Belated return and late fee: what you pay if you file ITR late

If you file your income tax return after the due date, you pay a late fee under section 234F: ₹5,000, or ₹1,000 if your total income is ₹5 lakh or less. If tax is still unpaid, you also pay interest under section 234A at 1% a month. For AY 2026-27, you can still file a belated return until 31 December 2026.

Penalty for late filing of income tax return: the short answer

The fee and the interest are added in the return itself. You pay them before you submit.

ITR due dates for AY 2026-27 (FY 2025-26)

Extension for audit cases (as of 29 September 2026). On 28 September 2026, the CBDT announced that the return due date for audit cases (not transfer pricing cases) moves from 31 October to 21 November 2026, and the audit report date from 30 September to 21 October 2026. The formal order was to follow. See our tax audit guide for audit dates. We have not found any extension of the 31 July or 31 August 2026 dates.

Not sure which date is yours? It depends on which income you have. Our guide on which ITR form to file helps you work that out.

What is a belated return?

A belated return is an income tax return filed after the due date. It is filed under section 139(4) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. In the ITR form, you choose section 139(4) as the section you are filing under. Some forms print it as "Belated" and others as "After due date".

For AY 2026-27, a belated return can be filed on or before 31 December 2026, or before the assessment is completed, whichever is earlier.

Late fee under section 234F

Section 234F says that a person who is required to file a return, and does not file it by the due date, pays a fee.

• It is a fixed fee. It does not grow with the number of days you are late.
• It applies even if you owe no tax. For example, if your TDS already covers your tax, the fee still applies when you file late.
• Older articles mention ₹10,000. That was in the first version of section 234F, for returns filed after 31 December. The current section has only ₹5,000, with the ₹1,000 limit for total income up to ₹5 lakh.
• Who is "required to file". You must file if your total income is above the exemption limit (₹4 lakh under the new regime for AY 2026-27). You must also file, whatever your income, if during the year you deposited more than ₹1 crore in current accounts, spent more than ₹2 lakh on foreign travel, spent more than ₹1 lakh on electricity, or met some other conditions (for example, TDS and TCS of ₹25,000 or more).
• Income below the limit. If your income is below the exemption limit and none of those conditions apply to you, the law does not require you to file. In our reading, the 234F fee then does not apply to a late return. You can still file to claim a refund.

Interest under section 234A

If you still owe tax when you file late, section 234A adds interest.

• Rate: 1% for every month or part of a month. It is simple interest.
• From: the day after the due date.
• To: the date you file. If you never file, it runs until the officer completes a best judgment assessment under section 144.
• On what: the tax on your return, minus advance tax, TDS, TCS and reliefs. If TDS and advance tax cover all your tax, there is no 234A interest.

Worked example. A freelancer's due date was 31 August 2026. After TDS and advance tax, ₹20,000 of tax is still unpaid. She files on 10 November 2026. September, October and part of November count as 3 months. Interest under 234A is ₹20,000 × 1% × 3 = ₹600. Her total income is above ₹5 lakh, so the 234F fee is ₹5,000. She pays ₹20,000 + ₹600 + ₹5,000 with the return.

Section 234A is only about the late return. If you did not pay enough advance tax, interest under section 234B and section 234C can also apply. These are separate charges.

What else you lose when you file late

• Carry forward of losses. A loss from business, capital gains or other heads cannot be carried forward to later years if the return is late. A loss under house property is the exception.
• Certain deductions. When the department processes a late return under section 143(1), it can disallow certain deductions that need an on-time return. See our guide to the 143(1) intimation.
• Choice of tax regime. The option to leave the new tax regime is tied to the on-time return. If you have no business income, the old regime has to be chosen in the return filed under section 139(1). If you have business income, the option (Form 10-IEA) has to be made by the due date. So, in our reading, a belated return is taxed under the new regime unless you already chose the old regime on time.
• Interest on your refund. You still get your refund, but interest on it runs from the date you file, not from the start of the assessment year.

Can you claim a refund in a belated return?

Yes. Since 1 September 2019, a refund can be claimed only by filing a return within the time allowed under section 139, and that includes a belated return under section 139(4). The refund comes after you e-verify the return. Interest on it (0.5% a month) runs from the date you file the belated return to the date the refund is paid.

If you missed 31 December too, see "What if you miss 31 December 2026?" below.

How to file a belated return online

1. Log in to the income tax e-filing portal with your PAN.
2. Go to e-File > Income Tax Returns > File Income Tax Return.
3. Select AY 2026-27 and the filing mode (online or offline).
4. Select your status (for example, individual) and your ITR form.
5. When the form asks which section you are filing under, choose 139(4) ("Belated" or "After due date").
6. Fill in your income, deductions and tax details. Check them against your Form 16, AIS and bank statements.
7. Check the tax computation. It shows a line "Fee u/s 234F" and a line for interest under section 234A. Both are added to the amount you must pay.
8. If an amount is payable, choose Pay Now. It takes you to e-Pay Tax. The portal recommends Pay Now over Pay Later.
9. Submit the return and e-verify it within 30 days.

The 30-day rule matters. If you e-verify after 30 days, the date you verify is treated as the date you filed. A return filed on time but verified late can become a late return, with the fee and the interest.

For the full filing steps, see our step-by-step ITR filing guide.

Can a belated return be revised?

Yes. Section 139(5) allows a person who filed a return under section 139(1) or section 139(4) to file a revised return if they find a mistake. For AY 2026-27 you can revise until 31 March 2027, or before the assessment is completed, whichever is earlier. A fee under section 234-I (₹1,000, or ₹5,000 if total income is above ₹5 lakh) applies if you revise after 31 December 2026. See our revised return guide.

What if you miss 31 December 2026?

After 31 December 2026, you cannot file a belated return for AY 2026-27. Two routes remain.

1. Updated return (ITR-U) under section 139(8A)

• You can file it within 48 months from the end of the assessment year.
• You pay extra tax on top of the tax and interest:

• You cannot use an updated return to show a loss, to reduce your tax, or to claim or increase a refund. It is also not allowed if an assessment for that year is pending or completed, or in search, survey and prosecution cases.

2. Condonation of delay under section 119(2)(b)

If you have a genuine refund or a loss to claim and missed every date, you can apply to the department to accept a late return. Under CBDT Circular 11/2024 (1 October 2024), the application must be made within five years from the end of the assessment year. You must show a reasonable cause for the delay and genuine hardship. The officer who decides depends on the amount: up to ₹1 crore, a Principal Commissioner or Commissioner; ₹1 crore to ₹3 crore, a Chief Commissioner; above ₹3 crore, a Principal Chief Commissioner. If it is allowed, the return is filed under section 119(2)(b), which is one of the options in the ITR form.

What if you do not file at all?

• A notice to file. The Assessing Officer can send a notice under section 142(1) asking you to file your return.
• Best judgment assessment. If you do not file, or do not comply with that notice, the officer can assess your income on the information available, under section 144. Interest under section 234A keeps running until that assessment is done.
• Prosecution. Section 276CC makes failure to file a return an offence. If the tax involved is above ₹50 lakh, the punishment can be up to 2 years in prison, a fine, or both. From ₹10 lakh to ₹50 lakh, up to 6 months, a fine, or both. In other cases, a fine only.

If you have received a notice asking you to file, our income tax notice reply service can help.

Is the penalty different for a firm or a company?

The 234F fee is the same for every person required to file: ₹5,000, or ₹1,000 if total income is ₹5 lakh or less. The due dates differ. Firms and companies whose accounts must be audited have the audit due date (21 November 2026 for AY 2026-27, after the CBDT extension). A late tax audit report has its own penalty under section 271B, explained in our tax audit guide.

Which law applies?

Returns for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) are filed under the Income-tax Act, 1961. That is why this page uses sections 139(4), 234F and 234A. The Income-tax Act, 2025 applies from tax year 2026-27 (returns filed in 2027), with new section numbers.

Need help filing late?

We file belated returns at the same price as our normal plans: from ₹899 + GST for salary and pension income. See all four plans on our ITR filing page, or go straight to our belated return filing service.

• A chartered accountant checks every return before it is filed.
• If your income falls under two plans, you pay only for the higher plan.
• Help with e-verification is included.

Frequently asked questions