Late Filing Fee for Income Tax Return and Other Default Fees under the Income Tax Act 2025

Under the Income-tax Act, 2025, missing certain filing deadlines costs a fixed fee, separate from interest and penalty. A late income tax return costs Rs 1,000 if total income is up to Rs 5,00,000 and Rs 5,000 otherwise (section 428(a)). A late TDS or TCS statement costs Rs 200 for every day of delay (section 427). Missing a tax audit report costs Rs 75,000 or Rs 1,50,000 (section 428(c)).

Sections 427 to 430 sit in the part of the Act headed "Levy of fee in certain cases". Each section starts "without prejudice to the provisions of this Act", so the fee is charged in addition to whatever else the Act provides for the same default. The text below is as amended by the Finance Act, 2026, effective 1 April 2026, and the examples use tax year 2026-27 unless stated. This is information, not tax advice.

What default fees does the Income Tax Act 2025 charge?

Default	Fee	Section
Return of income not filed by the due date	Rs 1,000 if total income is up to Rs 5,00,000; Rs 5,000 in any other case	428(a)
Revised return filed after nine months from the end of the tax year	Rs 1,000 or Rs 5,000, same split	428(b)
Tax audit report not obtained and furnished	Rs 75,000 for delay up to one month; Rs 1,50,000 thereafter	428(c)
Accountant's report not furnished (international or specified domestic transaction)	Rs 50,000 for delay up to one month; Rs 1,00,000 thereafter	428(d)
TDS or TCS statement filed late	Rs 200 for every day; capped at the tax deductible or collectible	427(1), (2)
Statement of financial transaction or reportable account filed late	Rs 200 for every day; capped at Rs 1,00,000	427(3)
Donee statement or certificate late (research association, university, college, institution or fund)	Rs 200 for every day; capped at the amount the failure relates to	429
Aadhaar number not intimated by the prescribed date	Fee as prescribed, not exceeding Rs 1,000, paid when you intimate	430

What is the late filing fee for an income tax return?

Section 263 lists who must file a return and sets the due date. If you are required to file and miss that date, section 428(a) makes you liable to a fee. The amount does not grow with the number of days late. It depends only on your total income:

• Rs 1,000 if total income does not exceed Rs 5,00,000;
• Rs 5,000 in any other case.

The due dates in section 263(1)(c) are dates in the financial year after the tax year:

Who (section 263(1)(c) Table)	Due date
Assessee (including a partner, or the partner's spouse where section 10 applies) where section 172 applies	30 November
Company; assessee (other than a company) whose accounts must be audited; partner of a firm whose accounts must be audited (or that partner's spouse)	31 October
Business or profession income, accounts not required to be audited (and partner of such a firm, or the partner's spouse)	31 August
Any other assessee	31 July

For the full filing rules, see our guide on who must file and the due dates.

Until when can a late or revised return still be filed?

Missing the due date does not close the door. Under section 263(4), a person who has not filed in time may file the return at any time within nine months from the end of the tax year, or before the assessment is completed, whichever is earlier. Under section 263(5), a revised return can be filed within twelve months from the end of the tax year (or before assessment completes, if earlier), subject to section 428(b).

That "subject to" matters. If a revised return is furnished after the nine-month mark, the same Rs 1,000 or Rs 5,000 fee applies under section 428(b).

How is the late filing fee worked out? Two examples

	Example 1: Ravi	Example 2: Meena
Situation	Resident individual with an overseas bank account, so he must file (section 263(1)(a)(ix)). Total income Rs 4,80,000 for tax year 2026-27.	Consultant with business or profession income, accounts not audited. Total income Rs 12,00,000 for tax year 2026-27.
Due date	31 July 2027 ("any other assessee")	31 August 2027 (business income, no audit)
Filed on	15 September 2027	20 December 2027
Within the nine-month window?	Yes (ends 31 December 2027)	Yes (ends 31 December 2027)
Income test	Rs 4,80,000 is not more than Rs 5,00,000	Rs 12,00,000 is more than Rs 5,00,000
Fee under 428(a)	Rs 1,000	Rs 5,000

The fee is the same whether Meena is 4 months late or 4 days late. The assumptions here are the facts stated in the table; the due-date rows come from the section 263(1)(c) Table.

Does a late return cost more than the fee?

Yes, the fee is only one part. Section 423(1) charges simple interest at 1% a month (formula I = 1% x A x T) where a return is furnished after the due date or not furnished. Under Sl. No. 1 of the section 423(2) Table, the months run from the day after the due date in section 263(1) up to the date the return is furnished, on the tax still unpaid. Our guide on interest on late filing works through the months and the tax base.

Losses are the other cost. Section 121 says a loss that has not been determined in pursuance of a return filed under section 263(1) cannot be carried forward and set off under sections 111(1), 112(1), 113(2), 114(2) or 115(2). If you have a loss to carry forward, read filing a return to carry forward losses before deciding to file late.

What are the fee, interest and loss consequences side by side?

Consequence	Basis	Depends on
Late filing fee	Section 428(a)	Total income: Rs 1,000 or Rs 5,000
Interest	Section 423(1)	Unpaid tax and months of delay
Loss carry-forward	Section 121	Whether the loss was determined in a return under section 263(1)

What is the fee for not getting accounts audited or not filing the audit report?

Section 428(c) applies to a person who fails to get accounts audited and furnish the audit report as section 63 requires. The fee is Rs 75,000 for a delay up to one month for which the failure continues, and Rs 1,50,000 thereafter.

Section 63(5)(a) says the "specified date" is one month before the due date for the return under section 263(1). So the audit report is due a month ahead of the return itself. For who needs an audit, see our guide on tax audit limits and due dates.

Worked example, tax year 2026-27. Anil runs a trading business with turnover of Rs 2,40,00,000 (Rs 2.4 crore). Assume his cash receipts and payments are above 5% of the totals, so the Rs 1 crore limit in section 63(1) Sl. No. 1(a) applies and he needs an audit.

1. Return due date: 31 October 2027 (audited assessee, not a company).
2. Specified date for the audit report: one month earlier, 30 September 2027.
3. If he furnishes the report on 18 October 2027, the delay is within one month: fee Rs 75,000.
4. If he furnishes it on 5 November 2027, the failure has continued for more than one month: fee Rs 1,50,000.

Where section 172 applies (international transaction or specified domestic transaction), the accountant's report must be furnished by the specified date, and section 428(d) charges Rs 50,000 for a delay up to one month and Rs 1,00,000 thereafter.

What is the fee for filing a TDS or TCS statement late?

Anyone who deducts or collects tax must deliver a statement after paying the tax over (section 397(3)(b)). Under section 427(1), a late statement costs Rs 200 for every day the failure continues. Two conditions follow from section 427(2): the fee cannot exceed the tax deductible or collectible, and it must be paid before the statement is delivered.

Rule 219 sets the forms and the quarterly due dates:

Quarter ending	Due date for the statement
30 June	31 July of the financial year
30 September	31 October of the financial year
31 December	31 January of the financial year
31 March	31 May of the following financial year

The forms in rule 219(1) are 138 (section 392 other than 392(7), and section 393(1) Sl. No. 8(iii)), 144 (sections 392(7), 393(2) and 393(3), where the deductee is a non-resident other than a company or foreign company, or a resident but not ordinarily resident), 140 (sections 392(7), 393(1) other than Sl. No. 8(iii), and 393(3), for all other deductees) and 143 (section 394(1) collections). A challan-cum-statement in Form 141 follows a separate 30-day timeline for the cases in rule 219(5), such as rent under section 393(1) Sl. No. 2(i).

Worked example, tax year 2026-27. Two deductors miss the same deadline: the quarter ended 30 September 2026, so the statement was due on 31 October 2026. Assume each day from 1 November is counted until the date of filing.

	Deductor A	Deductor B
Tax deducted in the quarter	Rs 30,000	Rs 3,000
Statement filed on	20 November 2026	10 December 2026
Days of default (1 Nov onwards)	20	40
Rs 200 a day	Rs 4,000	Rs 8,000
Cap: tax deductible	Rs 30,000, not reached	Rs 3,000, reached
Fee payable first	Rs 4,000	Rs 3,000

For interest and other consequences of TDS failures, see TDS failure: interest and penalty.

What is the fee for a late statement of financial transaction?

Section 508 requires banks, registrars, stock exchanges and other listed reporting persons to furnish a statement of specified financial transactions or reportable accounts. Under section 427(3), a late statement attracts Rs 200 for every day, with a ceiling of Rs 1,00,000. Rule 237(5) fixes the due date at 31 May immediately following the financial year in which the transaction is registered or recorded. This mostly concerns institutions, not individual taxpayers.

What is the fee for default by a donee institution?

Section 429 covers two groups: a research association, university, college or other institution (or a company) referred to in section 45(3), and an institution or fund under section 354(1). If they fail to deliver the prescribed documents or statement, or to furnish the required certificate, the fee is Rs 200 for every day. It cannot exceed the amount the failure relates to, and must be paid before the statement is delivered or the certificate furnished (section 429(2)). Rule 190 prescribes Form 113 for the donation statement under section 354(1).

What happens if I have not linked Aadhaar to my PAN?

Section 262(6) requires a PAN holder who is eligible for Aadhaar to intimate the Aadhaar number. If this is not done, the PAN is made inoperative. Section 430 adds a fee of up to Rs 1,000, paid when the intimation is made after the prescribed date. Rule 158(10) prescribes Rs 1,000 for a person who failed to intimate by 30 June 2023.

Rule 162 spells out what an inoperative PAN costs until it becomes operative again (within thirty days of intimation, after paying the fee):

• no refund of tax, and no interest on that refund, for the period;
• tax deducted or collected from you at source goes at the higher rate under section 397(2).

See also our guide on PAN under the 2025 Act.

Real-life examples

Ravi forgets a foreign account. Ravi thinks he has no income worth reporting, so he skips filing. The overseas account makes a return mandatory under section 263(1)(a)(ix) regardless of income, because it is a person holding an asset outside India. When he files in September, he pays Rs 1,000 under section 428(a) because his total income is under Rs 5,00,000.

Meena's revised return. Meena filed on time for tax year 2026-27, then finds an omitted bank interest entry in February 2028. Section 263(5) lets her revise until 31 March 2028. Because 31 December 2027 has passed, section 428(b) charges her Rs 5,000 (her total income exceeds Rs 5,00,000) for the revised return.

A university's late statement. A university referred to in section 45(3)(a) delays its prescribed statement by 15 days. Section 429 charges Rs 3,000 (15 x Rs 200), payable before it delivers the statement. If the amount the failure relates to is smaller than Rs 3,000, the fee is capped at that amount.

Common mistakes

1. Treating the fee as a per-day charge for returns. The return fee in section 428(a) is a flat Rs 1,000 or Rs 5,000. Only the statement fees run per day.
2. Filing the TDS statement first and planning to pay the fee later. Section 427(2)(b) requires the fee to be paid before the statement is delivered.
3. Missing the audit report date because the return date is far away. The audit report is due one month before the return (section 63(5)(a)), and the fee jumps to Rs 1,50,000 once the delay passes a month.
4. Revising late without noticing the nine-month mark. A revised return after nine months from the end of the tax year carries the section 428(b) fee even though section 263(5) still allows it.
5. Ignoring the Aadhaar intimation. An inoperative PAN blocks refunds and pushes TDS to the higher rate (rule 162), on top of the fee.

Quick reference: key dates and limits

Item	Limit or date
Late return window	Nine months from end of tax year (section 263(4))
Revised return window	Twelve months from end of tax year (section 263(5)); fee after nine months
Audit report date	One month before the return due date (section 63(5)(a))
TDS statement, Q4	31 May of the following financial year (rule 219(4))
Financial transaction statement	31 May after the financial year (rule 237(5))
Daily fee cap, TDS or TCS statement	Tax deductible or collectible (section 427(2)(a))
Daily fee cap, financial transaction statement	Rs 1,00,000 (section 427(3))

Where this is in the Act

• Section 427: fee for default in furnishing statements (TDS/TCS and financial transaction statements)
• Section 428: fee for default in furnishing return of income, audited accounts and reports
• Section 429: fee for default relating to statement or certificate
• Section 430: fee for default relating to intimation of Aadhaar number
• Section 263: return of income, due dates, belated and revised returns
• Section 63: tax audit; section 172: accountant's report; section 262: PAN and Aadhaar; section 397(3)(b): TDS statement; section 508: financial transaction statement
• Rule 219 (TDS statements and due dates), rule 237 (financial transaction statements), rules 158 and 162 (Aadhaar fee, inoperative PAN), rule 190 (donation statement)

A fee is the cheapest default to avoid and the easiest to miss across a client list. For a CA firm, the work is tracking which returns, audit reports and quarterly statements fall due on which date for which client. Finexo's practice management software holds those deadlines in one place and reminds the team before they pass.

The old-law mapping of these fees is not covered here; check an official source for it before you rely on it.