The Income Tax Return (ITR) filing deadline for FY2025-26 (Assessment Year 2026-27) is July 31, 2026. That is exactly 34 days from today. For the 8+ crore salaried individuals, investors, and professionals who file their own ITR, here is everything you need to know — including important changes that could affect your refund or liability this year.
Who Needs to File by July 31?
- Salaried employees (Form 16 issued by employer) — use ITR-1 or ITR-2
- Investors with capital gains from stocks, mutual funds, or property
- Individuals with income from house property (rent)
- Freelancers with professional income below ₹50 lakh (not requiring audit)
- Senior citizens with interest income above ₹50,000
If you miss July 31, you can still file a belated return by December 31, 2026 — but with a penalty of ₹5,000 (or ₹1,000 if total income is below ₹5 lakh) and loss of the ability to carry forward capital losses.
Key Changes in ITR Filing for FY2025-26
1. Budget 2026 income tax relief is in your Form 16: The new tax regime tax slabs (income up to ₹12 lakh now attracts zero tax under the new regime with rebate) will be reflected in your Form 16. If your employer switched you to the new regime, verify your Form 16 carefully before filing. If you want to opt for the old regime (with deductions), you must explicitly choose it while filing.
2. New challan correction system: For the first time, taxpayers can correct errors in tax payment challans directly on the income tax portal without needing to visit the assessing officer. Errors in PAN, assessment year, or tax head can be corrected online within 30 days of payment.
3. Capital gains reporting — major changes: After SEBI’s market infrastructure reform, mutual fund capital gains now need to be reported at the individual transaction level (not consolidated) if your total capital gains exceed ₹1 lakh. Download your capital gains statement from CAMS/Karvy/Kfintech before filing. For stocks: download your broker’s P&L statement and match it with the pre-filled AIS (Annual Information Statement) on the income tax portal.
4. Crypto reporting is mandatory: Virtual digital asset (VDA) income must be declared under Schedule VDA in your ITR. The flat 30% tax plus 4% cess applies regardless of holding period. No setoff against other income. No deduction except cost of acquisition. If you bought and sold crypto in FY26, you must report it — exchanges including CoinDCX, WazirX (if operational), and Binance India now report transactions to the income tax department.
5. AIS pre-fill accuracy is improving: The Annual Information Statement on the income tax portal now includes data from 46+ sources — banks, brokers, mutual funds, property registrars, GST, TDS certificates. Your ITR pre-fill will be more accurate than ever. Always verify the AIS first before filing — errors in AIS can be disputed and corrected.
Step-by-Step Filing Process
- Login to incometax.gov.in with PAN and Aadhaar OTP
- Download Form 26AS and AIS — verify all income reported matches your records
- Collect Form 16 from your employer (should have been issued by June 15)
- Download capital gains statement from CAMS/KFintech (mutual funds) and broker (stocks)
- Select ITR form: ITR-1 (salary + one house + interest income), ITR-2 (adds capital gains)
- Pre-fill the return and verify all data — do not trust pre-fill blindly
- Add deductions (80C, 80D, HRA, home loan interest) if using old tax regime
- Calculate tax payable — pay any balance via Challan 280 on the portal
- e-Verify using Aadhaar OTP or net banking within 30 days of filing
Common Mistakes That Delay Refunds
- Bank account not pre-validated on the portal — refunds go only to validated accounts
- Mismatch between ITR income and AIS — triggers notice
- Not reporting all savings account interest (₹10,000 deduction under 80TTA, rest taxable)
- Forgetting to claim TDS credit for fixed deposit interest
- Not e-verifying — an unverified ITR is treated as not filed
File by July 20 to avoid the last-week server congestion on the income tax portal. Refunds typically process in 7–30 days after e-verification for non-scrutiny cases.
This article is for educational guidance only. Tax laws change frequently. Please consult a CA or tax professional for your specific situation.
