Taxpayers Covered Under Section 44AB Must Complete Filing by September 30, 2026:

The Income Tax Department has prescribed September 30, 2026 as the due date for furnishing the tax audit report for FY 2025-26 corresponding to AY 2026-27, in cases where the taxpayer is required to get its accounts audited under Section 44AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The corresponding income-tax return for taxpayers covered by this deadline is generally due by October 31, 2026.

Under Section 44AB, tax audit requirements generally apply to taxpayers carrying on business where the turnover or gross receipts exceed Rs 1 crore. The threshold is enhanced to Rs 10 crore where both cash receipts and cash payments do not exceed 5% of the relevant totals.

The tax audit report is required to be uploaded by the Chartered Accountant through the Income Tax e-Filing Portal. For FY 2025-26, the applicable forms continue to be Form 3CA-3CD or Form 3CB-3CD, depending upon the nature of the taxpayer and whether the accounts are required to be audited under any other law.

Once uploaded, the report appears in the taxpayer's Worklist as “Pending for Acceptance” section. The taxpayer must review the report, accept it and complete e-verification for the filing process to be completed.

The taxpayer should log in to the Income Tax e-Filing Portal and verify whether the report has appeared under the pending actions or worklist for acceptance and e-verification. An acknowledgement is generated after completion of the prescribed process.