AY 2026-27 is the assessment year for income earned in Financial Year 2025-26, which ran from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026. If you had taxable income during that period, you are required to file an ITR. Below are the applicable deadlines.
Filing deadlines by category
What AY and FY mean (and why it matters)
Financial Year 2025-26 is the year in which you earned the income. Assessment Year 2026-27 is the following year, in which the government assesses and taxes that income. When you file your return, you select AY 2026-27 in the portal. Selecting the wrong assessment year is one of the most common filing mistakes and requires a rectification request to fix.
What has changed in the forms this year
The Income Tax Department releases updated ITR forms each year. Before you file, pull up the latest form notification from the department website. Changes commonly affect how you report foreign assets, capital gains from listed securities, and income from virtual digital assets. If you used last year's format or a prefilled form without reviewing the changes, you may be filing incorrectly.
The Annual Information Statement (AIS) on the tax portal now aggregates most of your financial data automatically: salary TDS from Form 16, interest income from banks, mutual fund redemptions, equity share sales, and dividend receipts. Cross-check your AIS against your own records before filing. Discrepancies between what you report and what appears in AIS tend to trigger notices.
Penalties for late filing
A belated return filed after July 31 but before December 31 is still valid, but you lose certain benefits. Losses from capital gains, business, or speculation cannot be carried forward in a belated return. If you have short-term or long-term capital losses this year that you want to offset in future years, filing on time is not optional.
Documents to gather before you file
Running through this list before you open the portal saves time and reduces errors.
- Form 16 from your employer (Part A and Part B)
- AIS and Taxpayer Information Summary from the income tax portal
- Bank interest certificates for all savings and FD accounts
- Capital gains statement from your broker and mutual fund registrar (CAMS / KFintech)
- Rent receipts and house property income or loss details
- Advance tax payment challan details (Sections 234B, 234C apply if advance tax was short)
- Previous year returns for carry-forward loss comparison
Old regime vs new regime: confirm before filing
The new tax regime is the default for AY 2026-27. If you want to opt for the old regime and claim deductions under Section 80C, 80D, HRA, and others, you must explicitly select it while filing. If you are a salaried employee and your employer deducted TDS under the new regime but you want to switch to the old regime at filing time, you can do so, and the refund will adjust for any excess TDS deducted.
Use Fermor's Income Tax Calculator to run both regimes side by side before you commit. If you sold stocks or mutual funds during FY 2025-26, the Capital Gains Calculator will give you the STCG and LTCG figures you need for Schedule CG in your return.
Note: Due dates mentioned are statutory deadlines under the Income Tax Act, 1961. The government may extend these dates. Always verify on the Income Tax Department website (incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in) before filing. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax advice. Consult a qualified chartered accountant for your specific situation.