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Filing & Compliance 10 min read 2026-07-28

ITR Filing Deadlines, Forms, and Step-by-Step Guide (Tax Year 2026-27)

Planning guide for the first return cycle under the Income-tax Act, 2025. Tax Year 2026-27 forms and portal steps must be confirmed when officially notified.

Tax Year 2026-27 Filing Calendar Is Prospective

The Income-tax Act, 2025 uses “Tax Year” from 1 April 2026 rather than pairing Financial Year 2026-27 with Assessment Year 2027-28. Ordinary statutory due dates would generally fall in 2027, but forms, utilities, category-specific dates and any extension must be taken from the official portal notification in force at filing time. Do not select “AY 2027-28” or use a legacy form merely because an older guide says so. This page cannot finalize a 2027 deadline or form before the relevant utility and notifications are available.

Late Filing Consequences

Late filing can trigger a statutory fee, interest on unpaid tax, and restrictions on carrying forward specified losses. The exact current-section reference, amount and deadline should be read from the Tax Year 2026-27 utility and official notice because legacy Section 234F/234A numbering belongs to the 1961 Act. Paying tax does not by itself preserve a missed loss-return deadline.

Use the Form Notified for This Tax Year

Legacy ITR-1/2/3/4 eligibility summaries are not a substitute for the Tax Year 2026-27 form instructions. Capital gains, foreign assets or income, directorship, unlisted shares, business income, multiple properties, residency and income limits can exclude a taxpayer from a simplified form. Use the form-selection questions and instructions published on incometax.gov.in for Tax Year 2026-27. Do not assume that a previous assessment-year form name, schedule or ₹50 lakh condition remains unchanged.

Step-by-Step e-Filing Process

1. Gather the current salary/TDS certificate, AIS, tax-credit statement, bank interest, capital-gain, property, foreign-asset and deduction records relevant to you. 2. Log in directly at incometax.gov.in and open the Tax Year 2026-27 return workflow when available. 3. Confirm residential status, filing category, regime option and the notified form instructions. 4. Reconcile pre-filled information instead of assuming it is complete or correct. 5. Enter income and deductions using current Act labels or the utility's mapped legacy labels. 6. Use the portal's e-Pay Tax flow for any self-assessment payment and select the exact tax-year/minor-head details shown; do not rely on an old “Challan 280” instruction. 7. Submit and verify using an available official verification method within the period shown by the portal.

Revised, Belated and Updated Returns

Revised and belated return availability depends on the current Act deadline and the portal status for the tax year; use the Tax Year 2026-27 instructions rather than legacy Section 139 labels. Section 263 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 permits an eligible updated return within 48 months from the end of the relevant tax year, subject to exclusions and additional income tax. The additional-tax tiers are 25%, 50%, 60% and 70% as the filing moves through the successive 12-month bands. An updated return cannot be used in every situation, including to create or increase a refund or reduce previously determined tax.

Official References

Source date: 2026-07-28. Confirm later notifications, rules and portal forms before filing or transacting.

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