With less than 30 days left until the July 31 income tax return (ITR) filing deadline, only a fraction of eligible taxpayers have filed their returns so far. While the pace of filing has been much slower than last year, Cleartax CEO Archit Gupta says taxpayers should not assume the due date will be extended this year.
“We are less than thirty days away from the deadline. Right now, only 64 lakh ITR-1 and ITR-2 returns are in. By this time last year, we had over 2 crore filings in the same category. That is a massive 68% drop. Even against 2024, a year with no extension, this year is running about 30% slower,” Gupta said, citing official income tax department data.
So far this month, as many as 14.4 million income tax returns have been filed for AY2026-27, of which taxpayers have verified 13.7 million. There is a total of 139.3 crore individual registered users on the income tax e-filing website.
What has caused this slowdown in ITR filings?
According to Gupta, many people are delaying their ITRs because last year’s extension has created the impression that there will be extra time again. However, he said the due date for filing ITR-1 and ITR-2 remains July 31, and taxpayers should plan accordingly.
“Last year’s temporary extension to September left a lasting impression. Millions of people are still under the assumption that they have that extra time again this year. They do not,” he said in a LinkedIn post on Saturday.
The executive also warned that the delay in filings could lead to a major last-minute rush. He pointed out that a much smaller share of taxpayers has filed their returns compared with the same time last year, meaning the bulk of ITR-1 and ITR-2 filings are likely to be submitted close to the July 31 deadline, increasing pressure on both taxpayers and the filing system.
“Last year, one month before the deadline, 42% of all ITR-1 and ITR-2 returns were already filed. This year, only 13% are done. This means a massive 87% of all filings in this category are going to hit the system close to the deadline,” he wrote in the LinkedIn post.
What happens if you wait until the last minute for filing ITR?
He advised taxpayers against rushing a tax return, noting that when someone files ITR at the last minute, they may risk missing out on deductions, settling for a smaller refund, or failing to submit the return entirely.
Although those who miss the due date can still file a belated tax return by December 31 of the relevant assessment year, but doing so comes with an extra cost. A late filing fee of up to ₹5,000 may be levied. However, if your total taxable income does not exceed ₹5 lakh, the maximum late fee is capped at ₹1,000.
Why an ITR deadline extension is unlikely this year?
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.
Meanwhile the ITR-3 and ITR-4 forms were notified later as they required some updates, Gupta told Mint. Since these two forms are deeply interconnected, often affecting the same individuals depending on how they declare their business turnover or expenses, their deadlines were jointly set for August 31 to give these individuals enough time to complete their accounting.
“It is critical to note that this split timeline is just a practical workaround for this specific year rather than a permanent change. If the tax department finalizes and releases all compliance forms at the same time and well before the due date next year, the timelines will likely merge back to the traditional July 31 date. Because the current schedule already accounts for the delayed forms by granting businesses that extra window, a further extension for the current year is highly unlikely,” he noted.
