ITR late filing penalty and fees on the Income Tax e-filing portal: 6 things to know

• If your annual income is below ₹5 lakh, and you file your ITR after the deadline, a late fee of ₹5,000 would be applicable.
• If your income exceeds ₹5 lakh, the penalty would be ₹5,000.
• If you file ITR after the due date, you won’t be eligible to claim certain deductions, including under Section 10A, 10B, 80-1A, 80-IB, 80-IC, 80-ID and 80-IE.
• Taxpayers will also have to pay an interest of 1% every month (or part of the month) on the unpaid tax under Section 234A.
• The refund processing will also be delayed if you file your ITR after the deadline.
• Lastly, you won’t be able to carry forward losses from certain sources, like business and capital gains, in case you miss the ITR filing deadline.

What to do if you miss the ITR filing deadline?

In case you miss the deadline, you can file a belated return before December 31, 2025. However, a late filing penalty would be applicable on the belated return under Section 234F.

Belated returns, under Section 139(4) of the Income Tax Act, attract late filing penalties of up to ₹5,000 based on your annual income and interest on the unpaid tax.

Further, if you miss even the belated return deadline, you can file an Updated Return (ITR-U) under section 139(8A) within 48 months from the end of the relevant assessment year. However, this is allowed only under specified conditions and attracts additional tax liability.

It’s better to file your return before the due date to avoid penalties and any potential ITR notice.