You had every intention of filing before July 31. Then work got in the way, or a document was missing, or the portal was crawling under the last-day traffic, and now it’s August and the return still isn’t in.
Good news first: you can still file. The Income Tax Department doesn’t lock you out just because the original due date has passed. What changes is the cost, and a few rights you’d otherwise have kept. Here’s exactly what a late filing costs you, and what your options look like from here.
The late fee under Section 234F
For Assessment Year (AY) 2026-27 (income earned in FY 2025-26), the original due date for salaried individuals and other non-business taxpayers was 31 July 2026. Miss it, and Section 234F kicks in when you file your belated return.
If your total income is below the basic exemption limit, there’s no fee. Above that but up to ₹5 lakh, you’re looking at ₹1,000. Cross ₹5 lakh in total income, and the fee jumps to ₹5,000.
That fee applies whether or not you actually owe any tax. A pure refund case with total income above ₹5 lakh can still attract the ₹5,000 fee. Don’t assume you’re exempt just because the department owes you money, not the other way around.
Interest under Section 234A
If you had tax payable on 31 July after accounting for advance tax, TDS and TCS already paid, Section 234A interest applies from the day after the due date until the date you file your return.
The interest is 1% per month or part of a month on the self-assessment tax due at the point of default. The amount on which interest is calculated does not reduce simply because you subsequently pay the self-assessment tax before filing. Section 234A compensates for the delay in filing, so the interest continues to be calculated on the applicable tax due for the entire period of delay, up to the date of filing.
Even one day into a new month counts as a full month.
Say you owe ₹15,000 in self-assessment tax and file 20 days late. That’s 1% of ₹15,000 for one part-month, so ₹150 in interest, stacked on top of the ₹5,000 late fee if your income is above ₹5 lakh. A 20-day delay just cost you ₹5,150.
You can still file until 31 December 2026
A belated return under Section 139(4) can be filed until 31 December 2026 for AY 2026-27. File any time before that and you’re still within the belated-return window, subject to the applicable fee and interest.
Miss even that window, and your route may be an updated return (ITR-U), which comes with a much steeper cost. File it within 12 months of the end of the relevant assessment year and you pay an extra 25% on top of the tax and interest due. Wait 12 to 24 months and that climbs to 50%. Push it to 24-36 months and it’s 60%, and by 36-48 months it’s 70%. On top of that, an ITR-U can’t be used to claim or increase a refund, and it can’t create or increase a loss. It exists purely to bring you into compliance, not to fix a return in your favour.
What you lose by filing late
Beyond the fee and interest, a belated return costs you the right to carry forward certain losses to future years, including business losses and short-term or long-term capital losses. If you had a loss to set off against future gains, that door closes once you file after the due date.
This only matters if you actually have losses to carry forward, so most salaried filers with no capital losses won’t feel this one at all.
Does this affect your tax regime choice?
Not for most salaried filers. The new tax regime is the default, but if you don’t have business or professional income, you can still choose the old regime at the time of filing, even in a belated return.
If you do have business or professional income and want the old regime, that choice runs through Form 10-IEA, and the timing rules there are stricter. If that’s your situation, it’s worth confirming your eligibility before you file rather than after.
What to do right now
File as soon as you can. Every extra month or part of a month adds to the Section 234A interest where tax is payable, while the late fee applies once you file after the due date, so there’s no upside to waiting further.
If you have self-assessment tax to pay, calculate and pay the amount due, but remember that paying it before filing does not reduce the Section 234A interest that has already accrued for the delay in filing. Interest under Section 234A is calculated up to the date of filing, not the date you eventually pay.
And if you have losses to carry forward, know that filing late has already forfeited that benefit for this year. That’s not a reason to delay further, just something to plan around next year.