Deadlines for income tax audit and ITR filing extended for AY 2026-2027 to these dates

Sep 28, 2026

Synopsis
The Central Government has extended the deadline for filing Income Tax Returns for the Assessment Year 2026-27. Taxpayers subject to audit now have until November 21, 2026 to file their returns. Additionally, the tax audit deadline has been shifted to October 21, 2026, providing more time for compliance. Chartered Accountants must upload the tax audit report on behalf of their clients through the e-filing portal.

Good news for taxpayers as the Central Government of Direct Tax (CBDT) has extended both the tax audit and ITR filing deadlines.

CBDT extends due date for furnishing ITR for AY 2026-27 in respect of persons subject to audit under the Income-tax Act, 1961

In a social media tweet, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said that they have decided to extend the due date of furnishing of income tax return (ITR) for Assessment Year 2026-27 in the case of persons mentioned at S. No. 2 in the Table below Explanation 2 to sub-section (1) of section 139 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 from October 31, 2026 to November 21, 2026.

Accordingly, the 'specified date' for furnishing of the report of tax audit under the provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for Assessment Year 2026-27, in the case of such persons, stands extended to October 21, 2026 from September 30, 2026.

So the ITR filing due date is extended from October 31, 2026 to November 21, 2026 and the Income Tax Audit deadline is extended from September 30, 2026 to October 21, 2026.

Table showing extended income tax audit deadlines:

Source: CA Jigar Suba

Chartered Accountant Avinash Kumar Rao, Partner at Mohindra & Associates said to ET Wealth Online that the due date extension for both income tax audit and the ITR will certainly provide relief to taxpayers and professionals, especially since a substantial number of tax audits are still under progress and many companies are yet to fully finalise their accounts and share the required information with their auditors.

For non-transfer pricing cases, Rao says that the tax audit due date has been extended from 30 September 30, 2026 to October 21, 2026, while the ITR due date has moved from 31 October 31st to November 21, 2026.

Rao says: "However, taxpayers should use this additional time effectively and avoid pushing compliance to the last few days. Wherever tax liability has already been determined, the tax should ideally be paid at the earliest, since delay in payment may continue to attract applicable interest. The extension should therefore be seen as an opportunity to complete filings properly and accurately, rather than merely postponing the compliance.”

CA Jigar Suba, founder of J C Suba & Associates, says that many chartered accountants like him all over India are relieved now that the income tax audit and income tax return (ITR) due date, both, has been extended. Suba says that in the past few days there were persistent technical glitches on both the income tax e-filing ITR portal and the ICAI UDIN portal.

To tell you more about income tax audit, not everyone needs to do it and for those who need to conduct an income tax audit, they need to hire a chartered accountants to conduct an Income Tax Audit and the CA needs to complete the audit and upload the tax audit report on the e-filing ITR portal on the taxpayers’ behalf.

Amit Agarwal, Senior Partner, Nangia & Co LLP, said to ET Wealth Online: "The 21-day extension announced by CBDT is a pragmatic measure, particularly for taxpayers with complex businesses and significant audit and reconciliation requirements."

According to Agarwal, this due date extension for both tax audit and ITR will come as a welcome relief for businesses and the professional community, particularly given the significant amount of data reconciliation and enhanced reporting involved in the current compliance cycle.

What does this mean for taxpayers?

CA Naveen Wadhwa, Vice President, Research and Advisory Division at Taxmann, said to ET Wealth Online that this deadline extension mainly covers companies and others whose accounts must be audited.

Wadhwa says: "It does not cover taxpayers who have to file Form 3CEB (Transfer Pricing)."

As a result of the ITR filing due date extension, Wadhwa says an ITR filed by November 21, 2026 will count as filed on time. This means taxpayers keep their right to carry forward business and capital losses and to claim deductions that depend on timely filing.

Wadhwa says: "In past extensions, the orders usually stated that interest under Section 234A would still be charged from the original due date. However, the press release is silent on the point. If the formal order also says nothing, interest under Section 234A may not apply to a return filed after the original due date but by November 21, 2026."

The CA who did the tax audit needs to upload it on the e-filing ITR portal

The tax audit report is uploaded by the Chartered Accountant (CA) through the Income Tax e-Filing portal. However, the taxpayer also has to accept and e-verify the report.

Chartered Accountant Abhishek Soni, co-founder, Tax2Win, explains the process:

Assign the CA: The taxpayer adds the CA through Authorised Partners → My Chartered Accountant and assigns the applicable Form 3CA-3CD or Form 3CB-3CD.

CA accepts the assignment: The assigned form appears in the CA’s Worklist, where the CA accepts the assignment.

CA prepares and uploads the report: The CA completes the form using the offline utility, generates the JSON file, uploads it and verifies it using Digital Signature Certificate (DSC).

Taxpayer receives the report for acceptance: After the CA uploads and verifies the report, it appears in the taxpayer’s Worklist → Pending for Acceptance.

Taxpayer accepts and e-verifies: The taxpayer reviews the report, accepts it and completes e-verification. The filing is then completed, and an acknowledgement is generated.

Therefore, the taxpayer does not need to rely solely on the CA for confirmation. Soni says that taxpayers can log in to the e-Filing portal and check Pending Actions → Worklist → Pending for Acceptance to see whether the tax audit report has been uploaded.

[The Economic Times]