Did not file your ITR yet? Why waiting for a deadline extension could hurt your wallet

The income tax return (ITR) filing deadline is now less than a week away, and more than 3.6 crore returns have already been filed for Assessment Year (AY) 2026-27. However, millions of taxpayers are still yet to submit their returns.

If you are delaying the process in the hope that the government will announce another extension this year, you may want to rethink that prospect.

Although the Centre extended the filing deadline last year, allowing taxpayers to file their returns by September 16, 2025, tax experts have repeatedly warned that a similar relief may not be given this year.

Hence, taxpayers are advised to stick to the existing deadline instead of waiting for an extension that may never come. In case, you end up missing the tax return deadline of July 31, 2026 (For those filing ITR-1 and ITR-2), the consequences will not only be costly but you may also miss out on certain benefits.

Why an extension appears unlikely?

A deadline extension may not happen as the government has already staggered this year’s ITR filing deadlines based on when the tax return forms were notified. The ITR-1 and ITR-2 forms were released ahead of schedule, allowing taxpayers to begin filing as usual, according to Archit Gupta, CEO of Cleartax.

On top of that, the MoS Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said this week that despite the substantial increase in load, the e-filing portal has been functioning in a largely stable and efficient manner during the ongoing peak filing period. The government is also taking certain measures to ensure this stability remains.

The-filing portal’s performance is being monitored through a dedicated daily and hourly monitoring dashboard that is tracking login, income tax returns filed, Annual Information Statement (AIS) or compliance portal redirections, payment gateway status, error codes and other operational indicators, the minister said in a written response to a query on Lok Sabha.

He also added that any technical issue reported on the portal is identified, escalated and resolved within a defined timeline. This suggest the government is better prepared to handle portal-related disruptions, reducing the likelihood of an extension on account of technical glitches.

Why missing the deadline may be a costly mistake?

Under Section 234F of the Income-tax Act, taxpayers who miss the ITR filing deadline can still submit a belated return by December 31st of the relevant assessment year but that comes with a late filing fee.

A taxpayer will be charged ₹5,000 as penalty if their total income exceeds ₹5 lakh in a financial year and ₹1,000 if their total income is up to ₹5 lakh.

Apart from that, if you have outstanding tax dues and miss the ITR deadline, you will also have to pay simple interest of 1% per month or part of the month on the unpaid tax amount. The interest is calculated from the applicable due date for the relevant financial year until the date the return is actually filed.

Missing the tax return deadline can have consequences beyond a late filing fee and interest. In most cases, taxpayers who file a belated return cannot carry forward certain losses to future years, meaning they lose the opportunity to set them off against future gains. If you are expecting a tax refund, then filing ITR on time also helps in ensuring that your refund is processed sooner.