For the first time, everyone under one roof might not share the same ITR deadline. Your salaried spouse may have already filed, while you, running a small business, still have a month left. The single 31 July date has been split into three.
Union Budget 2026 staggered the calendar: salaried and simple filers go first, non-audit business filers get till 31 August, audit cases till 31 October. Belated returns now stay open till 31 March instead of 31 December, and revised returns got the same extension, with a small fee after 1 January.
The forms shifted too, ITR-1 now covers two house properties, and capital gains and F&O reporting got simpler.
Filing isn’t the finish line either. E-verification, bank validation, and refund tracking still follow.
We’ve handpicked threads on these topics in today’s edition.
Which ITR deadline actually applies to you this year?
If you’ve always filed by 31 July out of habit, that date might no longer be yours. Union Budget 2026 split the single ITR deadline into three, depending on what you file and whether an audit applies. Even the belated return window shifted, and revising an old return now comes with a small catch if you wait too…Continue Reading
Can you file ITR-1 if you own two house properties this year?
Until last year, owning a second house property meant switching from the simpler ITR-1 to ITR-2, even if your only other income was rent. That requirement just got dropped. There’s also a cleaner way to report capital gains on shares sold this year, and F&O traders finally get dedicated fields instead of squeezing turnover and income into…Continue Reading
You’ve filed your ITR. Is your job actually done?
Submitting your return isn’t the same as completing it. Your ITR only counts once you’ve e-verified it, and skipping that step within the deadline makes the whole filing invalid. Then there’s your bank account, which needs to clear a separate validation process before any refund can reach it, and that alone can take…Continue Reading
If I miss my July or August deadline, what happens?
You can still file as a belated return without penalty until 31 March 2027. However, interest under Section 234A applies from your original due date, so waiting still costs you.
Is there a cost to filing a revised return this year?
Only if you file between 1 January and 31 March. The fee is ₹1,000 if your total income is below ₹5 lakh, and ₹5,000 if it’s above. Revising before that window remains free.
Did the income limit for ITR-1 also increase along with the house property change?
No. ITR-1 still caps at ₹50 lakh total income. Only the number of house properties allowed went up, from one to two.
Does anything change on the form if I’ve donated to a political party this year?
Yes. Claiming a deduction under Section 80GGC now requires you to enter the political party’s name and PAN. Missing either field means the deduction won’t go through.