If you are taxable in India, then your income tax return must be filed on or before the due date of filing i.e. 31st July of the following financial year. In case you missed it, you can still file your ITR on or before the end of the assessment year. However, in such types of cases, you will be required to a pay late filing fee based on your total income for the respective financial year.
With effect from the financial year 2017-18, the following late filing fee is applicable for filing the ITR after the due date.
Late Filing Fee Details for the Financial year 2019-20
| E-filing Date | late filing fee when total income is below 5,00,000 rupees | Late filing fee when total income is above 5,00,000 rupees |
| Up to Due date of filing | NIL | NIL |
| Between the due date of filing ITR and 31st December 2020 | Rs. 1,000 | Rs. 5,000 |
| Between 1st January 2021 to 31st March 2021 | Rs. 1,000 | Rs. 10,000 |
For the financial year 2019-20, a late filing fee of Rs 1,000 will be paid if your total income is below Rs 5 Lakhs and you have filed your tax return after 30th November 2020 but on or before 31st March 2021. Please note, for the financial year 2019-20 (AY 2020-21), the due date of filing income tax return has been extended to 30th November 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
If total income is above 5 lakhs rupees, Rs 5000 has to be paid as a late filing fee if ITR has been filed between 1st November 2020 to 31st December 2020. Additional late filing of Rs 5,000 will be paid if the date of filing is in between 1st January 2021 to 31st March 2021.
This means if you file your return after 31st December 2020 but on or before 31st March 2021, 10,000 rupees will be the late fee with an income of more than 5 lakhs rupees.
After 31st March 2021, you will not be allowed to file your income tax return for the financial year 2019-20.
For the financial year 2019-20, the ministry of finance may extend the due date of filing income tax return from 30th November 2020 to another day based on practical difficulties or due to some other issue. Otherwise, the due date of filing will be 30th November 2020. You are requested to re-visit this website to get an update on the extension of due dates for filing an income tax return.
Assessment year is the year immediately following the previous financial year for which return of income has to be filed. The financial year starts from 1st April of each year and ends on 31st March of the next year. This means for the assessment year 2020-21, you file a return of income for the financial year 2019-20. The financial year 2019-20 starts from 1st April 2019 and ends on 31st March 2020.
However, in case of any mistake, you can revise your return on or before 31st March of the following financial year without paying any late filing fee. Earlier, it was allowed to file your revised return within 2 years from the end of the financial year, now it has been reduced to one year.
Also Read : Income Tax Slab Rates For FY 2020-21 & AY 2021-22: For Individuals
