Two different answers for AY 2026-27, depending on what you file. Salaried and pensioner returns on ITR-1 and ITR-2 were due 31 July 2026 and that date was not extended. Business and professional returns with no tax audit, on ITR-3 or ITR-4, were due 31 August 2026. Both dates have passed, so a return filed now is a belated return, open until 31 December 2026. Tax audit cases have until 21 November 2026 after CBDT Circular No. 7/2026.
| Question | Where you stand for AY 2026-27 |
|---|---|
| ITR-1 and ITR-2, salaried and pensioners | The due date was 31 July 2026 and it was not extended. Filing now means a belated return. |
| ITR-3 and ITR-4, non-audit | The due date was 31 August 2026 (moved from 31 July by the Finance Act, 2026) and it has passed. Filing now means a belated return. |
| Audit cases under Section 44AB | Return due 21 November 2026 and audit report due 21 October 2026, extended from 31 October and 30 September by CBDT Circular No. 7/2026. |
| Transfer pricing, Section 92E | 30 November 2026, with the report by 31 October 2026. |
| Belated return | 31 December 2026, with a Section 234F fee of INR 5,000, or INR 1,000 if total income is up to INR 5 lakh. |
| Revised return | 31 March 2027 under Section 139(5) as amended by the Finance Act, 2026. Free until 31 December 2026; after that a Section 234I fee of INR 1,000 (total income up to INR 5 lakh) or INR 5,000 applies. |
| Which Act applies | The Income-tax Act, 1961. The Income-tax Act, 2025 took effect on 1 April 2026, so it governs FY 2026-27 onwards, not this return. |
| Regime by default | New regime under Section 115BAC. Nil tax up to INR 12 lakh taxable, or INR 12.75 lakh of salary after the INR 75,000 standard deduction. |
If you are salaried or a pensioner filing ITR-1 or ITR-2, the deadline was 31 July 2026 and the CBDT did not extend it. The portal ran without prolonged downtime through July, which is the reason usually given. You can still file, but as a belated return, and that costs you more than a fee.
If you have business or professional income and no tax audit, you file ITR-3 or ITR-4 and your due date was 31 August 2026. That date, a permanent change made by the Finance Act, 2026, has also passed, so the belated route applies. Freelancers, consultants, small traders and anyone with F&O income fall here. If your accounts need a tax audit, you are still in time: the return is due 21 November 2026.
The trap is in the second sentence of that paragraph. F&O and intraday equity are business income. A salaried engineer in Kharadi who also trades futures files ITR-3, not ITR-1, and had the 31 August date rather than the 31 July one. That matters even now: interest under Section 234A on a belated return runs from the correct due date. A lot of people get that backwards.
| Your situation | Form | Your due date |
|---|---|---|
| Salary, one house property, other income, total income up to INR 50 lakh | ITR-1 | 31 July 2026, passed |
| Salary with capital gains, more than one house property, or foreign assets | ITR-2 | 31 July 2026, passed |
| Business or professional income, F&O or intraday trading, partner in a firm | ITR-3 | 31 August 2026, passed; 21 November 2026 if audited |
| Presumptive income under Section 44AD, 44ADA or 44AE | ITR-4 | 31 August 2026, passed |
| Firms, LLPs, AOPs, BOIs | ITR-5 | 31 August 2026, passed; 21 November 2026 if audited |
| Companies other than those claiming Section 11 exemption | ITR-6 | 21 November 2026, extended from 31 October |
A common Pune miscategorisation: a consultant invoicing a single client on a retainer is running a profession, not drawing a salary, regardless of what the arrangement is called internally. That is ITR-3 or ITR-4, with the 31 August date (now passed) and a books or presumptive decision attached to it.
Income tax assessment in India is faceless. Scrutiny under Section 143(2) runs through the National Faceless Assessment Centre, and first appeals run through the faceless appeal machinery. There is no jurisdictional officer in Pune you can walk in and see about your return, and there has not been for years.
So when a page promises you a local advantage at a Pune income tax office, treat it the way you would treat any other claim that has quietly stopped being true. What a Pune-based engagement actually gives you is availability on your time zone and someone who understands the local income patterns, not access to a counter.
Where physical jurisdiction still matters is further down the line. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal has a Pune Bench, and appeals that reach that stage are heard rather than processed. That is a litigation question, not a filing question, and it is worth separating the two.
The Finance Act, 2026 replaced the old one-size-fits-all 31 July with a staggered structure. What now decides your date is whether you are liable to audit under Section 44AB, not simply which form you use.
| Who you are | Form | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| Salaried, pensioner, investor with capital gains | ITR-1 or ITR-2 | 31 July 2026, now passed |
| Freelancer, professional, small business, F&O trader, no audit | ITR-3 or ITR-4 | 31 August 2026, now passed |
| Any taxpayer liable to audit under Section 44AB | ITR-3, ITR-5, ITR-6 | 21 November 2026, audit report by 21 October 2026 (extended from 31 October and 30 September by CBDT Circular No. 7/2026) |
| Transfer pricing cases under Section 92E | As applicable | 30 November 2026, report by 31 October 2026 |
| Belated return under Section 139(4) | Any | 31 December 2026 |
| Revised return under Section 139(5) | Any | 31 March 2027 (Section 234I fee if filed after 31 December 2026) |
| Updated return under Section 139(8A) | ITR-U | Up to 48 months from the end of the assessment year, with additional tax |
One clarification worth making, because it is the single most confused point this year. Your return for FY 2025-26 is computed entirely under the Income-tax Act, 1961. The Income-tax Act, 2025 commenced on 1 April 2026, so it governs the year you are living in now, not the year you are reporting on.
| Who it is for | Fee | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|
| Salaried, ITR-1 | From INR 899 | 48 hours |
| Salaried with capital gains or foreign assets, ITR-2 | From INR 2,499 | 3 to 5 days |
| Freelancer or professional, ITR-3 or ITR-4 | From INR 1,499 | 3 days |
| Specified professionals under Section 44ADA | From INR 1,999 | 3 days |
| Crypto and virtual digital assets | From INR 2,499 | 5 days |
| Business with tax audit under Section 44AB | On quote | 15 to 30 days |
| Belated or updated return with reconciliation | On quote | Depends on the years involved |
Every fee above is a professional fee and excludes GST. Any Section 234F fee, interest or tax payable is yours and is paid at actuals to the department.
All fees and charges listed are indicative only and do not constitute a binding offer. Final amounts may vary depending on the volume of work and the complexity involved.
The late fee is the smallest part of it.
The practical advice is the one people find counterintuitive. File on the best data you have, then revise. A revised return carries no additional tax, unlike an updated return. For AY 2026-27 it is free until 31 December 2026 and can still be filed until 31 March 2027 with a Section 234I fee of INR 1,000 or INR 5,000 (Finance Act, 2026). Deferring the original filing to get it perfect trades a small accuracy gain for permanent loss of carry forward and regime choice.
The new regime under Section 115BAC is the default for FY 2025-26. If you do nothing, this is how you are taxed.
| Taxable income | Rate under the new regime |
|---|---|
| Up to INR 4,00,000 | Nil |
| INR 4,00,001 to INR 8,00,000 | 5 per cent |
| INR 8,00,001 to INR 12,00,000 | 10 per cent |
| INR 12,00,001 to INR 16,00,000 | 15 per cent |
| INR 16,00,001 to INR 20,00,000 | 20 per cent |
| INR 20,00,001 to INR 24,00,000 | 25 per cent |
| Above INR 24,00,000 | 30 per cent |
The Section 87A rebate is up to INR 60,000 for a resident individual with taxable income up to INR 12 lakh, which cancels the tax entirely at that level. Add the INR 75,000 standard deduction and a salaried person can draw INR 12.75 lakh and pay nothing. Marginal relief softens the step just above INR 12 lakh. A 4 per cent health and education cess applies on top of tax and surcharge.
The rebate does not extend to income taxed at special rates. Capital gains, lottery and online gaming income sit outside it, which catches people who assume a INR 12 lakh total means zero tax.
The old regime still wins for a specific profile, and it is common in Pune: someone paying rent in Baner or Wakad, running a home loan, contributing to EPF and NPS, and paying Maharashtra professional tax. Those four together can beat the new slabs. It is worth computing both rather than defaulting.
| Reference | Relevance |
|---|---|
| Section 139(1), Income-tax Act, 1961 | Due dates for furnishing the return. Amended by the Finance Act, 2026 to give non-audit business and professional taxpayers a separate 31 August date from AY 2026-27. |
| Section 139(4) | Belated return, up to 31 December 2026 for AY 2026-27 |
| Section 139(5) | Revised return, up to 31 March 2027 for AY 2026-27 (Section 234I fee after 31 December 2026) |
| Section 139(8A) | Updated return in ITR-U, up to 48 months from the end of the assessment year, with additional tax |
| Section 234F | Fee for default in furnishing the return. INR 5,000, or INR 1,000 where total income does not exceed INR 5 lakh. |
| Section 234A | Interest at 1 per cent a month on unpaid tax, from the due date until the return is filed |
| Section 115BAC | The new regime, which is the default, and its slab structure |
| Section 87A | Rebate of up to INR 60,000 for a resident individual with taxable income up to INR 12 lakh |
| Section 16(iii) | Deduction for professional tax paid, available under the old regime |
| Section 44AB | Tax audit, which normally moves the return to 31 October with the audit report due 30 September; for AY 2026-27 CBDT Circular No. 7/2026 extended these to 21 November and 21 October 2026 |
| Section 50C | Stamp duty value substituted for sale consideration on the transfer of land or building |
| Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 | Flat INR 10 lakh penalty per assessment year for failure to disclose a foreign asset in Schedule FA |
Authority sources: the Income Tax Department e-filing portal at incometax.gov.in, and CBDT Circular No. 7/2026 on incometaxindia.gov.in. Verified 16 October 2026.
If you are a Resident and Ordinarily Resident holding any foreign asset at any point in the year, you have a disclosure obligation in Schedule FA. There is no minimum value that removes it.
In Hinjawadi, Kharadi and Magarpatta this is not a niche problem. If your employer has a US or UK parent and you hold vested RSUs, exercised ESOPs, ESPP shares, or even a dormant foreign brokerage account, Schedule FA applies. So does buying US stocks or ETFs through a platform, and so does holding crypto on a foreign exchange.
The penalty under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 is a flat INR 10 lakh per assessment year for failing to disclose, and it applies even where you paid every rupee of Indian tax correctly and the TDS already ran through your Form 16. It is a reporting penalty, not a tax penalty. Since 1 October 2024 the penalty does not apply where the aggregate value of the undisclosed foreign assets, other than immovable property, is up to INR 20 lakh, but that relieves the penalty, not the obligation to report.
Three details that trip people up. ITR-1 has no Schedule FA at all, so a salaried person with RSUs who files ITR-1 has an automatically defective disclosure and must use ITR-2 or ITR-3. Schedule FA is reported on the foreign calendar year, January to December, not the Indian financial year. And vested shares you still hold are reportable every year, so waiting until you sell is the wrong instinct.
If you also earned dividend or interest on those holdings, Schedule FSI and Form 67 come into play for foreign tax credit under the relevant treaty. Getting Schedule FA right and Form 67 wrong loses you the credit.
Same city: GST Registration in Pune, GST Return Filing in Pune. On the income tax side the national cluster goes deeper by profile, with separate pages for salaried, freelancer, professional, gig worker, crypto and NRI filers, plus tax audit under Section 44AB and notice replies.
Yes, as a belated return under Section 139(4), until 31 December 2026. You pay a Section 234F fee of INR 5,000, or INR 1,000 if total income is up to INR 5 lakh, plus interest under Section 234A at 1 per cent a month on unpaid tax. More importantly you lose the right to carry forward business and capital losses for the year, and you lose the option of the old regime. Neither of those comes back on revision.
Only for audit cases. The CBDT did not extend 31 July 2026 for ITR-1 and ITR-2 filers, or 31 August 2026 for non-audit ITR-3 and ITR-4 filers. CBDT Circular No. 7/2026 dated 28 September 2026 extended the return due date for tax audit cases from 31 October to 21 November 2026, and the audit report from 30 September to 21 October 2026. Last year, AY 2025-26 was extended from 31 July to 15 September 2025.
The Finance Act, 2026 amended Section 139(1) to give non-audit business and professional taxpayers a separate 31 August due date, effective from AY 2026-27. It is a permanent structural change, not a one-off extension. Interest under Section 234A for these filers therefore runs from 31 August, not 31 July.
31 August 2026, which has now passed, so you file a belated return by 31 December 2026 (or by 21 November 2026 if your trading turnover puts you under tax audit). F&O and intraday equity are business income, which puts you in ITR-3 regardless of your salary. The presence of business income overrides the salaried date. This is the single most common misclassification we correct in Pune files, because a lot of engineers in the IT corridor trade on the side and assume they are ITR-1 or ITR-2 filers.
File ITR-2 or ITR-3 and complete Schedule FA. ITR-1 has no Schedule FA, so it cannot carry the disclosure. Report on the foreign calendar year, January to December, not the Indian financial year, and include holdings you have not sold. The penalty for non-disclosure under the Black Money Act is a flat INR 10 lakh per assessment year and it applies even if all your Indian tax was paid correctly through TDS. If you also received dividends, Schedule FSI and Form 67 come into play for the foreign tax credit.
No, though it is the default and it wins for most people. The old regime still comes out ahead for a profile that is common in Pune: significant rent with HRA, a running home loan, EPF and NPS contributions, and Maharashtra professional tax deducted from salary. Those add up. The only reliable answer is to compute both, and that computation has to happen before you file, because a belated return removes the choice entirely.
Under the old regime, yes. Under the new regime, no. If annual rent exceeds INR 1 lakh you need the landlord's PAN, which in practice covers most tenants in Baner, Wakad, Kharadi and Viman Nagar. A registered leave and licence agreement and a payment trail through your bank make the claim defensible.
It creates one. Section 50C substitutes the stamp duty value for your actual sale consideration when computing capital gains if the sale price is lower, and in Maharashtra that value comes from the Annual Statement of Rates. There is a tolerance band, but beyond it you are taxed on a figure you never received. Your buyer picks up a matching problem under Section 56(2)(x). Both sides should model this before signing, not after.
No, and it makes no difference to the outcome. Income tax assessment is faceless, so there is no local counter to attend. Documents move over an encrypted channel and the CA is available by phone, which is what actually matters. We work with Pune clients from our Kolkata office.
Thirty days from filing. A return that is uploaded but not verified inside that window is treated as never filed, with all the belated consequences that follow. Aadhaar OTP at the point of submission closes it immediately, and that is what we do rather than leaving it to the taxpayer to remember.
Tell us what you need and a real CA calls you back, with no scripts and no transfers. Call 72783 76654. Mon - Sat, 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM IST.
Reviewed by CA & CS Team - CorporateWalla · Last Updated 16 October 2026 · · Sources: Income Tax Department e-filing portal, Income Tax Returns, official help pages
Canonical: https://corporatewalla.com/pune/itr-filing
