Income tax department extends tax audit and ITR deadlines: Check new dates for AY 2026-27

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has extended the deadlines for tax audit reports and income-tax return filing for certain taxpayers for Assessment Year (AY) 2026-27.

The tax audit report deadline has been extended from September 30, 2026, to October 21, 2026, while the deadline for filing the income-tax return has been extended from October 31, 2026, to November 21, 2026.

Who gets the extended deadline?

The extension applies to taxpayers whose accounts are required to be audited under the Income-tax Act, 1961, and who fall under the category specified at S. No. 2 in the Table below Explanation 2 to sub-section (1) of Section 139.

This category generally covers taxpayers subject to tax audit, including businesses and professionals whose accounts are required to be audited under the applicable provisions. The earlier October 31 ITR deadline applied to taxpayers whose accounts were required to be audited under Section 44AB.

What was the earlier tax audit deadline?

Before the latest extension, taxpayers covered by the tax-audit provisions had to ensure that their tax audit report was furnished by September 30, 2026.

The corresponding ITR filing deadline was October 31, 2026. There was therefore a one-month gap between the tax audit report deadline and the ITR filing deadline.

Why was an extension being sought?

Ahead of the September 30 deadline, tax professionals and professional bodies had sought additional time to complete tax audits. Some had also sought a corresponding extension of the ITR filing deadline for audit cases.

What has the CBDT extended?

The CBDT said, “The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has decided to extend the aforesaid due date of furnishing of Return of Income from 31st October, 2026 to 21st November, 2026.”

It further said, “Accordingly, the ‘specified date’ for furnishing of the report of audit under the provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961 … stands extended from 30th September, 2026 to 21st October, 2026.”

What this means for taxpayers

For taxpayers covered by the extension, the sequence is now:

• October 21, 2026: Last date for furnishing the tax audit report.
• November 21, 2026: Last date for furnishing the income-tax return for AY 2026-27.

Who is not covered by this extension?

The extension is specifically for the category of taxpayers covered by the CBDT's September 28 announcement. It does not mean that the November 21 deadline applies to every taxpayer filing an ITR for AY 2026-27.

For example, taxpayers covered by Section 92E, including those having international transactions or specified domestic transactions requiring Form 3CEB, have a separate compliance timeline. Their ITR deadline continues to be November 30, 2026.

The CBDT has now extended the tax-audit report and ITR filing deadlines by 21 days.