The ITR due date for salaried and other non-audit taxpayers filing ITR-1 or ITR-2 for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) was 31 July 2026, and the CBDT did not extend it. ITR-3 and ITR-4 filers without audit had until 31 August 2026. If you missed your date, you can still file a belated return until 31 December 2026 — with a Section 234F late fee of ₹1,000 if total income is up to ₹5 lakh, ₹5,000 above that, plus Section 234A interest of 1% per month on any unpaid tax, and you lose the right to carry forward business and capital losses. Separately, the second advance-tax instalment is due on 15 September 2026: by that date you must have paid 45% of your estimated tax for FY 2026-27.
Last year's extension to 15 September 2025 has created a lot of confusion this year. That extension happened because ITR forms and utilities were released late in 2025; this year they arrived on schedule and the department signalled early that an extension was not coming. Several sites still quote 15 September 2026 as the salaried due date. It is not. The dates below are from the Income Tax Department's own calendar as reflected on ClearTax's and IndiaFilings' due-date pages as of 5 September 2026.
Where you stand on 5 September
| Taxpayer | Original due date | Status today | Belated return window |
|---|
| Salaried, pensioners, ITR-1 / ITR-2 (no audit) | 31 July 2026 | **Missed** | Until 31 December 2026 |
| Business / professional income, ITR-3 / ITR-4, no audit | 31 August 2026 | **Missed** | Until 31 December 2026 |
| Accounts requiring tax audit | 31 October 2026 | Open | — |
| Transfer-pricing cases | 30 November 2026 | Open | — |
What a belated return costs
Three separate consequences stack, and people usually only budget for the first.
Late fee, Section 234F. ₹1,000 if your total income is up to ₹5 lakh; ₹5,000 above that. It is a flat fee, not a percentage, and it applies even if you have no tax to pay. If your income is below the basic exemption limit, no fee applies — but you would still file to claim a refund.
Interest, Section 234A. 1% per month or part of a month on the unpaid self-assessment tax, from the day after the due date until you file. Filing in the second week of September on a 31 July due date already counts as two months (August, and part of September). On ₹40,000 of unpaid tax that is ₹800 so far and another ₹400 every month you wait.
Lost carry-forward. Business losses and capital losses can only be carried forward if the original return was filed by the due date. File belated and those losses die with the year — the exception is loss under the head "house property", which survives a late filing. For anyone who booked equity or crypto losses in FY 2025-26 to set off against future gains, this is the expensive line, and it is why filing this week beats filing in December.
Two other things a belated return cannot do: you cannot switch tax regimes after the due date if you have business income (the choice is locked), and a belated return can itself be revised only until 31 December — the same end date.
How to file it this week
The mechanics are identical to an on-time return; you select "139(4) — belated" as the filing section and the portal computes the fee and interest. Before you start, collect the documents: Form 16, AIS/TIS, Form 26AS, interest certificates, capital-gains statements from your broker, and rent receipts if you claim HRA under the old regime. The ITR document checklist generator builds the list for your income mix, and the ITR form selector tells you which form you are on if you are unsure. For the step-by-step portal walk-through, our ITR filing guide for AY 2026-27 is still current; the only difference for a belated filing is the section selection and the extra lines on the tax computation.
If you have already filed on time and spotted an error, that is a revised return — free until 31 December, and it does not trigger 234F.
If you miss 31 December too
There is one more door, and it is expensive: the updated return, ITR-U, can be filed up to 48 months from the end of the assessment year — for AY 2026-27 that is 31 March 2031 — but only to declare additional income and pay additional tax with a surcharge that rises the longer you wait. You cannot use ITR-U to claim a refund or increase a loss. Treat it as a way to come clean, not a way to file late.
The other deadline: advance tax on 15 September
This one is for the current year, FY 2026-27, and it is ten days away. Advance tax applies if your estimated tax liability for the year, after TDS, is ₹10,000 or more. Resident senior citizens with no business or professional income are exempt. The schedule under Section 211 is cumulative:
| Instalment due date | Cumulative share of the year's tax |
|---|
| 15 June 2026 | 15% |
| **15 September 2026** | **45%** |
| 15 December 2026 | 75% |
| 15 March 2027 | 100% |
Presumptive-scheme taxpayers under Sections 44AD and 44ADA pay the whole amount in one go by 15 March, so freelancers and consultants on 44ADA can ignore the September date — but only if they are actually on the presumptive scheme, not just eligible for it.
The cost of skipping an instalment is Section 234C interest: 1% per month for three months on the shortfall against the 45% mark, and if by 31 March you have paid less than 90% of the final liability, Section 234B adds another 1% per month from April until you pay. Neither is ruinous on its own; both compound with a belated-return problem if you have one. Salaried employees whose only income is salary usually have nothing to pay here because TDS covers it — the people who get caught are those with capital gains, rental income, freelance income on the side, or interest from FDs that the bank deducts at only 10%.
Estimate the number with the advance tax calculator — it takes your projected income by head, subtracts expected TDS and tells you the 15 September amount — and sanity-check the underlying liability in the income tax calculator under whichever regime you plan to use. Pay through the e-Pay Tax service on the portal using challan ITNS 280, code 100 for advance tax, and keep the challan; it is what you will match against 26AS next year.
Priority order for the next ten days
Quick answers
Was the ITR deadline extended to 15 September 2026?
No. The 31 July 2026 due date for ITR-1 and ITR-2 stood, and 31 August for non-audit ITR-3 and ITR-4. The 15 September date that keeps circulating is last year's extension and this year's advance-tax instalment — two different things.
Will I still get my refund on a belated return?
Yes. A belated return is processed like any other and a refund due is paid, with interest under Section 244A calculated from the date of filing rather than from April. You pay the 234F fee and any 234A interest as part of the self-assessment tax before submitting.
Is there a late fee if my income is below the exemption limit?
No Section 234F fee applies if your total income is below the basic exemption limit. You would still file to claim a refund of TDS or to keep a clean filing history for a visa or a loan.
Do salaried employees need to pay advance tax?
Usually not, because TDS on salary covers the liability. You do need to if income from other sources — capital gains, rent, freelance work, FD interest taxed at only 10% — leaves ₹10,000 or more of tax unpaid after TDS for the year.
Are senior citizens exempt from advance tax?
Resident individuals aged 60 or above with no income from business or profession are exempt under Section 207. Seniors with business income, and all non-residents, follow the normal instalment schedule.
If you have booked losses you want to carry forward, the belated return is already too late for that purpose — file anyway to stop the 234A clock and get the refund flowing. If you have unpaid self-assessment tax, pay it today before filing; interest stops at payment, not at filing. Then compute the 15 September advance-tax instalment and pay it by the 15th — the portal is reliably slow on the 14th and 15th. And if all of this is for a client or a side business, the AY 2026-27 filing checklist PDF and the ITR form selection flowchart are the two printouts we keep on the desk in September. For the changes in this year's forms themselves, see the new ITR forms explainer. Every product mentioned is available at wowhow.cloud — pay once, ship forever.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. Due dates, fees and interest rates are as published by the Income Tax Department for AY 2026-27 as of 5 September 2026 and can change by notification. Consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.
Originally published at wowhow.cloud
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