ITR Due Dates 2026: 31 July, 31 August or 21 November?

For AY 2026-27 (income earned from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026) there are now three main ITR due dates, and which one is yours depends on how you earn, not on which ITR form you pick:

• 31 July 2026: salaried people, pensioners and anyone else with no business or professional income.
• 31 August 2026: people with business or professional income whose accounts don't need an audit. This covers most freelancers, consultants and small traders on the presumptive scheme.
• 21 November 2026: people whose accounts must be audited, companies, and partners of audited firms. The normal date is 31 October; CBDT Circular 07/2026, dated 28 September 2026, moved it.

The 31 August slot is new this year. Until AY 2025-26, non-audit business cases shared the 31 July date with salaried people. The Finance Act, 2026 rewrote the due-date table in section 139(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 with effect from 1 March 2026, so it already applies to returns for AY 2026-27.

The due-date table for AY 2026-27

Explanation 2 to section 139(1) now sets the due dates in a four-row table. In plain terms:

The CBDT's e-filing validation rules for ITR-4 for AY 2026-27 state the same thing from the portal's side: the due date under section 139(1) is 31 August of the assessment year unless extended.

Which row are you in?

Match your income, not your job title:

Two cases trip people up:

1. A salaried person with a small F&O account. F&O trading is business income, so the return moves to row 3 and the 31 August date. If losses or turnover push the account into a tax audit, row 2 applies instead.
2. A freelancer who declares less than the presumptive income. Under section 44ADA, declaring profit below 50% of receipts when total income is above the basic exemption limit brings in an audit, and with it row 2. Our guide to tax audit and presumptive taxation covers the limits.

What Circular 07/2026 changed, and what it didn't

Circular 07/2026 was issued on 28 September 2026 under section 119 of the 1961 Act, read with section 536 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (the section that keeps the old Act running for AY 2026-27 and earlier). It does two things:

• extends the return due date for row 2 persons only from 31 October 2026 to 21 November 2026, and
• as a result, extends the date for the tax audit report under section 44AB to 21 October 2026.

It does not move the 31 July or 31 August dates, the 30 November date for transfer pricing cases, or the 31 December 2026 deadline for belated returns. If you were in row 3 or row 4 and missed your date, the circular doesn't help you; the belated, revised and updated return deadlines are the route left.

What missing your due date costs

A return filed after your row's date, but by 31 December 2026, is a belated return under section 139(4). The cost:

• Late fee under section 234F: ₹1,000 if total income is up to ₹5 lakh, ₹5,000 otherwise.
• Interest under section 234A: 1% a month on unpaid tax from the day after the due date until you pay.
• Losses: business losses and capital losses can't be carried forward from a belated return. A house property loss can.
• Old regime choice: if you have no business income and want the old regime, you must choose it in a return filed by the section 139(1) due date. The ITR validation rules block the old-regime option after the due date.

Worked example

Ravi is a freelance designer on section 44ADA with receipts of ₹18,00,000 and declared income of ₹9,00,000. He has ₹14,000 of tax left after TDS and advance tax.

Under the old 31 July rule, his 20 August return would have been belated. This year it's on time.

Interest under section 234A runs for each month or part of a month, on tax rounded down to the nearest ₹100; the ITR utility works it out for you.

The 2027 dates under the new Act

Income earned from 1 April 2026 falls under the Income-tax Act, 2025, which calls the year Tax Year 2026-27 instead of AY 2027-28. The Finance Act, 2026 made the same change to its return section, section 263, so returns filed in 2027 will be due on 31 July 2027 for most individuals, 31 August 2027 for non-audit business and professional cases and 31 October 2027 for audit cases, unless CBDT extends them. The revised-return window under section 263(5) runs 12 months from the end of the tax year, and the late and revision fees move to section 428. If you are unsure which law a notice falls under, read which Act applies to which year.

If you file for several family members, myutils.me lists each PAN's ITR status per assessment year after you add the PAN or press Sync, so you can see whose AY 2026-27 return is still not filed or not e-verified. It is an independent app that reads the portal for you; filing itself happens on the portal.

FAQ

Is the ITR due date for salaried people extended to 31 August 2026?

No. The 31 August date applies to people with business or professional income who don't need an audit. Salaried people with no business income stay at 31 July 2026.

Does Circular 07/2026 extend the date for freelancers?

Only if the freelancer's accounts must be audited. Non-audit freelancers were already due on 31 August 2026, and the circular doesn't change that.

I trade F&O alongside my salary. Which date applies?

F&O income is business income, so you file ITR-3. Without an audit, your due date is 31 August 2026. With an audit, it is 21 November 2026.

What is the last date for a tax audit report for AY 2026-27?

21 October 2026, after Circular 07/2026. The audit report is due one month before the return due date of 21 November 2026.

Can I still file after my due date?

Yes. A belated return for AY 2026-27 can be filed until 31 December 2026, with the late fee and interest described above.

Sources

• CBDT Circular No. 07/2026, 28 September 2026 (incometaxindia.gov.in)
• Finance Bill, 2026: clause 5 (section 139 due-date table and revised return) and clause 12 (section 234-I) (indiabudget.gov.in)
• Memorandum explaining the provisions in the Finance Bill, 2026 (indiabudget.gov.in)
• ITR-4 validation rules for AY 2026-27, Income Tax e-Filing portal
• ITR-1 validation rules for AY 2026-27, Income Tax e-Filing portal