The Income Tax Department has extended the deadline for companies, businesses and professionals whose accounts require a tax audit.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has announced an additional 21 days for filing income tax returns for the financial year 2025-26.
For the assessment year 2026-27, the last date for filing income tax returns for taxpayers covered by tax audit has been extended from October 31 to November 21, 2026.
Income Tax Return Deadline Extended
The extension gives businesses and companies more time to complete their tax audit-related work and file their income tax returns.
The deadline for submitting tax audit reports has also been extended from September 30 to October 21, 2026. This gives taxpayers an additional 21 days to complete and submit the required audit reports.
Why Was the Deadline Extended
Tax professionals and business owners had been seeking more time because several tax-related compliance activities were scheduled within a short period.
Businesses need to reconcile their income tax information with GST records, accounting data and other financial details before completing the filing process.
The number of filing-related activities in September, along with festival holidays and banking-related issues, also added to the workload for businesses and professionals.
Who Gets More Time
The extended deadline mainly applies to taxpayers whose accounts are required to be audited under the income tax rules.
For these taxpayers, the tax audit report deadline has moved to October 21, 2026, while the income tax return filing deadline has moved to November 21, 2026.
Taxpayers should still complete their audit and return filing within the revised deadlines to avoid applicable consequences for late compliance.
Earlier ITR Filing Deadlines
The deadline for salaried taxpayers and other individuals who were not covered by tax audit requirements was July 31, 2026.
For businesses and professionals whose accounts did not require a tax audit, the earlier ITR filing deadline was August 31, 2026.
According to the Income Tax Department, more than 7.8 crore income tax returns had been filed for assessment year 2026-27 by August 31, 2026.
The latest extension therefore primarily provides additional time to taxpayers covered by tax audit requirements.
