ITR filing deadline 2026: Only 5 days left till 31 July — Key things taxpayers must know

Taxpayers filing ITR-1 or ITR-2 have just five days left to meet the 31 July deadline. Experts urge immediate action, warning that last-minute filing increases risk of mistakes and delays in e‑verification.

Salaried individuals, stock market investors, pensioners and those without any business or professional income should file and verify their returns now to ensure accurate compliance with tax authorities.

Here are the six key aspects that all taxpayers should know when filing their tax returns as we run up to the last date of 31 July.

The 31 July deadline mainly applies to taxpayers filing ITR-1 or ITR-2 forms, including salaried employees, pensioners, investors and individuals without business or professional income.

However, taxpayers with non-audit business or professional income can file their returns by 31 August, while audit cases and companies have separate due dates under the Income-tax Act.

As of 25 July, the Income Tax Department reported encouraging tax filing numbers.

To end all confusion and disputes surrounding this issue, it is clear that although the Income-tax Act, 2025, came into force on 1 April, it applies only to Tax Year 2026-27 onwards. For the current filing period of AY 2026-27, the Income Tax Act, 2025, is not applicable. As the AY 2026-27 relates to income earned during FY 2025-26, taxpayers will continue to calculate and file their returns under the Income-tax Act, 1961.

The introduction of the new tax law has also created confusion among many taxpayers about how many tax returns they are supposed to file. To bring complete clarity on this, do note that you are only required to file one Income Tax Return for AY 2026-27. No separate return, filing form or income tax return document is required to be submitted under the new Income Tax Act, 2025, as this will be applicable from tax year 2026-27.

Filing an income tax return is only half of the process. The successful income tax return submission is to be completed. An ITR becomes valid only after its completion and verification through Aadhaar-enabled OTP, net banking, bank account EVC, Demat account EVC or other similar approved methods.

Below is the final checklist that all taxpayers must adhere to in order to ensure proper compliance and timely submission of their tax returns.

With just five more days to go, taxpayers should complete accurate tax filing and verification well before 31 July. For most investors, salaried individuals, pensioners and other taxpayers, this is the applicable deadline.

Shivam writes on personal finance, equity markets, and mutual funds. He has previously contributed to several leading publications, including Moneycontrol. He can be reached at shivam.shukla@htdigital.in

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