What is the penalty for late filing of Income Tax Returns?

New Delhi, Dec 30: If an Income Tax Return is filed after the December 31 deadline, a penalty of Rs 10,000 will be levied till March 2021.

The penalty is Rs 1,000 if income is below Rs 5 lakh. The Income Tax Department can initiate proceedings for prosecution for a term of 3 months to 2 years, with fine, if an individual fails to file ITR altogether.

For individuals having income from salary, house property, or capital gains, and those whose accounts are not required to be audited, 31 December is the last date for filing ITR for FY19-20.

The exemption limit for individuals below 60 years is Rs 2.5 lakh while for people between 60 and 80 years the exemption limit is Rs 3 lakh. Those who fall in the super senior citizens' category, of 80 years and above, income up to Rs 5 lakh is exempted.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, the deadlines to file tax returns for the financial year 2019-20 were extended multiple times to December 31, 2020, from the usual due date of July 31, 2020. And the deadline for the taxpayers whose accounts need to be audited is set on January 31 next year.

Late filing or filing your returns after the due date attracts a penalty under section 234F. If an individual misses the ITR due date, his/her returns will be processed late and naturally, the refund amount will be released and credited late.

Not just the penalty, any delay in filing of the ITR can add more liabilities for the taxpayers. Under section 234A of the Income Tax Act, any taxpayer who has defaulted the deadline is liable to pay one percent interest every month on the amount of unpaid tax till the returns are filed.

Furthermore, a taxpayer may face prosecution under u/s 276CC of the Income Tax Act if he/she willfully ignores the returns after getting notice u/s 142 and 148 of the Income Tax Act. And one cannot carry forward the losses of a particular year to get it adjusted against profits/gains of future years.