7 crore ITRs filed: I-T dept says 'don't wait for last minute' ahead of 31 August deadline for non-audit taxpayers

Over seven crore income tax returns (ITRs) have been filed for Assessment Year (AY) 2026-27, according to the income tax department, with the 31 August deadline approaching for taxpayers earning business or professional income whose accounts are not subject to tax audit.

The department said in a post on X that more than seven crore ITRs had been submitted as of 27 August.

"31 August 2026 is the due date for filing ITRs for AY 2026-27 for taxpayers with business or professional income who are not subject to audit," the income tax department said, urging taxpayers not to wait until the last minute.

The 31 August deadline is part of the revised return-filing schedule introduced through amendments to the Income-tax Act, 1961, under the Finance Act, 2026. Under the new timeline, taxpayers with business or professional income whose accounts do not require an audit have until 31 August to submit their returns.

For other taxpayers outside the specified categories, the deadline was 31 July.

Companies and taxpayers whose accounts are subject to audit have a later deadline of 31 October. Meanwhile, 30 November is the due date for taxpayers covered by transfer-pricing requirements under Section 92E.

The revised schedule effectively provides non-audit business and professional taxpayers an additional month compared with the July-end deadline applicable to most other non-audit individual taxpayers.

Broadly, tax audit requirements under Section 44AB apply to businesses whose total sales, turnover or gross receipts exceed ₹ 1 crore. The threshold rises to ₹ 10 crore if cash receipts and cash payments each remain within 5% of the respective total amounts.

For professionals, the general threshold for tax audit is gross receipts exceeding ₹ 50 lakh, subject to the applicable conditions prescribed under the Income-tax law.

AY 2026-27 covers income earned during Financial Year 2025-26, which runs from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.

The Income Tax Department has clarified that returns for this assessment year will continue to be governed by the Income-tax Act, 1961, despite the Income Tax Act, 2025, becoming effective from 1 April 2026.

Taxpayers who fail to meet their applicable deadline can file a belated return for AY 2026-27 until 31 December 2026, or before the assessment is completed, whichever occurs earlier.

Late filing attracts a fee of ₹ 1,000 if the total income does not exceed ₹ 5 lakh. In other cases, the late filing fee is ₹ 5,000.

Filing the return is not the final step. Taxpayers must also verify their ITR . The income tax department allows 30 days from the filing date for e-verification or submission of ITR-V.