Income Tax: As the ITR filing deadline for FY24 ends tonight, be aware of these key points

Since the deadline to file income tax return (ITR) did not get any extension beyond July 31, the last date to file the return for financial year 2023-24 is set to end tonight. Meanwhile, a PIB Fact Check clarified that the due date for filing ITR is July 31, and it has not been extended, despite some misinformation circulating on social media.

The income tax e-filing portal mentions that taxpayers who are facing any technical problem related to filing can reach out to the toll-free helpdesk numbers 1800 103 0025 and 1800 419 0025. They can also email efilingwebmanager@incometax.gov.in.

The income tax (I-T) department also recommended that taxpayers use Edge, Chrome, or Firefox browsers for better results.

Over 6.5 crore returns filed

Over 6.5 crore taxpayers filed their income tax returns (ITRs) by July 30, 2024, an increase of over 7.5 per cent compared to last year. 

On the last day of July last year, over 64.33 lakh I-T returns were filed. Even if the same figure is repeated this year, the total number of returns filed will easily cross 7.1 crore this year, comfortably surpassing that of the previous year, when the figure stood at 6.77 crore.

The number of ITRs filed per day exceeded over 45 lakhs on July 30 July and is expected to rise exponentially on July 31, which is the due date for many taxpayers. 

The 6.5 crore milestone, reached on July 30 this year, was achieved on July 31 last year.

Due to the high volume of taxpayers, the I-T filing portal is reportedly very slow. “Normally, you can download a document such as AIS (Annual information statement) in one go. But now the time has increased 2 to 3 times. Also, there is no time to review the information anymore. Since it is the last date, you end up uploading whatever data you have. So, you do it in a haphazard way,” said Chirag Chuahan, a Mumbai-based Chartered Accountant.

Thinking of missing the deadline?

Taxpayers who miss the July 31 deadline for filing ITR should be aware that the income tax department can impose a late filing fee of ₹5,000 as per the provision of Section 234F of the Income Tax (I-T) Act. The late filing fee, however, is ₹1,000 if income is lower than ₹5 lakh.

In addition, if you miss the July 31 deadline, you cannot file your tax returns under the old tax regime. This is simply because the new tax regime (NTR) is the default regime for FY 2023-24.

This effectively means you will not be able to avail exemptions and deductions against investments in tax-saving instruments. After the July 31 deadline expires, taxpayers will not be able to claim these benefits since they will be moved to the new tax regime, which does not offer these benefits.