Income tax return due dates for AY 2026-27 — and whether they have been extended
FY 2025-26 · AY 2026-27
No. As of 14 August 2026, no extension has been notified for AY 2026-27.
Checked 14 August 2026 · Reviewed by an ICAI-qualified Chartered Accountant
Which deadline applies to you depends on whether your accounts are subject to tax audit, and on which return you file. Those are two different tests, and getting them mixed up is the most common reason people file late believing they were on time.
The dates below are for assessment year 2026-27, covering the financial year that ended on 31 March 2026. Each row links to the source it was checked against, with the date we checked it.
The dates
| What | Due | Applies to | If you miss it |
|---|---|---|---|
| ITR-1 and ITR-2Section 139(1) | 31 July 2026 | Salaried individuals and HUFs with no business or professional income, not subject to audit | Late fee under Section 234F, plus interest under Section 234A on any unpaid tax |
| ITR-3 and ITR-4Section 139(1) | 31 August 2026 | Business and professional income where tax audit does not apply | Late fee under Section 234F, plus interest under Section 234A on any unpaid tax |
| Tax audit reportForm 3CA or 3CB, with Form 3CD | 30 September 2026 | Assessees whose accounts must be audited under Section 44AB | Penalty under Section 271B — the lower of 0.5% of turnover or ₹1,50,000 |
| Income tax return, audit casesSection 139(1) | 31 October 2026 | Assessees subject to tax audit, and trusts required to have accounts audited | Late fee under Section 234F, plus interest under Section 234A |
| Belated or revised returnSection 139(4) and Section 139(5) | 31 December 2026 | Anyone who missed the original date, or needs to correct a return already filed | Fee under Section 234F: ₹1,000 where total income is up to ₹5,00,000, ₹5,000 otherwise |
The audit report and the return have separate deadlines — 30 September and 31 October. They are frequently treated as one date, and filing the report late carries its own penalty under Section 271B regardless of when the return goes in.
Filing a belated return costs more than the fee. Losses other than house-property loss cannot be carried forward, and interest under Section 234A runs from the original due date rather than the date you eventually file.
Extensions are announced by CBDT circular, usually close to the deadline. This page is checked at the start of every month and whenever a notification lands; the status at the top and the changelog below both carry the date.
Questions people ask
- Has the ITR deadline been extended for AY 2026-27?
- No. As of 14 August 2026 the Central Board of Direct Taxes has not notified any extension for AY 2026-27. Extensions do happen, usually within days of a deadline, and they arrive as a CBDT circular — so treat the original date as the real one until one is published.
- Which date applies to me?
- If your accounts are subject to tax audit under Section 44AB, your return is due 31 October 2026 and your audit report 30 September 2026. If not, it depends on the return: 31 July 2026 for ITR-1 and ITR-2, and 31 August 2026 for ITR-3 and ITR-4.
- What happens if I miss the deadline?
- You can still file a belated return up to 31 December 2026. It carries a fee under Section 234F — ₹1,000 if your total income is up to ₹5,00,000 and ₹5,000 above that — plus interest under Section 234A on unpaid tax. You also lose the ability to carry forward most losses.
- Is the tax audit report due on the same day as the return?
- No, and this catches people out. The audit report under Section 44AB is due a month before the return: 30 September against 31 October. Missing the report deadline attracts a separate penalty under Section 271B.
- Can I revise a return after filing it?
- Yes, under Section 139(5), up to 31 December 2026 for AY 2026-27. A revised return replaces the original entirely, so file it complete rather than as a correction to what came before.
What has changed
Every change to this page, with the date it happened.
- 14 August 2026Per-row source and checked-on cleared. They had been pre-filled with a single date and a generic portal link, which claimed a row-by-row verification that had not happened. Each row gets its own source and date when it is actually checked.
- 14 August 2026Page drafted for AY 2026-27. Dates compiled from published sources and pending review by an ICAI-qualified CA before publication.
Where the dates come from
Dates are checked against the source portal or the notification they come from. Where a row has been checked individually it links to its own source and shows the date. If something here disagrees with the portal, the portal is right and we want to know — tell us and we will fix it.
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