This year, the Income Tax Department extended the ITR filing deadline from July 31 to September 15. Now, only about one week is left for the new deadline to end, but many taxpayers still have not filed their returns. Because of this, taxpayers and professionals are asking for another extension.

The delay in releasing Income Tax Return (ITR) utilities has created problems for taxpayers and tax professionals this year. There are also technical issues on the portal, like frequent session timeouts and mismatches between the Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Form 26AS. These problems have made the filing process more difficult and stressful than before.

Availability of Forms and Deadlines

Himank Singhla, partner at SBHS & Associates, said, “Timely availability of return forms and utilities in every tax season is very important for proper compliance. A proper filing window helps taxpayers and professionals complete their work on time.”

He explained that last year ITR-1 to ITR-4 and ITR-6 were released on April 1, 2024, ITR-5 on May 31, and ITR-7 on June 21. This gave taxpayers almost three months to prepare before the July 31 deadline.

But this year the situation is different. The CBDT extended the deadline for non-audit cases from July 31, 2025, to September 15, 2025. However, utilities for ITR-5, ITR-6, and ITR-7 were released only in August. ITR-2 and ITR-3 came on July 11, 2025. Because of this, taxpayers and professionals got very little time to file.

CA Pratibha Goyal said, “ITR deadlines should be extended to avoid last-minute rush. The late release of ITR utilities has messed everything up.”

Pressure of Many Deadlines

The problem has become worse because many deadlines are falling together. Tax audit reports have to be filed by September 30, leaving less time to shift from non-audit return filing to audit reporting. Apart from this, ROC deadlines under the Companies Act are also in September. This has increased pressure for compliance.

CBDT had already extended the ITR deadline for non-audit cases to September 15 in May 2025, but since the main utilities were released in August, experts say taxpayers did not get much benefit from the extension.

Himank Singhla added, “It is important to extend the deadline beyond September 15. This is not just about convenience, but also fairness.”

Risk of Last-Minute Filing

Experts advise taxpayers not to wait for another extension. According to Sujit Banjar, founder of Taxbuddy.com, “Last-minute filing creates real problems. The income-tax portal slows down or crashes due to heavy traffic. Issues like Aadhaar OTP delay, verification failure, or portal maintenance are common.”

He also warned that collecting income proofs and deduction documents in a hurry can cause mistakes. Errors under pressure can lead to losses, such as missing the benefit of loss set-off. “Filing early not only ensures accuracy but also reduces stress,” said Banjar.