Income tax return filing 2025: How to update/revise or modify your ITR after submission

Income Tax Return (ITR) filing is an important financial task, but sometimes, taxpayers might enter incorrect personal details, or forget to declare a source of income, or miss claiming a deduction, or any other issue. So what can they do? Can they revise their original ITR? Yes, the income tax department provides a process for rectifying such errors.

Under Section 139 (5) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, taxpayers are allowed to file a 'revised return', which allows them to address errors such as incorrect tax calculation, missed deductions, or misreported income.

What is a revised return?

If a person after furnishing the return finds any mistake, omission or any wrong statement, then return should be revised within prescribed time limit.

How many times can I revise my return?

A return can be revised at any time 3 months before the end of the Assessment Year or before the completion of the assessment; whichever is earlier.

If original return has filed in paper format or manually, then technically it cannot be revised by online mode or electronically.

The income tax department imposes no penalty or charge for filing a revised income tax return. If it wasn’t filed by the due date, the return will be treated as a belated tax return, and the taxpayer will be levied late fees under Section 234F. Belated returns can be filed by December 31, 2025, too, by paying a penalty of up to ₹ 5,000.

"The Income Tax portal now makes it simple to rectify such mistakes by a new or amended return. If you have submitted in time and spot an error, you can choose the 'Revised Return' option before the end of the assessment year. For more serious omissions like income not reported, there is even an 'Updated Return' facility under Section 139(8A), which can be filed within two years from the end of the relevant assessment year, although on payment of extra tax," said CA Siddharth Maurya, Founder & Managing Director of Vibhavangal Anukulakara Private Limited

How to file a Revised Return?

Step-by-step process of filing a revised ITR on the official Income Tax e-Filing portal.

Your return is not considered valid until it’s verified. So technically, it’s not yet processed, and you can still revise it.

File a revised return with the correct details. Then verify only the revised return (the earlier unverified one will become invalid automatically).

⦁ Log in to incometax.gov.in

⦁ Go to e-File > Income Tax Return > File Income Tax Return

⦁ Choose "Revised Return under Section 139(5)"

⦁ Fill in the correct details, quote the acknowledgement number of the original ITR

⦁ Submit and e-verify the revised return

If you have submitted and verified your ITR, but the department hasn't processed it yet, you can revise the return anytime before December 31.

Steps are same as above

⦁ File a revised return as usual.

⦁ The latest revised return replaces the processed one

⦁ The department will re-process based on your revised filing

Filing a revised return is crucial if errors are identified, as the income tax department may issue a notice for mistakes in the original return. Additionally, any eligible tax refund won't be processed until a revised return is filed.