ITR Filing & Compliance Guide

Pick the form that matches your income. If you file the wrong one, the department treats it as if you never filed. For FY 2026-27, a late return also draws a fee under Section 234F, up to ₹5,000 when total income is above ₹5,00,000, and interest under Section 234A at 1% a month on the tax still unpaid. The form downloads are on the Income Tax Department return page. The Act text is on the Income-tax Act, 2025 hub.

Official sources

Income-tax Act, 2025 (CBDT hub)
Income-tax return forms
Section 115BAC, the new regime
Presumptive taxation for Sections 44AD and 44ADA
Annual Information Statement
Form 26AS, how to view it from the e-filing site

Which ITR form should you file?

A wrong form is treated as no return filed, so the late-filing fee applies as if you never filed. The official forms are on the Income Tax Department return page.

Form	Who Files	Key Conditions
ITR-1 (SAHAJ)	Salaried individuals	Resident, salary + 1 house property + other sources, total income ≤ ₹50L, no capital gains, no VDA, no foreign assets
ITR-2	Individuals & HUFs without business income	Includes capital gains, multiple house properties, VDA income, foreign assets, agricultural income above ₹5,000
ITR-3	Business / profession income	Any person with income from business or profession. Includes partners with remuneration from firm
ITR-4 (SUGAM)	Presumptive business income	Section 44AD / 44ADA / 44AE, total income ≤ ₹50L. Individual, HUF, and firm (other than LLP)

HOW TO PICK

Resident, with salary, one house property, and other sources, total income at or below ₹50 lakh, and no capital gains, no virtual digital assets (VDA), and no foreign assets: ITR-1. Capital gains, more than one house, VDA, foreign assets, or agricultural income above ₹5,000, and no business income: ITR-2. An HUF is a Hindu Undivided Family. Business or professional income, including pay you take as a partner in a firm: ITR-3. Presumptive income under Section 44AD, 44ADA, or 44AE, and total income at or below ₹50 lakh: ITR-4. That form is for an individual, an HUF, or a firm that is not a limited liability partnership (LLP). If you have no business income and you are unsure, file ITR-2. It covers the non-business cases above.

Filing deadlines

Miss the date and you pay the late fee under Section 234F, interest under Section 234A, and you can lose the right to carry some losses forward.

Category	Deadline	Who
Non-audit cases	31 July 2027	Salaried, freelancers, small businesses, individuals without audit requirement
Audit cases (Section 44AB)	31 October 2027	Businesses requiring tax audit, partners of audited firms
Transfer pricing cases	30 November 2027	Entities with international or specified domestic transactions requiring TP report
Revised / Updated return	31 Dec 2027 (revised) / 24 months from AY end (updated)	Anyone correcting errors in original return

BUSINESS LOSS CARRY-FORWARD

To carry a business loss forward, file by the original due date, 31 July or 31 October. A belated return is one you file after that date. File late and you lose the right to carry forward business losses to later years, except in specific cases.

Late filing fee (Section 234F)

File after the due date and Section 234F charges a flat fee based on total income. You pay this as well as interest under Section 234A.

Total Income	Penalty (234F)
Up to ₹2,50,000	NIL
₹2,50,001 to ₹5,00,000	₹1,000
Above ₹5,00,000	₹5,000

warning PLUS INTEREST UNDER 234A

On top of the 234F fee, you pay 1% a month (or part of a month) under Section 234A on the tax still unpaid. The interest runs from the original due date until the day you actually file.

WHAT THREE MONTHS COSTS

Income ₹12L, tax ₹80,000, filed 3 months late. Fee: ₹5,000 (234F). Interest: ₹80,000 × 1% × 3 = ₹2,400 (234A). Extra cost: ₹7,400.

Advance tax

If the tax left after TDS is more than ₹10,000, you pay advance tax in instalments. A shortfall draws interest under Sections 234B and 234C.

Due Date	Cumulative % of Total Tax
15 June 2026	15%
15 September 2026	45%
15 December 2026	75%
15 March 2027	100%

check_circle Salary already covered by TDS

If your employer deducts the full tax and you have no other income, you do not pay advance tax on top. The TDS counts as advance tax.

check_circle 44AD / 44ADA: one instalment

Presumptive taxpayers pay 100% of the advance tax in one instalment by 15 March.

INTEREST ON A SHORTFALL: 234B AND 234C

234B: 1% a month on the shortfall if the advance tax you paid is less than 90% of the total tax.
234C: 1% a month on the gap between the instalment that was due and the amount you paid, when what you paid is below the cumulative percentage. Both start from the month after the due date.

Revised return (Section 139(5))

If the original return has a mistake, or you left something out, you can file a revised return under Section 139(5).

check_circle Deadline

File it before 31 December 2027 (the end of the assessment year), or before the assessing officer finishes the assessment, whichever is earlier.

check_circle What you can fix

You can correct the income figures, claim a deduction you missed, change the tax regime, fix the bank account for a refund, or add income you left out by mistake.

warning When you cannot revise

You cannot revise once the assessment for that year is already finished. The revision has to go in before the assessing officer completes it.

REVISED AND UPDATED ARE DIFFERENT

A revised return corrects mistakes and omissions. An updated return under Section 139(8A) is how you add income that was never reported. The next section is that return.

Updated return (Section 139(8A))

Budget 2022 added the updated return. You use it to report extra income that was not in the original return or in a revised return. You pay additional tax, at the rate in the table.

Filing Window	Additional Tax
Within 12 months from end of AY	25% of additional tax
Between 12 and 24 months from end of AY	50% of additional tax

warning LIMITS

You can only add income you left out. You cannot reduce income or claim a larger refund.
You can file more than one updated return. The latest one is the one that counts.
You cannot file one if you filed a loss return. An updated return cannot be used to claim a loss or to increase a loss.
You cannot file one while an assessment or reassessment for that year is still pending.

WHEN PEOPLE USE IT

You forgot bank FD interest. A payment never went into the original return. You had foreign income you did not report. File the updated return and pay the extra tax plus the additional tax in the table.

Tax audit limits (Section 44AB)

Cross these limits and a chartered accountant has to audit your accounts. The audit report (Form 3CA, 3CB, or 3CD) has to be filed before the ITR due date.

Category	Threshold
Business (regular scheme)	Turnover > ₹1 crore
Business (≥95% digital transactions)	Turnover > ₹10 crore
Profession	Gross receipts > ₹50 lakh

AN AUDIT MOVES THE DUE DATE

If Section 44AB applies, the ITR due date moves from 31 July to 31 October. If you also have transfer pricing, it moves to 30 November.

Form 16, AIS, and TIS

Check four statements before you file. If two of them disagree, the department can ask you to explain the difference.

description Form 16 FROM EMPLOYER

This is the yearly TDS certificate for salary. Part A is the tax deducted: the employer's PAN, the TDS amount, and the break-up by quarter. Part B is the salary break-up and the taxable income. Your employer issues it by 15 June.

info Form 26AS ANNUAL STATEMENT

This is the tax statement for the year. It lists TDS from every deductor (your employer, banks, clients), tax collected at source, refunds, and tax you paid yourself. Steps to open it are on the Form 26AS page.

summarize AIS (Annual Information Statement) WHAT THE DEPARTMENT HAS

The AIS lists the transactions on your record: salary, interest, dividends, mutual fund purchases, property, and foreign remittances. This is the set the department can see. If a transaction is here and not in your return, they can ask about it. How to open it is on the AIS page.

checklist TIS (Taxpayer Information Summary) AIS, ADDED UP

The TIS is the AIS added up by category. Compare those totals with the figures in your return.

IF THE FIGURES DO NOT MATCH

If Form 16 shows salary of ₹8,00,000 and the AIS shows ₹10,00,000, the department can ask about the difference. Check Form 16 against Form 26AS, the AIS, and the return. Report the income even when nobody deducted TDS.

Compliance dates, FY 2026-27

Dates for FY 2026-27. The Form 16 section above says your employer issues it by 15 June. The July entry in this list says 15 July.

APR

APR 2026 Regime Choice

The new regime is the default. To use the old regime, file the return under that regime.

JUN

JUN 2026 Advance Tax 1

Pay 15% of your total tax by 15 June.

JUL

JUL 2026 Form 16

Receive Form 16 from your employer by 15 July.

JUL

JUL 2027 ITR Filing

File by 31 July if you are not audited, 31 October if you are, and 30 November in a transfer-pricing case.

SEP

SEP 2026 Advance Tax 2

Advance tax paid so far should reach 45% by 15 September.

DEC

DEC 2026 Advance Tax 3

Advance tax paid so far should reach 75% by 15 December.

DEC

DEC 2027 Revised Return

Last date for a revised return for FY 2026-27 is 31 December 2027.

MAR

MAR 2027 Advance Tax 4

Pay 100% of the tax by 15 March. Presumptive taxpayers pay this as one instalment.

FOUR ADVANCE-TAX DATES

Miss one instalment and interest under Section 234C applies. The four dates are 15 June, 15 September, 15 December, and 15 March. If you are not audited, the ITR date is 31 July.