Income Tax Return: Missed December 31 Deadline? Here Is What You Can Do Now

Income Tax Return Last Date: Those filing a belated ITR, will be required to pay a penalty fee to compensate for the delay. The penalty can go from Rs 1,000 up to Rs 5,000.

New Delhi: December 31, 2021, was the last date for filing the Income Tax Return for the year 2020-21 (AY 2021-22). According to the Income Tax Department, 5.89 crore income tax returns were filed on the e-filing portal till December 31. The department informed this through their Twitter handle. If one misses the deadline, they can file a ‘belated ITR’.

More than 5.78 crore #ITRs for AY 2021-22 filed till 7pm today compared to 5.95 crore #ITRs for AY 2020-21 filed till 10th January, 2021(extended due dt for AY 2020-21).
This includes 35.74 lakh ITRs filed today with 4.55 lakh ITRs filed in last one hour.#FileNow

— Income Tax India (@IncomeTaxIndia) December 31, 2021

However, those filing a belated ITR, will be required to pay a penalty fee to compensate for the delay. The penalty is fixed in the Finance Act. The penalty can go from Rs 1,000 up to Rs 5,000. According to various reports, if total income does not exceed Rs 5 lakh the penalty is Rs 1,000. People below the income of Rs 2.5 lakh per annum are exempted from paying the penalty fees.

Income Tax Return: What To Do If You Missed December 31, 2021 Deadline?

• In case of a missed deadline, the person can file a ‘belated ITR’.
• Under section 234F of the Income Tax Act, the taxpayer will have to pay a late fee along with the ITR.
• The penalty can go from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000.
• If you have already filed the ITR, you can file a revised return without penalty.
• The last date for submitting the revised return is March 31, 2022.
• However, many people on Twitter have complained that due to glitches on the portal, they were unable to file the return.
• The government did not extend the deadline further as it was already positioned several times due to Covid-19.