Govt extends deadline to file Income Tax returns by a month; new date is August 31

New Delhi: The government on Tuesday extended till Aug. 31 the deadline for individuals to file income tax returns for financial year 2018-19.

Individuals, including salaried taxpayers, and entities, who do not need to get their accounts audited, were required to file their ITRs for FY19 (Assessment Year 2019-20) by July 31.

“The Central Board of Direct Taxes extends the ‘due date’ for filing of Income Tax Returns from July 31 to August 31 in respect of the said categories of taxpayers,” the finance ministry said in a statement.

There have been demands for an extension in ITR filing deadline since issuance of tax deducted at source statement for FY19 was delayed.

The Income Tax department had last month extended the deadline for employers to issue Form 16 TDS certificate for FY19 to its employees by 25 days till July 10.

This left the salaried taxpayers with a limited time-frame of just 20 days for ITR filing.