Over 7.8 crore ITRs filed for AY 2026-27 by August 31: Income Tax Department
- IBEF
- September 2, 2026
More than 7.8 crore Income Tax Returns (ITRs) were filed for Assessment Year (AY) 2026-27 as of 31st August, setting a record, according to the Income Tax Department. The 31st of August deadline marked the end of the revised statutory deadline for taxpayers with business or professional income whose accounts are not required to be audited, under the revised return-filing schedule introduced through amendments to the Income-tax Act, 1961 under the Finance Act, 2026. Under this framework, non-audit business and professional taxpayers had until 31st August to file, while the deadline for other non-audit individual taxpayers was 31st July, effectively giving the former group an additional month. For companies and taxpayers requiring audited accounts, the due date is 31st October, while those covered under transfer-pricing provisions under Section 92E have until 30th November.
Tax audit under Section 44AB is generally required for businesses with total sales, turnover or gross receipts exceeding Rs. 1 crore (US$ 104,776), rising to Rs. 10 crore (US$ 1.05 million) where cash receipts and payments stay within 5% of totals. For professionals, the audit threshold is gross receipts exceeding Rs. 50 lakh (US$ 52,388). AY 2026-27 relates to income earned in financial year 2025-26. Taxpayers who miss their due date can file a belated return until 31st December 2026, attracting a late fee of Rs. 1,000 (US$ 10.48) where total income does not exceed Rs. 5 lakh (US$ 5,239), or Rs. 5,000 (US$ 52.39) in other cases. A 30-day window is provided for e-verification after filing.
Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.
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