Kolkata: The date for filing a belated Income Tax Return (ITR) is usually Dec 31 every year and 2025 is no exception. Significantly, this deadline applies
to all categories of taxpayers who missed their original ITR filing due dates. The point to note is that one can file the Belated ITR from one’s home or office via the income tax e-filing portal.
Beware of Dec 31, 2025. If you are a taxpayer and have somehow missed the deadline of filing ITR before the due date of September 16 — it was extended from the usually July 31 this year — Dec 31 offers the last chance to do so. Till Sept 16, you could have filed your ITR without any penalty. But you have to pay a penalty if you are filing a Belated ITR. It will range from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000, depending on your level of income.
A Belated ITR is defined by Section 139(4) of the Income Tax Act 1961. A significant point to remember about the December 31 deadline is, it is the same for all categories of incomes. Usually the last date for filing ITR for different categories of taxpayers is different. However, for all categories of taxpayers Dec 31 is the last date for filing Belated ITR. Now let’s have a look at how one can file belated ITR.
Filing Belated ITR online
ONE: Access your own account on the Income Tax e-filing portal
TWO: Then one has to click on ‘e-File’ and ‘Income Tax Returns’
THREE: Next one has to select ‘File Income Tax Return’
FOUR: The relevant AY (assessment year) 2025-26 has to be selected for which the belated return is to be filed
FIVE: Click on the ‘Start new filing’ button
SIX: Select the applicable status
SEVEN: Select the appropriate ITR form
EIGHT: Click on ‘Personal Information’ section and ensure all your personal information are correct.
NINE: Scroll down to the filing section and select 139(4)
TEN: Fill in all your income details under various heads. Proceed to make the tax payment.
What you must not forget
An extremely important point to remember is that if the deadline of December 31, expires, one cannot file the ITR for FY25. You might also receive a notice from the Income Tax Department for missing the deadline. If one misses the December 31, 2025, deadline, one can only file an Updated Return (ITR-U) under Section 139(8A), which sets out specific conditions. An updated return allows taxpayers to rectify any omission or report unreported income within four years from the end of the relevant Assessment Year. Therefore, Dec 31 represents the very last chance of filing a Belated ITR.
