No Penalty for missing Deadline of ITR filing for these Categories of Taxpayer; Know Here

Missing the ITR submitting deadline, which is July 31, 2024, for persons who are not subject to an income tax audit, may result in more than just a penalty. If you do not file your income tax return by the deadline, you may not receive the interest component of your refund and will be unable to carry forward any losses.

You can still file a late income tax return by paying a penalty. The deadline for submitting a belated return for the financial year 2023-24 (Assessment Year 2024-25) is December 31, 2024.

Penalty for filing a Belated ITR

Filing a belated ITR includes late fee payment under section 234F as specified below:

• Rs.5,000 in case of total income is above Rs.5 lakh, or
• Rs.1,000 in case of total income is below 5 lakh.

It is said that the late filing fees for belated ITRs apply to all people who are obligated to file their ITRs. This includes those who are required to pay taxes. It also covers those whose income surpasses the basic exemption limit (Rs 2.5 lakh or 3 lakh) but does not need them to pay tax because their total income is less than the prescribed threshold (Rs.5 or 7 lakh).

Furthermore, under Section 234A, interest at the rate of 1% per month or portion thereof is imposed on the outstanding tax amount from the due date (July 31) to the date of submitting the ITR.

However, there are certain cases where no penalty is imposed, even if the filing is made after July 31, 2024.

Who can file a belated ITR without penalty?

These taxpayers don’t have to pay any penalty for filing a belated ITR:

• Taxpayers whose ITR deadline is October 31, 2024.
• Taxpayers with incomes below the basic exemption limit.
• Taxpayers who are not legally compelled to file an ITR but choose to do so voluntarily.

If you aren’t obliged by law to file an ITR, you can only file a belated ITR voluntarily, with no late fees. The only people who would not face the late filing penalty are those who file their ITR voluntarily and have an income less than the basic exemption limit.