depends on your income:
If your total income is more than ₹5 lakh, the late fee is ₹5,000.
If your income is below ₹5 lakh, the fine is ₹1,000.
In past years, deadlines were sometimes extended due to GST reforms or portal glitches. But this year, officials have said extensions are unlikely, unless there are major technical issues. This year too many professionals and industry bodies requested the IT department and Finance Minister to consider extending the deadline. However there has been no update to this regards as of the time of publishing this story.
As of Saturday, it has been reported that for AY 2024-25, a record 7.28 crore ITRs were filed up to July 31, 2024, compared to 6.77 crore in AY 2023-24, registering a 7.5 percent year-on-year growth.
