If there is one thing life has taught us, it's how to postpone everything important till we can't afford to any longer. This statement doesn’t ring truer than in the case of income tax filing. We avoid it like the plague until the deadline comes knocking, which is when the responsible stranger in us wakes up and gets to doing what should have been done a long time ago. The surge in the number of online tax-filers on the last day is so overwhelming that the system overloads more often than not. And yet, there is a vast majority that misses the July 31st deadline. Proper tax planning can help to carry out the income tax filing with no issues. If you are one of them, keep reading. If you are not, continue anyway. It never hurts to know your options.

Before we get into post deadline tax filing, let us remind you that doing it in time has its own advantages that you can't enjoy after the due date.

• If you thought you can take it easy because you can amend it later, you’ve got another thing coming. Returns that are filed after the due date cannot be revised if you’ve made any mistakes.
• You also cannot claim any refunds for the tax you paid. Pro-tip for the business owners out there, an income tax return filed in time can help you claim losses which you can’t otherwise. In other words, capital losses can't be carried forward if you file return after the deadline.

But that does not mean you can't file your tax returns. Typically, the last date to file ITR is 31st July. However, the last date for the last FY i.e. FY2019-20 was extended till 10th Jan 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic as an exceptions.

Return submitted after the last date is called as a belated return. You can file this return before the completion of the assessment year or by the end of the relevant assessment year, whichever is earlier. There is no difference in the filing procedure of the two, except that it requires you to mention that it's a belated return.

You will have to pay a late filing penalty if you file a return after the last date, i.e. a belated return. The penalty for filing belated return is Rs.10,000 as Income Tax Department extended the last date beyond 31st December. Typically, if you miss filing after the ITR due date, a flat penalty of Rs.5,000 is levied when you file belated returns till 31st December and Rs.10,000 when return is filed between 31st December and 31st March of the assessment year. For taxpayers with income of up to Rs.5 lakh, a penalty of Rs.1,000 will be applicable when filing belated ITR till 31st March.

Take this example to understand it better. If you missed filing ITR, you could file a belated return later for the FY 2019-20 on or before 31 March 2021.

Click Here to know what is ITR ?

So, go on, uncap your pen, put your tax-filing hat on and get to work.

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