Tax Laws and Practice · Procedural Compliance under Income Tax

Return of Income and Tax Year under Income-tax Act, 2025

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

A return of income is the statement of income you file for a tax year under section 263 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. To answer a question, find whether the person must file, pick the due date from the table, then check if the return is belated, revised or updated and its time limit.

Understand Return of Income and Tax Year

A tax year is the year for which income is assessed. Under the Income-tax Act, 2025 you file the return for the tax year itself. The due date falls in the financial year after it. So the return for tax year 2026-27 is due in 2027-28.

Section 263 says who must file. Companies, firms, universities and colleges referred to in section 45(3)(a), business trusts, investment funds and certain resident persons holding foreign assets must file regardless of income or loss. Other persons must file when their income, before specified exclusions and deductions, exceeds the maximum amount not chargeable to tax. A person who wants to carry forward a business or capital gains loss must also file.

The due date depends on who you are. The table in section 263(1)(c), as substituted from 1 April 2026, gives 30 November, 31 October, 31 August and 31 July. Learn the category first, then the date.

The Act then gives you three ways to correct or late-file. A belated return is filed after the due date. A revised return corrects an omission or wrong statement in a return already filed. An updated return can be filed even if you filed nothing, but only within the time and conditions given. Each has its own time limit and restrictions.

A return must also be valid. If it is defective, the Assessing Officer gives you 15 days to fix it. If you do not, it is treated as invalid and you are treated as not having filed.

Key rules to remember

Due date: transfer pricing report cases: Where section 172 applies: 30 November (of the financial year after the tax year); Applies to the assessee, including partners of the firm and the spouse of such partner if section 10 applies to the spouse.
Due date: company or audit cases: Company, audited assessee (other than company), audited firm's partner or spouse (section 172 not applicable): 31 October; Audit may be required under the Act or under any other law.
Due date: business, not audited: Business or profession income, accounts not audited, and partner of a non-audited firm or spouse (section 172 not applicable): 31 August; This 31 August category was introduced by the substitution effective 1 April 2026.
Due date: any other assessee: 31 July; For example, a salaried individual with no business income.
Belated return: Within 9 months from the end of the tax year, or before completion of assessment, whichever is earlier; Section 263(4). Applies when you missed the due date.
Revised return: Within 12 months from the end of the tax year, or before completion of assessment, whichever is earlier; Section 263(5), subject to section 428(b). Earlier limit was 9 months.
Updated return: Within 48 months from the end of the financial year succeeding the tax year; Section 263(6). Cannot be filed in the cases barred by 263(6)(c) and (d).
Defective return: 15 days from intimation to rectify, extendable on application; Section 263(7). Otherwise the return is invalid.

How to solve Return of Income and Tax Year questions

Use this order for any question on return of income. It keeps your answer in ICSI style: provision, facts, conclusion.

1Identify the tax year and the financial year after it. The due date falls in that later year.
2Decide whether the person must file. Check the compulsory classes first, such as company, firm and foreign asset holders. Then check the income test.
3Classify the person for the due date: section 172 case, company or audited, business not audited, or other.
4Compare the actual filing date with the due date. If it is late, treat it as a belated return and check the 9-month limit.
5If a mistake is found in a filed return, apply the revised return rule and its 12-month limit.
6If neither works, test the updated return: 48-month window, and the bars in 263(6)(c) and (d).
7Check validity: a defective return gets 15 days to rectify.
8Conclude clearly, citing section 263 and the relevant sub-section.

Quickest way: Date-line method

When to use it: Use when the question gives dates and asks which type of return is possible.

Write the end of the tax year (31 March) as the starting point.
Mark the due date for the person's category.
Mark 9 months after 31 March for belated and 12 months for revised.
Mark 48 months after the end of the next financial year for updated.
Place the given filing date on the line and name the return type that fits.

Common mistakes in Return of Income and Tax Year

Saying the return is for the previous year instead of the tax year.
The Income-tax Act, 1961 used previous year and assessment year.
Fix: Use tax year for June 2027. Mention the old terms only to contrast.
Using 31 October for every audited or company case.
Students forget that section 172 cases have 30 November.
Fix: Check section 172 first, then apply the 31 October row.
Applying the old 9-month limit to a revised return.
The older text gave nine months.
Fix: Section 263(5) now gives twelve months, subject to section 428(b).
Thinking an updated return can be filed to reduce tax or claim a higher refund.
Students see it as a general correction tool.
Fix: Under 263(6)(c), it is barred if it decreases tax liability or creates or increases a refund.
Ignoring loss returns.
Students look only at the income test.
Fix: A person who wants to carry forward a business or capital gains loss must file a return.
Treating a defective return as valid.
Filing seems enough.
Fix: If the defect is not rectified within 15 days or the extended time, the return is invalid.

Worked examples

Example 1

Rohan Traders, a partnership firm in Pune, has tax year 2026-27 income. Its accounts are not required to be audited under any law and section 172 does not apply. Partner Mehta is an individual with income from the firm. What are the due dates for the firm and for Mehta?

Show the solution

A firm must file a return regardless of income or loss under section 263(1)(b).
For the due date, the firm is in the table row for an assessee with business or profession income whose accounts are not audited.
The due date is 31 August of the financial year after the tax year, i.e. 31 August 2027.
Mehta is a partner of a firm whose accounts are not audited and section 172 does not apply. The same row applies.
His due date is also 31 August 2027.

Answer: Both the firm and Mehta must file by 31 August 2027 under section 263(1)(c), Sl. No. 3.

Example 2

Anita, a salaried resident individual, forgot to file her return for tax year 2026-27 by the due date. In November 2027 she finds that she also left out interest income in a return filed on time by her friend Sunil for the same tax year. Advise both on the type of return available. No assessment is complete.

Show the solution

Anita has no business income, so her due date is 31 July 2027 (any other assessee).
She missed it. Under section 263(4) she can file within nine months from the end of the tax year, i.e. up to 31 December 2027, or before assessment is completed, whichever is earlier.
Her return in November 2027 is within time, so it is a belated return.
Sunil filed on time and has an omission. Section 263(5) allows a revised return within twelve months from the end of the tax year, i.e. up to 31 March 2028, or before completion of assessment, whichever is earlier.
November 2027 is within that time, so he may file a revised return.

Answer: Anita may file a belated return under section 263(4). Sunil may file a revised return under section 263(5).

Exam tips

Start your answer with section 263 and name the person category before stating the date.
Learn the four due dates with their conditions as a small table in your notes. Examiners often give a company, an audited firm and a salaried person in one question.
Always compute the time limits from the end of the tax year. Show the working in dates.
For updated return questions, list the bar that applies, such as pending assessment or a search, then conclude.
Use the term tax year throughout and avoid assessment year.

Practice questions from Procedural Compliance under Income Tax

Return of Income and Tax Year in other exams

The same ground in other exams, if you are preparing for more than one or want another angle on it.

Return of Income and Tax Year: frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a belated return and a revised return?

A belated return is filed after the due date because you missed it. A revised return corrects an omission or wrong statement in a return you already filed. Belated returns have a nine-month limit and revised returns have a twelve-month limit, both from the end of the tax year.

Who is required to file a return under the Income-tax Act, 2025?

Companies, firms, business trusts, investment funds and certain universities and colleges must file regardless of income. Resident persons, other than not ordinarily resident, holding foreign assets or signing authority must also file. Others file if income exceeds the maximum amount not chargeable, or to carry forward a loss.

When can I file an updated return?

You can file within forty-eight months from the end of the financial year after the tax year. You cannot file if it reduces your tax, creates or increases a refund, or if bars like pending assessment or search apply.

What is a tax year?

It is the year for which income is assessed and the return is filed under the Income-tax Act, 2025. The return is due in the financial year after it. This replaces the previous year and assessment year pair of the 1961 Act.