Income Tax Department: More than 6 crore IT returns filed so far; 15 Sep is last date

The Income Tax Department said in a post on X, “Thank you to the taxpayers and tax professionals who have helped us reach the milestone of 6 crore Income Tax Returns (ITRs) so far and this number is still going on.”

New Delhi: The Income Tax Department said on Saturday that more than six crore income tax returns have been filed so far for the assessment year 2025-26. The last date for filing ITR without penalty is September 15.

The Income Tax Department said in a post on X, "Thank you to the taxpayers and tax professionals who have helped us reach the milestone of 6 crore Income Tax Returns (ITRs) so far and this number is still going on."

ITR filing

To assist taxpayers for ITR filing, tax payment and other related services, our helpdesk is working on a 24x7 basis. The department is providing support through calls, live chat, Webex sessions and Twitter/X. The income tax department has also urged taxpayers who have not filed ITR for assessment year 2025-26 to file it as soon as possible to avoid last-minute rush.

The income tax department in May had announced the extension of the last date for filing ITR for assessment year (AY) 2025-26 (for income earned in financial year 2024-25) from July 31 to September 15 by individuals, HUFs and entities (who are not required to get their accounts audited).

The income tax department had taken this decision due to 'structural and content-related changes' in the income tax return (ITR) form. The notification of income tax return forms was issued in late April and early May. Along with the changes made in the ITR form for assessment year 2025-26, changes were also required to be made in the ITR filing features and back-end systems.

There has been a steady increase in ITR filing over the past few years. This is due to increased compliance and expansion of the tax base. For assessment year 2024-25, a record 7.28 crore ITRs were filed till July 31, 2024, as against 6.77 crore in assessment year 2023-24. This is a growth of 7.5 per cent on a year-on-year basis.