Belated Tax Returns: Avoid Penalties and Understand the Impact of Late Filing

Belated Tax Returns: Avoid Penalties and Understand the Impact of Late Filing

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has extended the due date for filing the audit report to September 25. The Gujarat High Court has also directed that the tax audit return deadline be extended from October 31 to November 30. Similar directions may come from other High Courts as well.

These extensions apply only to taxpayers who are required to undergo a tax audit. Other taxpayers are not covered, even though there have been technical issues since the last week of August.

If a person who doesn’t need a tax audit misses the last date to file their return (this year it was extended from July 31 to September 16, 2025), they can still file it later. Such a return is called a belated return.

A belated return can be filed up to “December 31, 2025“. Filing it late helps avoid the bigger problems of not filing at all, but there are still some downsides. For example, you may have to pay late fees and interest, and you may lose the right to carry forward certain losses.