Government extends deadline for filing Income Tax Return for Financial Year 2019 to Aug 31

Guwahati: Major relief to the taxpayers, as the government extended the deadline for filing the income tax return (ITR) for the financial year 2018-19 by a month to August 31, 2019.

Individuals, including salaried taxpayers, and entities - who do not need to get their accounts audited - were required to file their income tax returns for fiscal 2018-19 (Assessment Year 2019-20) by July 31, 2019.

"The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) extends the 'due date' for filing of Income Tax Returns from July 31, 2019 to August 31, 2019 in respect of the said categories of taxpayers," the finance ministry said in a statement.

“The categories of taxpayers includes all taxpayers who were liable to file their Income Tax Returns by 31st of July, 2019 & can now file their Income Tax Returns by 31st of August, 2019,” the Income Tax department said in a tweet.

The decision came in the wake of many taxpayers facing difficulty in filing their ITRs for various reasons, including the extension of the due date for the issuance of Form 16 for the assessment year 2019-20.

Many chartered accountants and tax professionals had also appealed to the government to extend the return filing deadline.

A late fee of Rs 5000 is usually levied on individuals if ITR is not filed before the due date and is filed before December 31. Those who file their taxes the next year (Between January 1 and March 31) will have to pay a late filing fee of Rs 10,000.

Income tax is levied on individual taxpayers on the basis of a slab system where different tax rates have been prescribed for different slabs. The government made no changes in the income tax structure in the recent Budget.

There are three categories of individual taxpayers- individuals (below the age of 60 years) which includes residents as well as non-residents, resident senior citizens (60 years and above but below 80 years of age) and resident super senior citizens (above 80 years of age). Individuals having an annual income of Rs. 2.5 lakh or more are mandatorily required to file income tax returns. For senior citizens (individuals between 60 years and 80 years of age), the limit is Rs. 3 lakh, and for very senior citizens (aged above 80 years), the limit is Rs. 5 lakh, according to the taxman.

It is to be noted that for the assessment year 2019-20 (the financial year 2018-19), July 31, 2019, is the deadline for individuals to file an income tax return, the Income Tax Department mentioned on its official website- incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in.

Also Read: All you need to know about income tax return filling: slabs, limits, exemptions and rates