ITR Filing Deadline 2026: Important Update for Salaried Taxpayers

Key Highlights
 

• Individuals filing ITR-1 or ITR-2 for AY 2026-27 have a July 31, 2026 deadline. AIS mismatches and property reporting remain frequent trouble points.
   
• Earlier changes expanded ITR-1 to cover income from up to 2 house properties. The 30-day verification rule also continues after filing.

Taxpayers filing by July 31 face 6 common errors involving AIS, property income, capital gains, tax regimes, form selection, and verification delays nationwide during filing.

Individuals using ITR-1 or ITR-2 for Assessment Year 2026-27 are due to file by July 31, 2026. The return covers income earned from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026. A Press Information Bureau release published on February 1, 2026 retained the July 31 date for these 2 forms. ITR-1 can now cover income from up to 2 house properties, but pre-filled records still need checking before submission.

A rushed return may bring problems later. A taxpayer can miss fixed-deposit interest, use ITR-1 despite freelance income, claim a property deduction under the wrong tax regime, or leave an AIS error untouched. Refund processing may slow down. A defective-return notice can follow, forcing the filer to revise figures months later.

The trouble often starts with small gaps, such as interest from an old bank account, rent received in a joint account or TDS reported under the wrong figure. When the mismatch is discovered during processing, the taxpayer may require new certificates, updated statements or assistance from the employer, bank or broker. If filed early, sufficient time will allow for review of these records and for errors to be corrected before the deadline. 

How Will These Filing Traps Affect Taxpayers Across India?

AIS can show salary, interest, dividends, securities transactions and tax details reported to the department. It is still not a finished return. A bank may report FD interest twice, a broker entry may carry the wrong amount, or another transaction may not appear. The taxpayer must compare AIS with Form 16, Form 16A, Form 26AS, bank certificates and broker records.

Take a salaried employee who changed jobs in October, earned FD interest from 3 banks and received fees from 2 weekend assignments. No single record contains the full year. Copying only pre-filled figures can leave income out.

Property owners face another set of checks. ITR-1 now allows eligible filers to report income from up to 2 house properties. Yet ownership share, rent, municipal tax, loan interest and property status need separate entries. A joint owner should report only that owner’s share. More than 2 properties rule out ITR-1.

The chosen tax regime can also change the claim. Under the old regime, eligible interest on borrowed capital for a self-occupied property may be claimed up to ₹2 lakh. The new regime does not allow that deduction for a self-occupied house.

What Should Taxpayers Check Before Pressing Submit?

Many errors begin with missing paperwork. The portal cannot know that a taxpayer closed an FD in August, changed jobs in October, or received rent in a joint account. Those details must come from personal records.

One extra income source may change the form. A salaried employee with professional receipts may need ITR-3 or, where the conditions are met, ITR-4. Short-term share gains also rule out ITR-1, even when salary forms most of the annual income.

Capital gains need more than a trading app’s net-profit figure. The return asks for dates, cost, sale value, exemptions and loss adjustments. Shares, mutual funds and property may receive different tax treatment.

What Do Tax Experts Say Filers Should Do?

Pranav Sai S, a tax expert at ClearTax, told Business Standard on May 18, 2026, that ITR-1 applies only where income stays within the permitted salary, house-property and other-source categories. Business or professional income falls outside the form. His warning is relevant for employees taking paid consulting, design, tutoring or content assignments.

Archit Gupta, Founder and CEO of ClearTax, told The Economic Times in July 2026 that AIS and Form 26AS may change when deductors file or revise TDS returns. He advised taxpayers to use AIS feedback where reported figures differ from their records. These comments appeared in a LoansJagat report published on July 15, 2026, which examined salary, bank interest and freelance receipts in the same return.

The fix is document-by-document checking. Salary should be matched with every Form 16. Interest should be totalled bank by bank, including accounts where no TDS was deducted. Freelance receipts should be reported at the gross amount, while TDS deducted by a client is claimed separately.

The type of work also affects the return. A doctor taking private consultations, an architect handling a weekend project, and a person selling products online do not automatically follow the same route.

How Did The Rules Change Before AY 2026-27?

AIS was introduced to give taxpayers a wider record of financial information reported to the department. Form 26AS now largely carries tax deducted, tax collected and tax paid, while AIS contains several other transaction categories. The feedback facility lets a taxpayer flag a duplicate, wrong or unrelated entry. Full disclosure remains the filer’s responsibility.

AY 2026-27 added a visible change for property reporting. Eligible ITR-1 filers can disclose income from up to 2 house properties. The form also asks for lender details, the loan account number, sanction date, outstanding balance, and interest amount.

The new tax regime remains the default. Non-business filers can choose the old regime while filing, subject to the applicable rules. A taxpayer with business or professional income may need Form 10-IEA to opt out of the default regime.

Verification continues after submission. The taxpayer must also ensure that the bank account selected for refund is active and pre-validated, with the appropriate PAN information. This is as per Notification No. 2/2024, 31 March 2024, which comes into effect from 1st April 2024. Late verification could alter the date that the filing is considered and impose late filing penalties.

What Have The Government And Other Stakeholders Said?

The Press Information Bureau’s February 1, 2026 release kept July 31 for ITR-1 and ITR-2. It also proposed August 31 for eligible non-audit business cases and trusts.

Income Tax Department guidance says ITR-1 is available to eligible resident individuals with total income up to ₹50 lakh from permitted sources. It allows long-term capital gains under Section 112A up to ₹1.25 lakh, but not short-term capital gains or business and professional income.

The filing risk remains with the taxpayer. Pre-filled data saves typing, but it cannot decide whether a bank reported the same interest twice or whether a side assignment belongs under professional income. A tax preparer may help in a complicated case.

Conclusion

The July 31 deadline is approaching, but speed should not replace checking. AIS mismatches, wrong property entries, capital-gains errors, an unsuitable form, a tax-regime mistake, and missed verification are the 6 trouble points.

The final review should cover every employer, every bank, each property, broker statements, invoices, tax credits, and the selected regime. Then the return form. Filing a few days early leaves room to fix a missing certificate or a wrong AIS entry. The taxpayer ought to also verify that the bank account selected for refund is active, pre-validated, and has been associated with the correct PAN information. 

If someone changed jobs, sold investments, received rent or freelance jobs, they might require additional time as their income is found in multiple records. The acknowledgement and verification status after submission should be verified and not assumed. It's not too late to cause problems if a return is uploaded on time but not verified. It may take longer to make the filing, but it's generally easier than waiting for a tax notice to arrive and respond to it, correcting a refund claim, or trying to redo paperwork after the deadline. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ITR filing deadline for AY 2026-27?

Individuals filing ITR-1 or ITR-2 have a July 31, 2026 deadline under the announced calendar.

Can ITR-1 include income from 2 house properties?

Yes. An eligible resident individual can report income from up to 2 house properties in ITR-1 for AY 2026-27.

What should a taxpayer do when AIS shows a wrong entry?

The entry should be checked against personal records. Feedback can be filed through AIS, and the reporting bank, employer or broker may also need to correct its submission.

Can a salaried person with freelance income use ITR-1?

Usually not when the receipts qualify as business or professional income. ITR-3 or an eligible ITR-4 may apply.

Is an uploaded return treated as complete?

No. The return must also be verified within 30 days through an accepted electronic method or by sending ITR-V.

What happens after revising an ITR filed through the wrong return form? 

This new return supersedes the earlier one, but may take time to clear online because of the defective notice.