The income tax department on Monday extended the ITR filing deadline by a day to September 16 — just minutes before the original deadline ended — amid frantic calls to push the due date.
In a post on X just before midnight, the I-T department announced that it will extend the due date by a day.
“The Central Board of Direct Taxes has decided to further extend the due date for filing these ITRs for AY 2025-26 from 15th September, 2025 to 16th September, 2025,” it said.
It added that the portal will remain inaccessible until 2.30am on September 16 to effect the latest changes in utilities. “To enable changes in the utilities, the e- filing portal will remain in maintenance mode from 12:00 AM to 02:30AM on 16th September 2025,” it said.
Over the last three days, taxpayers and chartered accountants had taken to social media to air their grievances around inaccessibility of the official e-filing portal (incometax.gov.in), slow speed, inability to download annual information statement (AIS), delayed release of ITR utilities and so on.
The hashtag #duedateextension trended on X through the day on September 15, with taxpayers and professionals seeking more time to complete the exercise. Taxpayers who fail to file returns by the due date can file belated return by December 31, but will have to shell out late-filing fees of Rs 1,000-Rs 5,000, besides forfeiting other benefits.
However, there is no word yet on the extension of the deadline to pay the second installment of advance tax. ITR filing and advance tax payment deadlines falling on the same day (September 15) have compounded taxpayers’ woes. By September 15, taxpayers, including salaried individuals, are required to pay 45 percent of their total tax liability as advance taxes, if applicable.
Failure to do so can result in penalties under section 234C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. “Payment of the second installment of advance tax is stuck, which means penal interest will be levied on taxpayers for no fault of theirs.
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