What are the ITR Filing Options After Missing the 31st July Deadline?
While the last date to file an ITR without any penalty or late fee is 31st July every year for most individuals, if you fail to file your ITR by this date or miss filing an ITR, you can still file a belated/revised/updated return as per the Income Tax Act, 1961.
Whether to file a belated return, revised return, or updated return, depends on the reason for missing the ITR filing deadline. If you want to file an ITR after the due date, you have three options and each of these comes with its own set of rules and regulations.
Let’s understand the types of ITR filing options available, how to file them, and the penalties associated with them.
Belated ITR
A belated ITR acts as a lifeline for those who missed the original due date for filing an ITR. Filing a belated ITR helps you avoid stringent legal action by the Income Tax Department. Filing a belated ITR is allowed under section 139(4) of the Income Tax Act till 31st December every year. However, you are still required to pay interest and penalties on the tax amount at the time of filing a belated ITR.
As per section 234F of the Income Tax Act, small taxpayers having an annual income not exceeding Rs.5,00,000 have to pay a penalty of upto Rs.1,000. Similarly, for individuals having an income above Rs.5,00,000, you have to pay a penalty of Rs.5,000.
How to File Belated ITR
The process of filing a belated ITR is the same as the steps to file the original ITR. You can either do it through the Income Tax e-filing portal or through the Tax2win portal. Individuals can simply log in to their account and start filling in the required information. Once, you have completed filling in all the necessary details, make sure you select section 139(4) at the time of filing the belated return. Since there is no separate ITR form for filing a belated return, you need to follow the same steps for filing an original return.
Penalty and Interest
Before going ahead and filing a belated ITR, make sure you have already deposited the tax amount, penalty, and penal interest. As mentioned above, section 234F of the Income Tax Act levies a penalty of upto Rs.1,000 for individuals having income upto Rs.5 lakhs and Rs.5,000 for individuals having income above Rs.5 lakhs.
Make sure you pay the income tax along with the penalty amount. As per section 234A, a penal interest of 1% per month is leviable if there is any outstanding tax liability. In case of any shortfall in advance tax payment, the penal interest is calculated under sections 234B and 234C, and an interest of 1% per month is levied.
Revised ITR
If you have made any mistake while filing your ITR during the filing period, a revised ITR offers you an opportunity to rectify those mistakes by filing a revised ITR. various errors can take place while filing ITR like incorrect bank account details, undeclared or unreported income, or any other error. Errors are a common occurrence when it comes to ITR filing and reporting additional income might also result in additional tax liability and penal interest.
There is no limit on the number of times you can revise your ITR. In other words, you can revise your original/belated ITR as many times as you want. However, it is advisable to revise your ITR as early as possible, since last-minute filing can leave no time for revisions and corrections.
Just like the last date for belated ITR filing, the last date to file a revised ITR is also 31st December. While you can revise your ITR as many times as you want, tax experts believe that too many revisions might attract scrutiny from the Income Tax Department.
How to File Revised ITR?
A revised return can be filed by an individual only if the original ITR has a mistake and the tax return has not yet been processed. A revised ITR can be filed only if the individual has filed an original ITR. The steps for filing a revised return are the same as both the original ITR and the belated ITR.
Make sure to select section 139(5) while filing a revised ITR while selecting the ITR type. In addition to this, you also have to provide the acknowledgment number and the date of filing the original ITR.
Penalty and Interest
The Income Tax Act does not levy any penalty or interest on filing a revised return. In other words, you can revise your ITR as many times as you want without paying any penalty or interest.
Updated ITR or ITR-U
Introduced in Budget 2022, ITR-U allows you to file your ITR for 24 months after the end of the relevant assessment year. Filing ITR-U is allowed even in case of missed filings or incorrect filings.
However, it is important to note that an ITR-U cannot be used to claim refunds, and losses or declare lower income. Also, in the case of updated returns due to incorrect income disclosure attract heavy penalties and extra tax liability.
How to File ITR-U?
As per the Income Tax Act, ITR-U has to be furnished along with an updated version of the applicable ITR form. The ITR-U form consists of 2 parts, Part A and Part B. Part A consists of general information, and Part B consists of the details of the total updated income and the tax payable. You must fill both forms with accurate information and submit your ITR-U.
Penalty and Interest
When submitting a revised return according to Section 139(8A), no additional penalty is imposed. Nevertheless, if the ITR-U is filed within one year from the conclusion of the assessment year, an extra 25 percent will be applied to the tax liability and interest. If submitted after one year but before two years, this supplementary amount increases to 50 percent on both tax and interest.
Trusted by 1 Million+ Users
4.9 Star User Rating
2500 Cr. Taxes Saved Already
