All You Need to Know about ITR Deadlines Extension and Filing Last Date 2020

All You Need to Know about ITR Deadlines Extension and Filing Last Date 2020

Income-tax Return (ITR) filing is an important and mandatory requirement for all registered taxpayers if their total income during the financial year is exceeding the basic exemption limit. Basically, ITR is a form in which you as a taxpayer declare your income details for the financial year and taxes paid by you on that income after deductions and exemptions and thereby inform the government.

Though it’s mandatory for individuals whose annual income is in excess of the basic exemption limit to file an Income-tax return, it is also important for any income-earning individuals to file the Income-tax return even if there is no tax liability. Filing the Income-tax return is an important requirement to avail of the various deductions and exemptions available under various sections of the Income-tax Act, 1961 to ultimately bring down your taxable income. Late payment and avoiding Income-tax Return (ITR) attract penalties for taxpayers. 

For every taxpayer, it is important to make note of the due date for filing the income tax returns. The due date for Income-tax Returns (ITR) filing varies depending on the type/status of the taxpayer. 

Generally, the following are the deadlines for filing the Income-tax return for various taxpayer categories unless the due dates are extended by the government.

(Note: Assessment year is the year following the financial year in which the income earned by the taxpayer is assessed)

However, the government has extended the deadlines for filing Income-tax returns in the assessment year 2020-21 (for the financial year 2019-20). 

After the extensions announced by the Finance Minister of India, the following are the deadlines for filing the income tax return for various taxpayer categories for the assessment year 2020-21 (the financial year 2019-20)

The extension is provided by the Government of India due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As taxpayers would face a challenge in complying with regulatory and statutory requirements, the Central Board of Direct Taxation (CBDT) has provided relief in the form of Income-tax Return (ITR) filing deadline extension. 

Extension of Income-tax Return (ITR) filing Deadlines for the Financial Year 2019-20 (Assessment year 2020-21)

The first announcement of the ITR filing deadline extension was made by the Finance Minister during the press meeting held to announce INR 20 lakh crore economic package as an initiative to stimulate economic growth and to make the country a ‘self-reliant India / Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ during a pandemic crisis. While making a series of announcements, the Finance Minister stated that the due date or deadline for filing the Income-tax Returns (ITR) has been extended to 30th November 2020 for all categories of taxpayers. However, many chartered accountants and associations of tax consultants have continued to make representation for a further extension of deadlines for Income-tax Return (ITR) filing with reference to challenges being faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Then the Finance Minister made a second announcement to extend the deadlines of filing ITR for the financial year 2019-20 by a month, i.e. till 31st December 2020 for individuals/entities who are not required to get their accounts audited. The due date for filing ITR for persons/entities who are required to get their accounts audited has got extended till 31st January 2021.

In order to provide relief to small and middle-class taxpayers, the deadline for the payment of self-assessment tax has been extended to 31st January 2021 provided the self-assessment tax liability is INR 1 lakh and below.

Penalties for Late Filing of Income-tax Return (ITR) – The assessment Year 2020-21 (Financial Year 2019-20)

Though the extension of deadlines to file the Income-tax Return (ITR) comes as a major relief to the taxpayers, failing to file the return on time i.e. within the extended due date for filing the ITR will attract penalties. If you file your income tax returns after the due date (31st December 2020), you would have to pay the penalty of up to INR. 10,000. However, the amount may vary depending on the income of the taxpayer and the extent of delay in making the payment. To make it reasonable for small and middle-class taxpayers, the upper limit of penalties for late filing of Income-tax returns is capped at INR. 1,000 if the total income is below INR 5 lakhs. 

As per Section 234A of the Income-tax Act, the following are the penalties applicable for late filing of Income-tax return –

As per Section 234A, you would also require to pay interest at the rate of 1% for every month or part of the month.

Ensure to file your Income-tax return on time to avoid any consequences.