ITR filing deadline extended to Sept 16 amid technical glitches

The government on Monday extended the deadline for filing Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for the Assessment Year 2025-26 by one day to September 16, following technical glitches that affected the e-filing portal on the original due date.

A record over 7.3 crore ITRs were filed till September 15, surpassing last year's 7.28 crore, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a post on X. "To facilitate further filings of ITRs, the due date has been extended by one day (16th September 2025)," the CBDT said.

The e-filing portal faced huge traffic on Monday, which was the last date for filing ITRs for AY 2025-26. Also, Monday was the last date for payment of the second quarterly instalment of advance tax for the ongoing fiscal year.

Late Monday, the Income Tax Department shared a guide on resolving browser issues for ITR filers. These steps usually resolve most local access-related difficulties, the department said. "Having difficulty accessing the Income Tax e-Filing Portal? Sometimes, access difficulties with the Income Tax e-Filing Portal may arise due to local system/browser settings. These simple steps often help resolve such issues," it said in a post on X.

However, people continued to face glitches even after following the steps. The last date to file ITRs without penalty is now September 16 for the income earned in the 2024-25 fiscal.

Several chartered accountants and individuals have taken to social media over the last couple of days claiming that the I-T portal is facing glitches while making tax payment and downloading AIS (Annual Information Statement). On Monday, netizens even complained that they were unable to log in to the e-fling portal. Some also complained of the inability to pay the advance tax for the July-September quarter.

Replying to a post which claimed that there were issues in uploading ITR and tax payment, the department had earlier in the day said, "The e-filing portal is working fine. Please clear your browser cache or try accessing the portal through a different browser". It also asked people to share their details, along with PAN and mobile number, on the email id -- orm@cpc.incometax.gov.in.

The department had, in May, announced an extension of the due date for filing ITRs for AY 2025-26 (for the income earned in Financial Year 2024-25) by individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) and entities that do not have to get their accounts audited from July 31 to September 15.

The extension was on account of "structural and content revisions" in the ITR forms, which were notified in late April and early May. The changes made in the ITR form for AY 2025-26 also need modifications to be made in ITR filing utilities and the back-end system.

On September 15, this has been further extended by a day till September 16. "To enable changes in the utilities, the e-filing portal will remain in maintenance mode from 12 am to 2.30 am on 16th September 2025," the CBDT said in a statement issued just before midnight of September 16.

ITR filings have shown consistent growth over the years, reflecting rising compliance and the widening of the tax base. For AY 2024-25, a record 7.28 crore ITRs were filed up to July 31, 2024, compared to 6.77 crore for AY 2023-24, registering a 7.5 per cent year-on-year growth.

(With PTI inputs)