ITR filing last date on March 31: Know what happens if you miss deadline

The last date for filing your Income Tax Return (ITR) for FY 2020/21 (AY 2021/22) is March 31. The original deadline was July 31, which was extended because of COVID-19 and the date was revised to 31 December 2021, then 15 February 2021, and finally 15 March 2021.

The last date of March 31 for filing an ITR is under an income tax law that gives taxpayers three months window to file a belated ITR. If citizens miss filing the ITR before the deadline then it could lead to a penalty and demand for interest payment from the income tax department.

Know what happens if last date for filing ITR for FY 2020/21 (AY 2021/22) is missed

As mentioned above, this could lead to a penalty which is ₹5,000 under Section 234F of the Income Tax Act. However, those whose total income is below ₹5 lakh, will have to pay ₹1,000 as a penalty.

The penalty must be paid even if citizens are filing for a non-taxable amount and this rule is applicable to all taxpayers. The income tax department can also charge you a penalty of 50% of tax payable and sometimes, in extreme cases, faces one can also land on a jail term of three years.

Additionally, with penalties, citizens may also have to pay interest - 1% per month or part of the month for tax left unpaid.

If you do not file your returns, you may also face higher TDS (tax deducted at source) - under a proposal in last year's Budget non-filers will face TDS at twice the normal rate or 5%.

If a person has not filed an ITR in the two years immediately before the one in which tax is to be deducted then he or she is known to be a 'non-filer'. In such cases, it would be FY 2019/20 and FY 2018/19. If you fail to file a return as prescribed, the person will also lose any refund due from TDS collection.

The income tax department tweeted last week to say that over ₹1,92,720 crore had been issued as refunds to 2.26 crore taxpayers from 1 April 2021 to 20 March 2022.