Taxpayers who file ITR-3 or ITR-4 and have business or professional income that is not subject to audit are now granted an additional month to file their ITRs until August 31, 2026.
Pause if you have been filing your Income Tax Return (ITR) automatically each July. The income tax has updated the deadline map for Assessment Year 2026–2027 based on your income from FY 2025–2026. There is no longer a single July 31st date that applies to everyone. The ITR form you fill will determine your due date.
The big change: staggered ITR deadlines
The previous one-size-fits-all July deadline was broken by Budget 2026. The deadline is still July 31, 2026, for salaried people, retirees, and investors filing ITR-1 or ITR-2, including those with salaries, capital gains, interest, or one or two home properties.
However, taxpayers who file ITR-3 or ITR-4 and have business or professional income that is not auditable are now granted an additional month until August 31, 2026. Freelancers, consultants, physicians, solicitors, small business owners, partners, and others subject to presumptive taxes who previously had to rush against the same July deadline as salaried filers will truly benefit from this. They have more time for bookkeeping, reconciliation, and cleaner returns thanks to the additional weeks.
| Taxpayer Category | ITR Filing Due Date |
|---|---|
| ITR-1 & ITR-2 (Salaried Individuals & Non-Business Taxpayers) | 31 July 2026 |
| ITR-3 & ITR-4 (Business/Profession – Non-Audit Cases) | 31 August 2026 |
| Tax Audit Cases | 31 October 2026 |
| Transfer Pricing Cases | 30 November 2026 |
| Belated Return | 31 December 2026 |
| Revised Return | 31 March 2027 |
The second modification is an extended revision window.
Up until now, the deadline for filing a revised return was December 31 of the assessment year. That timeframe begins this year and ends on March 31, 2027, the last day of the assessment year. You now have far more time to make corrections if you discover an AIS mismatch, a missed Section 80C claim, or a reporting issue after filing.
It costs more than a charge if you miss the date.
For this year, one more thing
The final filing season under the previous Income Tax Act of 1961 is AY 2026–2027. The forms you currently use are still the old-Act forms, but the new Income Tax Act, 2025 went into force on April 1, 2026, and it will control returns for the following year.
Due to portal issues, last year’s July deadline was rescheduled till mid-September; nonetheless, consider this an isolated incident rather than a trend. Before filing, reconcile your Form 16 with Form 26AS and AIS, compare the two regimes, and e-verify within 30 days of submittal.
