ITR Filing Deadline 2025 Extension Updates: The CBDT, the country’s apex body on direct taxes, on Monday extended by one day the last date for ITR filing for the assessment year 2025-26. Now, September 16 is the last date to file the income tax returns.
Tax professionals and bodies had been urging the income tax department to extend the deadline. However, the income tax department had earlier said that the current September 15 deadline remains intact and warned taxpayers against a fake message that is spreading widely on social media and messaging apps about the deadline extension.
“The due date for filing of income tax returns (ITRs) for AY 2025-26, originally due on July 31, 2025, was extended to September 15, 2025. The CBDT has decided to further extend the due date for filing these ITRs for AY 2025-26 from September 15, 2025, to September 16, 2025,” the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a late-night circular on Monday.
“To enable changes in the utilities, the e-filing portal will remain in maintenance mode from 12:00 am to 02:30 am on 16th September 2025,” according to the CBDT statement issued at 11.48 pm on September 15.
The extension in the ITR deadline came after chartered accountants and individuals took to social media to complain of glitches on the e-filing portal.
A record over 7.3 crore income tax returns (ITRs) have been filed till September 15, surpassing last year’s 7.28 crore, said the income tax department.
Who Must File ITR By September 16?
The new September 16 deadline is for non-audit taxpayers, including most salaried individuals, pensioners, NRIs, and those whose accounts do not require audit. For audit ITRs, the deadline remains October 31.
Usually, the ITR filing deadline every year is July 31. However, this year, the last date for filing non-audit returns was pushed to September 15 from the usual July 31 deadline, owing to delays in the release of updated ITR forms. The extension came after several tweaks were required following the interim Budget’s changes to the capital gains tax framework.
What Happens If You Miss Today’s Deadline?
Taxpayers filing after September 16 face a penalty of Rs 5,000 under Section 234F, though the fine is capped at Rs 1,000 for those with income below Rs 5 lakh. Late filers also lose the ability to carry forward certain losses, risk refund delays and may attract closer scrutiny from the tax department.
With the clock ticking, the department is urging taxpayers to file early to avoid last-minute issues. Whether the deadline is extended once again remains to be seen.
