The Central Board of Direct Taxes has decided to further extend the due date for filing these ITRs for AY 2025-26 from 15th September, 2025, to 16th September, 2025. The e-filing portal, it said, would remain in maintenance mode from midnight to 2.30 am on Tuesday to enable changes in the utilities.
In a big relief to taxpayers, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on late Monday night extended the deadline to file the Income Tax Return (ITR) for AY 2025-26 to September 16 (Tuesday). The Income Tax department tweeted, “The due date for filing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for AY 2025-26, originally due on 31st July 2025, was extended to 15th September 2025. The Central Board of Direct Taxes has decided to further extend the due date for filing these ITRs for AY 2025-26 from 15th September, 2025, to 16th September, 2025. The e-filing portal, it said, would remain in maintenance mode from midnight to 2.30 am on Tuesday to enable changes in the utilities.
According to the Income Tax department, a record 7.3 crore ITRs have been filed till September 15, 2025, surpassing last year’s 7.28 crore. In May, the department announced an extension for filing ITRs for Assessment Year (AY) 2025-26 (for income earned in the financial year 2024-25). This extension changed the deadline from July 31 to September 15 due to necessary updates to the ITR forms.
These updates also required changes to the filing tools and back-end systems.
ITR filings have increased consistently in recent years, indicating enhanced compliance and a broader tax base. For AY 2024-25, a record 7.28 crore ITRs were filed by July 31, 2024, compared to 6.77 crore for AY 2023-24, marking a 7.5 per cent increase from the previous year.
Users complain of glitches
Many chartered accountants and individuals have posted on social media about problems with the Income Tax (I-T) portal. They reported issues with making tax payments and downloading the Annual Information Statement (AIS). On Monday, users complained that they could not log into the e-filing portal.
Earlier, the Income Tax Department cautioned taxpayers about a fake message doing the rounds on social media and messaging platforms. The false claim suggests that the deadline for filing Income Tax Returns (ITRs), initially set for 31 July 2025 and later extended to 15 September 2025, has now been further extended to September 30, 2025. Clarifying the matter, the department said that the official last date for filing ITRs continues to be September 15. The department added, “Taxpayers are advised to rely only on official @IncomeTaxIndia updates (sic).”