Just when you thought it was over, the Income Tax Department has thrown a small lifeline to all the last-minute filers. After days of public outcry over technical glitches, the CBDT has extended the ITR filing deadline for Assessment Year 2025-26 by a single day, from September 15 to September 16, 2025.
The news came just minutes before the original deadline, catching everyone by surprise including us – Yesterday we had covered about the ITR deadline not being extended.
The reason for this small extension is pretty clear: technical glitches. As the clock ticked down on September 15, the e-filing portal was overwhelmed with traffic. Taxpayers and professionals took to social media to report issues like slow page loading, errors while uploading forms, and system failures. Even though the Income Tax Department insisted the portal was working fine and had a 24/7 helpdesk, the sheer volume of complaints and the visible lag on the website forced their hand. The CBDT released a statement on X (formerly Twitter) saying the extension was granted “to facilitate further filings of ITRs.”
ITR deadline: is one day enough?
While any extension is a relief, a one-day extension has been met with mixed reactions. Many taxpayers and Chartered Accountants feel it’s simply not enough. They’ve been demanding a longer extension, citing not just the portal glitches but also the delayed release of ITR forms, which compressed the filing window in the first place. The general sentiment is that a proper extension of 15 to 30 days would have been a more genuine gesture.
If you miss this new deadline, you’ll face a few penalties. You can still file a “belated” return until December 31, 2025, but it will cost you.
- Late Fee: A flat fee of ₹5,000 for incomes over ₹5 lakh and a smaller fee of ₹1,000 for incomes up to ₹5 lakh.
- Interest: You’ll also have to pay a 1% monthly interest on any outstanding tax you owe.
- Lost Benefits: You lose the ability to carry forward certain losses (like capital or business losses) to future years.
- Tax Regime: If you don’t file on time, you also lose the option to choose the old tax regime and will be defaulted to the new one.
The Income Tax Department is adamant on people filling ITR as soon as possible. This one day extension is a clear message. Don’t test your luck any further. This is the last call!
