The last date for Income Tax Return (ITR filing AY 2025-26) is now just 4 days away. This deadline will end on September 15, 2025. In such a situation, crores of taxpayers would like to see another extension in the return filing deadline. The finance ministry extended the deadline for taxpayers in May this year by 46 days, from July 31 to September 15. In this write-up, we will take a look at data pertaining to income tax returns (ITRs) filed, verified and processed by the tax department. Based on the figures, it can be said how realistic the chances are in favour of the ITR due date extension.
How many ITRs have been filed so far?
A total of 5.30 crore returns have been filed, according to data updated on the portal of the Income Tax Department till September 10. Out of these, 4.99 crore income tax returns have been verified and around 3.58 crore returns have been processed. However, there are still crores of returns to be filed and it is interesting to see how many more returns get filed till the September 15 deadline.
Taxpayers’ problems and anxiety
This year, many taxpayers and CAs say that glitches, Form 26AS and AIS data mismatch, and heavy traffic on the e-filing portal have made filing difficult. While the daily speed of ITR filing has been less than 20 lakh in the last few days, 2.7 crore returns are to be filed in the next 5 days (expecting that 10% more returns could be filed in the current assessment year). This means that more than 54 lakh ITRs will have to be filed every day, which is much more than the current trend.
Fear of penalty and late filing
For missing the ITR deadline, taxpayers may have to pay a penalty under section 234F. If your annual income is more than Rs 5 lakh and you do not file ITR on time, then a penalty of up to Rs 5,000 can be imposed. Those whose income is less than Rs 5 lakh will have to pay a penalty of Rs 1,000. Apart from this, late filing delays the refund and also does not get the benefit of loss carry forward.
Different deadlines for different taxpayers:
It is also important to know that September 15 is not the last date for all taxpayers.
The last date for individual salaried taxpayers was 31 July.
The due date for audit cases is 31 October.
The last date for companies and taxpayers with transfer pricing report is 30 November.
The deadline of September 15 applies only to select taxpayers.
Why was the filing delayed this year?
ITR forms and utilities were released late this year and the filing process also started later than usual. This is the reason why professionals say that taxpayers did not get enough time. This is the reason why the demand for ITR deadline extension 2025 has increased.
ITR filing process will change from next year
After the Income Tax Bill 2025 passed in the Monsoon Session of Parliament, the entire structure of ITR filing will change from next year. The government is expected to bring simplified return forms and new tax regime rules will be made the basis. This means that from AY 2026-27, taxpayers will get a new experience of ITR filing.
Summing up…
Now that the deadline is just 5 days away, taxpayers are requesting the government to extend the income tax return filing deadline for the assessment year 2025-26. The government is silent about ITR deadline extension 2025 and has constantly been sending taxpayers reminder about the deadline. Will all returns be filed by September 15, or will taxpayers get the surprise of extension – everyone’s eyes are on this.