Income Tax Return Last Date 2024: AY 2024-25 Deadlines and Options

Last updated: Sept 2026

The income tax return last date 2024 applied to financial year 2023-24, which is assessment year (AY) 2024-25. Most readers now ask what they can still do after missing it.

• Original due date: 31 July 2024 for individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) without a tax audit
• Tax audit cases: 31 October 2024; transfer pricing cases: 30 November 2024
• Belated and revised returns: 15 January 2025, extended from 31 December 2024
• Late fee under Section 234F: Rs. 1,000 up to Rs. 5 lakh of income, Rs. 5,000 above that
• Updated return (ITR-U): open until 31 March 2027, with 50% additional tax after 31 March 2026

File an updated return before 31 March 2027 and pay the tax, interest and additional tax due. Confirm the current window on the Income Tax Department portal before you file.

The income tax return last date 2024 for individuals without a tax audit was 31 July 2024. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) did not extend it, but it moved the belated and revised deadline from 31 December 2024 to 15 January 2025.

All four dates have passed, so the useful question is which route is still open. A belated return carried a fee under Section 234F of the Income-tax Act, 1961, plus interest of 1% per month under Section 234A on any unpaid tax.

Yes, but only through an updated return on Form ITR-U. The belated and revised window closed on 15 January 2025.

Section 139(8A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 allows an updated return within 24 months of the end of AY 2024-25, which is 31 March 2027. Budget 2025 (February 2025) lengthened this window to 48 months for later assessment years. Confirm on the e-filing portal which limit applies to your year.

An updated return has 3 restrictions:

• It cannot claim a refund or increase a loss
• It cannot be filed to reduce the tax you owe
• Once filed, it cannot be revised again

The updated return is the costliest route, because it adds tax on top of the tax and interest you already owe.

The additional tax is 25% of the tax and interest due if you file within 12 months of the end of the assessment year, and 50% between 12 and 24 months (Finance Act, 2022). For AY 2024-25, the 12 months ended on 31 March 2026, so 50% applies now.

Trade-off: an updated return lets you fix a missing year at any time inside the window, but the 50% additional tax makes it the costliest route. The cheaper belated route has closed.

Filing takes 5 steps on the e-filing portal, and the payment comes before the form.

1. Confirm the assessment year and whether an earlier return exists for it.
2. Compute total income, the tax and interest due, and the additional tax.
3. Pay the full amount through a challan on the e-filing portal.
4. Complete Form ITR-U with the challan details.

5. E-verify within 30 days, as explained in the guide to e-verification of income tax return.

   
   

Read the steps aloud in order: pay first, then file, then verify. Filing before payment is the most common reason the form is rejected.

Consider Anil, a 41-year-old consultant in Nagpur with a household income of Rs. 1.4 lakh a month and a CIBIL Score of 748, who never filed for AY 2024-25.

Formula used: Additional tax = 50% × (tax due + interest). Total payable = tax due + interest + additional tax.

Anil filed before applying for a home loan, because a missing year leaves a gap in the 2 years of returns a lender reviews.

For AY 2026-27 (FY 2025-26), the original date was 31 July 2026, and the CBDT did not extend it. A belated return stays open until 31 December 2026.

The revised return window runs to 31 March 2027, and an updated return to 31 March 2031. Returns up to AY 2026-27 follow the Income-tax Act, 1961. The Income-tax Act, 2025 applies from Tax Year 2026-27, with renumbered sections. For the filing steps, see the guide to filing income tax return online for salaried employees.

It can delay assessment, because Bajaj Finance reviews income documents for the last 2 years, and a missing return leaves a gap.

Approval timelines can extend where a year's return is missing or unverified, and minimum income thresholds can differ by city. Check your home loan eligibility once your returns are filed and verified.