Income Tax records 7.8 crore returns by the new August 31 deadline

The Income Tax Department said on 1 September that more than 7.8 crore returns had been filed for assessment year 2026-27 by the close of 31 August. That date was the new statutory deadline for taxpayers with business or professional income whose accounts are not audited. The department posted the figure on X and thanked taxpayers and professionals for filing on time.

Inside that heap sit more than 5.9 crore ITR-1 and ITR-2 forms filed by 31 July, the earlier due date for individuals and Hindu undivided families who do not have audit-class business income. The remaining filings through August are largely ITR-3, ITR-4, ITR-5 and ITR-7 from the non-audit business and professional group.

Last year more than 7.3 crore returns for AY 2025-26 were in by 16 September 2025, after the deadline had been extended. This year's 7.8 crore arrived earlier, against a harder stop, and already exceeds that extended tally.

The calendar the Finance Act actually changed

The Finance Act, 2026, rewrote the return-filing schedule in the Income-tax Act, 1961. Non-audit salaried and other specified taxpayers still file by 31 July. Non-audit businesses and professionals now file by 31 August. Companies and other audited accounts file by 31 October. Transfer-pricing cases under Section 92E file by 30 November.

The extra month for ITR-3 and ITR-4 was sold as a way to take load off the e-filing portal on 31 July. Comments under the department's own post said the split did that job. Other comments said returns filed in early July were still unprocessed on 1 September, including cases where advance tax had already been paid to avoid interest.

Missing 31 August is not a dead end. A belated return can still be filed, with the usual consequences for interest, late fees and the loss of some carry-forward claims. The department did not publish a late-fee waiver with the record tally.

What the record does and does not prove

A larger pile of returns is not the same thing as a larger pile of tax. The 7.8 crore figure counts forms, not collections. Advance tax, TDS and the still-open audit cohort will decide the year's cash. What the figure does show is that the split deadline pulled the non-audit business cohort forward by two weeks relative to last year's extended date, and that the portal absorbed a record volume without a public collapse on 31 August.

The next official number that matters is how many of those 7.8 crore returns are processed, how many refunds are issued, and how many of the audit-class filers arrive by 31 October. Until then the department has a headline count and a new calendar that, on the first try, produced more forms sooner than the old one.