Penalty for Late Filing of Income Tax Return for FY 2023-24 – 234F of Income Tax Act

The last date to file your ITR for the AY 2024-25 (FY 2023-24) is 31st July 2024 (unless extended by the department) for individual taxpayers. Not filing your ITR on time can lead to a penalty, but there are also other consequences and inconveniences attached to the delay. Let us understand these in detail below.

Penalty for Late Filing u/s 234F

As per the changed rules notified under section 234F of the Income Tax Act, filing your ITR post the deadline, can make you liable to pay a maximum penalty of Rs.5,000.

From the financial year 2021 onwards, the income tax department has reduced the maximum amount of penalty for late filing of returns to Rs 5,000 from Rs.10,000.

To break this down for FY 2023-24; if you file your ITR before 31st July 2024 (30th September 2024 for audit and 31st October 2024 for transfer pricing cases), no penalty will be levied.

For returns filed after 31st July 2024, the penalty limit will be increased to Rs.5,000. However, as a relief to small taxpayers, the IT department has stated that if your total income is not more than Rs 5 lakh, the maximum penalty levied for delay will only be Rs.1,000.

Late Filing Fee Details

Reduced Time for Revising Your Return

Let’s say you are filing your ITR, and you end up making a mistake. Under the changed rules, you only have time till 31st December of the assessment year to make the change (for ITRs from FY 2017-18). Earlier, taxpayers had a 2-year long window to revise and resubmit an erroneous ITR. This has now been decreased to 9 months from the end of the financial year. Therefore, the earlier you file, the longer would be the window available to you for revising your returns to rectify errors, if any.  

Payment of Interest

If you do not file income tax returns on or before the due date, you would be required to pay interest at the rate of 1% for every month, or part of a month, on the amount of tax remaining unpaid as per section 234A. It’s important to note that one’s ITR cannot be filed if one hasn’t paid the taxes. The calculation of the penalty will start from the date immediately after the due date, which is usually 31 July of the relevant assessment year. So, the longer you wait the more you will have to pay.

Carry Forward of Losses is Not Permitted

If you have incurred any losses during the year say a loss under the head capital gains or any loss in your business, make sure you file your return within the due date. Not doing so will deprive you of carrying forward these losses to the next years for set off against income in future years. However, if you have losses from house property, it will be allowed to carry forward to future years, even if you file after the due date.

Delay in Receiving Refunds

In case you’re entitled to receive a refund from the government for excess taxes you have paid, you must file your return before the due date to receive the refund at the earliest.

Reasons for delay in refund