Income Tax Deadlines in India: The Statutory Calendar

The year in order

Listed from the start of the financial year in April. Dates marked often extended are real statutory deadlines that the CBDT has moved in several recent years — treat the statutory date as the one that binds you.

1. 31 May

   Fixed by statute

   TDS return for the January–March quarter

   Deductors, including employers

   The final quarterly statement for the year just ended. Form 16 is generated from it, which is why employers cannot issue Form 16 before this statement is filed.

2. 15 June

   Fixed by statute

   First advance tax instalment

   Anyone whose tax liability after TDS exceeds ₹10,000 in the year

   Fifteen per cent of your estimated liability for the year is due. Shortfalls attract interest under sections 234B and 234C, which is why the instalment matters even when the amount is small.

   Estimate your liability first

3. 15 June

   Fixed by statute

   Form 16 issued by employers

   Salaried employees

   Employers issue Form 16 for the previous financial year by this date. Check it against your own payslips and Form 26AS before filing, because corrections take time to flow through.

4. 31 July

   Often extended by circular

   Income tax return due — non-audit cases

   Salaried individuals and others not subject to audit

   The statutory due date for most individual filers. The CBDT has extended this date in several recent years, but an extension is announced by circular and cannot be assumed in advance. File on the statutory date unless an extension has actually been notified.

   ITR-2 filing guide

5. 31 July

   Fixed by statute

   TDS return for the April–June quarter

   Deductors, including employers

   Quarterly TDS statements are due one month after the quarter ends. Late filing carries a daily fee under section 234E, and unfiled statements are the usual reason credit is missing from an employee’s Form 26AS.

6. 15 September

   Fixed by statute

   Second advance tax instalment

   Anyone paying advance tax

   Cumulative payment must reach forty-five per cent of estimated liability. The instalments are cumulative, so a shortfall in June can be made up here — with interest on the gap.

7. 31 October

   Often extended by circular

   Income tax return due — audit cases

   Businesses and professionals subject to tax audit

   Applies where accounts must be audited under section 44AB. The audit report itself is generally due a month earlier, and both dates have been extended in some years.

8. 31 October

   Fixed by statute

   TDS return for the July–September quarter

   Deductors, including employers

   The second quarterly statement. Employees who find credit missing from Form 26AS after this date should raise it with their employer rather than waiting until filing season.

9. 15 December

   Fixed by statute

   Third advance tax instalment

   Anyone paying advance tax

   Cumulative payment must reach seventy-five per cent of estimated liability. For most salaried people with only employment income, TDS already covers this and no separate payment is needed.

10. 31 December

    Fixed by statute

    Belated and revised returns

    Anyone who missed the due date or needs to correct a filed return

    The last ordinary opportunity to file late or revise a return for the assessment year. A belated return carries a fee under section 234F and forfeits the right to carry forward certain losses.

11. 31 January

    Fixed by statute

    TDS return for the October–December quarter

    Deductors, including employers

    The third quarterly statement. This is the last one filed before the financial year closes, so it is the practical deadline for fixing credit errors that would otherwise surface at filing.

12. 15 March

    Fixed by statute

    Final advance tax instalment

    Anyone paying advance tax, including presumptive taxpayers

    The full estimated liability must be paid by this date. Taxpayers under the presumptive schemes in sections 44AD and 44ADA pay their entire advance tax in this single instalment rather than in four.

    Check your liability

13. 31 March

    Fixed by statute

    Last date for tax-saving investments

    Anyone claiming deductions under the old regime

    Investments and payments must be made within the financial year to count. This is also the minimum-deposit deadline for PPF and Sukanya Samriddhi accounts — missing it makes the account dormant until a penalty is paid.

    80C deduction calculator

Dates that move: small savings rates

Interest rates on PPF, Sukanya Samriddhi, the Senior Citizens Savings Scheme and the Post Office Monthly Income Scheme are reviewed every quarter rather than fixed for the year. The review covers these four periods:

A revision announced for one quarter does not change interest already credited for earlier quarters. RupeeKit records each revision as it is notified on the official updates page.

Why we do not predict extensions

Every filing season brings speculation that a due date will be pushed back, and in several recent years it has been. But an extension exists only when the CBDT issues a circular granting it. Publishing a predicted date as though it were real would encourage readers to plan around a deadline that may never arrive — and the cost of being wrong falls on them, in the form of a section 234F fee and lost loss carry-forward.

So this page shows the statutory date and marks where extensions have been common. When one is actually notified, it is recorded as an update with the circular cited.