Taxpayers who missed the deadline to file their income tax return for the assessment year 2024-25 can still file a belated tax return by December 31. However, this comes with consequences, including a late filing penalty and interest accrual on unpaid tax.
In certain cases, no penalty is charged even if the ITR is filed after July 31, 2024. If your income is entirely exempt from taxation and you have no other taxable income, you can file your ITR after the deadline without any penalties. This benefit does not apply if you have income from other sources.
Additionally, taxpayers who are not required to file an ITR by law but choose to file one voluntarily are not liable to pay a penalty for late filing.
Certain taxpayers are required to file their ITR even if their income does not exceed the basic exemption limit. These include:
- Individuals with cumulative savings bank deposits exceeding Rs 50 lakh in a year.
- Individuals with annual sales turnover exceeding Rs 60 lakh.
- Professionals with income exceeding Rs 10 lakh in a financial year.
- Individuals paying electricity bills over Rs 1 lakh during a financial year.
- Persons with TCS/TDS exceeding Rs 25,000 (Rs 50,000 for senior citizens).
- Individuals with foreign assets or who are beneficiaries of foreign assets.
- Individuals spending over Rs 2 lakh on foreign travel.
- Authorised signatories for accounts managed outside India.
Also read: Can You Revise Your ITR after Receiving a Notice from Income Tax Department?
Section 234F states that those required to furnish an ITR under section 139 and fail to do so within the prescribed time (July 31, 2024, for non-audit cases) must pay late filing fees. However, those not legally required to file an ITR will not incur a penalty.
Moreover, taxpayers whose sole source of income is from agriculture are exempt from penalties for late ITR filing.
Lastly, for individuals and businesses subject to income tax audits, the ITR filing deadline is October 31, 2024.