What If You Have Missed The Deadline For Filing Belated ITR?

The last date to file income tax returns (ITR) is just a month away. You must file ITR before July 31^st 2018. But, what if you miss this deadline? Is there any way you can still file income tax returns?

If you file income tax returns after the due date, it is called filing belated income tax returns or simply filing belated ITR. You can file belated ITR, anytime before the end of the relevant assessment year.

You have the Financial Year 2017-18 (1^st April 2017 to 31^st March 2018). For this Financial Year, the Assessment Year is 2018-2019. You must file belated ITR before 31^st March 2019. Don’t know what’s a Financial Year or Assessment Year? It’s simple. Financial Year (FY) is the year in which you receive the income. Assessment Year (AY) is the year in which the income is assessable to tax.

What if you have missed the deadline for filing belated ITR? Is there a way out? Want to know more on Tax Planning? We at IndianMoney.com will make it easy for you. Just give us a missed call on 022 6181 6111 to explore our unique Free Advisory Service. IndianMoney.com is not a seller of any financial products. We only provide FREE financial advice/education to ensure that you are not misguided while buying any kind of financial products.

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What If You Have Missed The Deadline For Filing Belated ITR?

If you have been tracking the Union Budget, you would have noticed that prior to Union Budget 2016, rules vis-à-vis belated returns were different. Before the AY 2017-18 (yes, we are talking AY 2016-17 and before), there was a different rule.

You could file a belated return any time before the completion of 1 year from the end of the relevant assessment year. This meant you had a whole extra year to file belated ITR. You no longer have this extra time and this change was brought in to prevent tax evasion.

1. How to file belated ITR?

• You have to select the Income Tax Return form which is applicable to you. Let’s say the only source of income is your salary (this also includes pension), one house property or income from other sources. This is when you need to file ITR 1 or the Sahaj Form. Your income must not exceed Rs 50 Lakhs, and if you have agricultural income, it must not be more than Rs 5,000. When should you file ITR 2?
• Let’s say you have income from salary + pension + one house property + income from other sources. Your total income is more than Rs 50 Lakhs and you have agricultural income more than
• Rs 5,000. This is when you need to file ITR 2. If you have income over and above the income mentioned in ITR 2 + income from business, then you must file ITR 3.
• After selecting the ITR Form applicable, you file taxes just as if you are filing ITR for the first time. You select the relevant assessment year, i.e. if you are filing ITR for FY 2017-18, then select 2018-19 as the assessment year.

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2. What happens if you file belated returns?

Let’s say you have unpaid taxes till FY 2016-17. You will be charged an interest of 1% a month, till the date of payment of taxes. You may also have to pay a penalty of Rs 5,000. The penalty (chargeable or not) depends on the circumstances.

What happens if you file returns from FY 2017-18 and after that? Late returns filed after the due date, but before 31^st December will have a late filing penalty of Rs 5,000. If returns are filed after 31^st December, there will be a late filing penalty of Rs 10,000. But, your penalty is limited to Rs 1,000 if you have income up to Rs 5 Lakhs.

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