If you don’t file ITR within the due date, you can file a belated return.

However, a late filing fee of ₹5,000 will be applicable if your income is more than ₹5 lakh. If your income is ₹5 lakh or less, the penalty is capped at ₹1,000.

Further, non-payment of tax attracts interest, penalty and prosecution. In case you fail to pay your tax liability, you can face rigorous imprisonment from 3 months to 2 years. If the evaded tax amount exceeds ₹25 lakh, the punishment could be 6 months to 7 years.

Yes, you can discard an ITR after submitting. But this should be done before verification. You can't discard an ITR after verification.

This option can be exercised when you forget to add some details in the ITR and remember after submitting it.

Discarding the ITR will ensure it is not considered for processing by the Income Tax Department.

The discard option is visible only when the ITR is pending for verification.

With the following steps, you can easily check the Income Tax refund status:

Step 1: Go to the income tax e-Filing portal homepage.

Step 2: Click Income Tax Return (ITR) Status.

Step 3: On the Income Tax Return (ITR) Status page, enter your acknowledgement number and a valid mobile number and click Continue.

Step 4: Enter the 6-digit OTP received on your mobile number entered in Step 3 and click Submit.

Finance Act 2024 revisited the holding period for calculating short-term and long-term capital gains with effect from July 23, 2024.

Your gains from equity mutual funds in FY 2024-25 (AY 2025-26) are taxed as below, based on the date of redemption/sale/transfer:

Many taxpayers make a very common mistake of not filing the correct ITR form. Of all the income tax return forms, ITR-1 is often misused by taxpayers under the following circumstances:

• When the short-term and long-term gains from equity investments are very small.

• When there is very little income from business and profession

• When the taxpayer is not aware of the most suitable form.

September 15, 2025, is the due date/deadline to file ITR for FY 2024-25 (AY 2025-26) for non-audit cases. Failure to file your return by this date will lead to a late fee, interest charges, and potential loss of certain tax benefits.

While filing ITR for AY 2025-26 before the due date, you are required to make new disclosures before claiming following income tax deductions under the old tax regime

• House Rent Allowance (HRA) under Section 10(13A)

• Interest on home loan under Section 24(b)

• Investment-linked deductions under Section 80C

• Medical insurance under Section 80D

• Interest on loan taken for specific purposes under Sections 80E, 80EE, 80EEA and 80EEB

Taxpayers are required to disclose the following eight foreign assets in ITR to avoid a penalty of up to ₹10 lakh:

1)Foreign bank accounts: Accounts held in foreign banks, including savings and current accounts.

2)Depository accounts: Accounts where securities (stocks, bonds, etc.) are held electronically.

3. Custodial accounts: Accounts where a custodian (such as a bank or financial institution) holds assets.

4)Foreign shares/ETFs: Shares or equity investments in companies that are listed or incorporated in foreign countries.

5)Foreign immovable properties: Real estate assets (land or buildings) owned in a foreign country.

6. Insurance: If you hold any life insurance or other types of insurance policies with foreign insurance companies.

7. Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs): ESOPs granted by foreign companies are another type of foreign asset

8)Virtual digital assets (VDAs): This refers to cryptocurrencies (like Bitcoin or Ethereum).

As per the Income Tax Department's e-filing portal, over 4.89 crore returns for AY 2025-26 were filed till September 7, 2025. Of these, the taxpayers have verified over 4.63 crore returns, while the Income Tax department has processed more than 3.35 crore verified returns.

Taxpayers should not wait for the ITR due date extension. Not filing your returns before the due date on September 15 can lead to various repercussions.

For instance, you will end up paying a late fee and interest charges.

Tax and investment expert Balwant Jain says taxpayers can file a belated ITR by paying a late fee.

• The fee will be ₹5,000 for annual taxable income of ₹5 lakh or more

• For taxable income below ₹5 lakh, the fee will be ₹1,000.

The following are eight key changes in ITR forms that taxpayers should know before the due date:

• Long-term capital gains (LTCG): Now you can report LTCG up to ₹1.25 lakh from equity shares and equity mutual funds under Section 112A in ITR-1 and ITR-4.

• Mandatory Aadhaar: You need to furnish only the Aadhaar number for ITR filing.

• Tax regime declaration: The ITR is now seeking confirmation if you are continuing with the opted-out regime and details of Form 10-IE/10-IEA filed in previous years.

• Split capital gains: The ITR forms now require date-wise reporting based on changes in capital gain rates from July 23, 2024.

• STCG on unlisted bonds and debentures: Any gains from unlisted bonds and debentures sold after July 23, 2024, are now treated as short-term capital gains under Section 50AA.

• Documents required for disability deduction: For claiming tax deduction under Section 80DD for disability, the ITR forms now require you to submit certificates other than Form 10-A.

• No disclosure up to ₹1 crore income: There is a new income threshold for filing Schedule AL (Assets and Liabilities) in ITR-2 and ITR-3.

• TDS sections: In Schedule TDS, the ITR forms are now seeking the section under which tax has been deducted.

Many taxpayers have failed to benefit from early ITR filing as their income tax refund has not yet been credited to their account. In many cases, taxpayers have been waiting for over a month to get their refund.

However, many taxpayers have received their refunds within a few days of ITR filing.

ITR-2 filing due date 2025: Tax experts share the following 8 mistakes you must avoid while filing ITR-2 for AY 2025-26:

• Wrong capital gains reporting: ITR-2 is where most often the taxpayer goes wrong, particularly while reporting foreign assets or residential status or capital gains.

• Not reporting foreign assets: Resident taxpayers often skip disclosing overseas accounts or assets in Schedule FA, which is mandatory.

• Incorrect residential status: Another common error is incorrectly claiming residential status, especially for NRIs or returning Indians.

• Skipping Schedule AL (Assets and Liabilities): Taxpayers must report immovable properties, vehicles, jewellery, bank balances, shares, etc.

• Mismatching dividend income and schedules: Taxpayers often forget to report it under “Income from Other Sources.

• Mismatch in income and AIS/26AS: Underreporting or overreporting due to misreading 26AS or AIS.

• Incorrect reporting of carry-forward losses

• Address change: Do not forget to update your address and employer details correctly in the return.

In the last few years, the demand to 'extend the due date immediately' has become a recurring trend just days before the deadline.

Seven days ahead of ITR filing deadline for AY 2025-26 (FY 2024-25) on September 15, “#Extend_Due_Date_Immediately” is trending again on the social media platform X, with over 7500 posts till now.

Instead, the tax department has asked taxpayers not to wait for the deadline.