The Income Tax Department announced a record 7.8 crore+ Income Tax Returns (ITRs) filed for Assessment Year 2026-27 as of August 31, 2026, surpassing the previous year's figures. As per Income Tax India, the department expressed sincere gratitude to taxpayers and professionals for their timely compliance, stating that "We sincerely thank the taxpayers and professionals for their timely compliance." This figure exceeds the 7.3 crore ITRs filed by the extended deadline of September 16, 2025, for AY 2025-26. Over 5.9 crore ITR-1 and ITR-2 forms were filed by the initial due date of July 31, 2026, demonstrating strong taxpayer compliance across different categories. As reported by Mint, the filing deadline for businesses and professionals is later than the due date for most individual taxpayers, with salaried individuals, students and pensioners having to file by July 31, 2026, while businesses and professionals whose accounts were not required to be audited had until August 31, 2026.
While August 31, 2026 was the deadline for non-audit taxpayers, certain taxpayers subject to tax audit generally have until October 31, 2026 to file their ITR for AY 2026-27. As reported by Mint, the department clarified that "For AY 2026-27, taxpayers whose accounts are required to be audited under Section 44AB generally have an ITR filing deadline of October 31, 2026." The tax audit report is due one month before the ITR filing deadline, with the income tax department describing the Section 44AB "specified date" as one month before the due date for filing the return. Businesses whose accounts are required to be audited under Section 44AB generally fall under the October 31 deadline, while professionals whose income or receipts meet applicable audit conditions may also have this later filing deadline. The statutory ITR due dates remain fixed unless the government announces extensions or issues specific administrative clarifications due to exceptional circumstances.
As reported by Mint, an individual or business is considered a tax-audit taxpayer if conditions under Section 44AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961 are met. Siddharth Maurya, Managing Director of Vibhavangal Anukulkara, explained that such taxpayers are required to get their books of account audited by a Chartered Accountant, verifying financial information such as turnover, receipts and expenses. For businesses, the threshold is ₹1 crore in profits, but rises to ₹10 crore where cash receipts and payments are less than 5% of total receipts and payments respectively. For professionals, the general threshold is ₹50 lakh in gross receipts. Some taxpayers may assume they are outside the audit requirement because they use presumptive taxation, however, certain cases involving income below the prescribed level or losses can trigger tax-audit requirements. The provision also applies to taxpayers opting out of presumptive taxation schemes such as Sections 44AD, 44ADA, 44AE, 44BB, and 44BBB, or those declaring lower income than prescribed under these schemes, subject to conditions including exceeding the maximum exemption limit.
Various ITR forms cater to different taxpayer categories, including individuals, HUFs, firms, companies, and trusts. ITR-3 is filed by individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) with income from a proprietary business or profession, while ITR-4 is a simpler form that caters to small and medium taxpayers. ITR-5 is filed by firms and Limited Liability Partnership and Cooperative Societies, ITR-6 by companies registered under Companies Act, and ITR-7 by trusts and charitable institutions. Taxpayers are required to file tax audit reports (Form 3CA/3CD/3CB/3CD), along with the application for tax audit, with the tax-audit report due by 30 September 2026. Partners of firms whose accounts are subject to audit may have the later filing deadline, subject to applicable tax rules. As reported by Mint, these audit reports must be filed electronically in prescribed forms, which include Form 3CA and Form 3CB. The tax audit report must be completed before the specified date, defined as one month prior to the due date for filing the ITR.
Missing the August 31, 2026 deadline does not eliminate filing opportunities, as taxpayers can still file a belated ITR for AY 2026-27 up to December 31, 2026, or before completion of assessment, whichever is earlier. However, filing after the original due date attracts penalties - ₹1,000 for taxpayers with total income not exceeding ₹5 lakh, and ₹5,000 for others. Additionally, interest at 1% per month is charged on outstanding tax liability. The Income Tax Department stated that returns for this assessment year remain regulated by the Income-tax Act, 1961, despite the Income Tax Act, 2025 taking effect from 1 April 2026. The new act is said to have removed obsolete provisions and simplified the language in a more coherent format, with earlier predictions suggesting it may lead to higher voluntary compliance.
