# August 31 ITR deadline for business taxpayers nears as 6.5 crore returns filed 2026-08-26T15:57:11+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet (3 source reports) The income tax department has reminded taxpayers with business or professional income that the August 31 deadline for filing ITR-3 and ITR-4 for assessment year 2026-27 is approaching. Over 6.5 crore returns have been filed so far, including 5.9 crore by the July 31 deadline, the department said on X. Taxpayers whose accounts are not subject to audit can file ITR-3, ITR-4, ITR-5 or ITR-7 by August 31. Taxpayers who mistakenly filed the wrong form by July 31 should not file a new original return if the earlier one was verified. Instead, they must file a revised return under Section 139(5) by March 31, 2027, or before assessment is completed. If the return remains unverified, they can discard it and file the correct form by August 31, but experts warn the discard is permanent so the correct return must be ready first. Deadlines later in the year include October 31 for audit cases, November 30 for transfer pricing cases, and December 31 for belated returns. Late filers face a fee of Rs 1,000 for income up to Rs 5 lakh and Rs 5,000 for higher incomes, plus interest on outstanding tax. Returns must be verified within 30 days of filing. ## Indian Opinion Analysis All three sources are from Livemint and offer uniform, neutral-report coverage of the ITR deadlines. The first source stands alone as a service story on correcting wrong ITR forms, the second is a reminder post citing official figures, and the third is a calendar of all upcoming dates. No competing framings or editorial slant are present, because the outlet is publishing desk-based factual guides. The single point of caution is that the advice on filing a revised return only applies to taxpayers who have already verified an incorrect form, discarding an unverified return is a different route. Readers should confirm their ITR status on the portal before acting. The August 31 deadline is firm for non-audit business taxpayers, and belated returns carry a penalty of up to Rs 5,000. ## Coverage Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral - livemint.com (neutral report) Straight deadline reminder with official IT-department figures, no editorial framing - livemint.com (2) (neutral report) Official IT department post plus filing statistics, neutral service bulletin - livemint.com (3) (neutral report) Calendar of all ITR deadlines with technical requirements, pure reference guide This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources. Last updated 2026-08-27T01:36:13+00:00. Tags: AY 2026-27, income tax department, ITR-3, ITR-4 Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/august-31-itr-deadline-for-business-taxpayers-nears-as-6-5-crore-returns-filed/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/august-31-itr-deadline-for-business-taxpayers-nears-as-6-5-crore-returns-filed/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/