Income tax return due dates for AY 2026-27: a simple calendar

Filing your income tax return (ITR) late triggers a fixed late fee, interest on any outstanding tax, and — for businesses — a cascade of mismatched dates with your tax audit report. Here is the complete AY 2026-27 calendar (income earned in FY 2025-26), kept as simple as possible.

Your filing date, at a glance

Your due date depends on who you are and whether a tax audit applies to you.

The tax audit report comes first

If your business needs a tax audit, the audit report (Form 3CB and 3CD) must be filed before the ITR — by 30 September 2026. Miss the report and you cannot file a valid return by 31 October. Businesses with a turnover above ₹1 crore (or ₹10 crore in the presumptive-tax scheme) are typically in this group; the audit requirement depends on turnover, profits and which regime you opt into.

What missing a deadline costs

• Late filing fee (Section 234F): ₹5,000 if you file after the due date (₹1,000 if your total income is ₹5 lakh or less).
• Interest on unpaid tax: 1% per month under Section 234A, plus 234B / 234C charges for late or short advance-tax payments.
• Losses slip away: file late and you may lose the right to carry forward business losses.
• No revised return: a belated return cannot be revised later — the window closes for good.

TDS returns (Form 24Q / 26Q / 27Q)

Miss the audit report and you cannot file a valid return by 31 October — the report must land a month before the return.

Salary and other TDS deductions are reported quarterly, one month after each quarter ends: 31 July, 31 October and 31 January, with the final quarter due 31 May 2027. TDS itself must be deposited by the 7th of the following month, and Form 16 reaches employees by 15 June.