New Rules for Updated ITR Filing 2025: In Budget 2025, many rules related to income tax were changed. According to which, now taxpayers will be able to file their updated income tax return by paying additional tax up to 48 months after the end of the assessment year.
Earlier this time limit was 24 months. With this step, taxpayers will get more time to correct the mistakes made in their ITR or add information. But what is an updated return, how is it different from revised and belated returns, let us tell you.
Revised Return
If you have already filed your tax return but later it is found to have errors, omissions or incorrect information, you can revise the return within the given time limit. This return can be filed three months before the end of the relevant assessment year. This means that for assessment year 2025-26, the deadline will be December 31, 2025, as the assessment year will end on March 31, 2026.
Let us understand this with an example. Suppose you filed your original income tax return by July 31, 2025, and later realized that you forgot to include interest income in it or forgot to claim deductions, then you can file a revised income tax return by December 31, 2025 to rectify these mistakes.
You will have to pay more tax on filing revised return
Before filing a revised return, the taxpayer must ensure that the original return has been verified. The good thing is that there is no additional fee to be paid for revising the original return. But, if adding interest income while revising your tax return increases the tax liability, then you will have to pay more tax. The good thing is that you can file revised returns as many times as you need.
Belated Returns
For an individual taxpayer, the due date for filing income tax returns for a financial year is July 31 of the following year. That is, the due date for filing income tax returns for the financial year 2024-25 will be July 31, 2025 (which falls in the assessment year 2025-26).
However, those who miss filing returns within this deadline can file a belated return under section 139(4) by December 31 of that assessment year. That is, any return filed after July 31, 2025, but before December 31, 2025 for assessment year 2025-26 will be treated as a belated return.
This much penalty for filing belated return
For filing a belated return, you may have to pay interest and a penalty of one per cent of the unpaid tax till the date of filing. According to section 234F, if the return is filed after the due date, a late filing fee of Rs 5,000 has to be paid. However, the amount of late filing fee will be only Rs 1,000 if the total income of the person does not exceed Rs 5 lakh.
If you voluntarily file your income tax return after the deadline, no late fee will be charged, provided you are not compelled to file the return. For example, under the old tax regime for the financial year 2024-25, individuals with income less than the basic exemption limit – Rs 2.5 lakh (below 60 years), Rs 3 lakh (60-80 years), and Rs 5 lakh (above 80 years) are not required to file income tax returns.
Updated income tax Return
The updated return facility, introduced in 2022, allows taxpayers to voluntarily correct any errors or omissions in the original or belated returns. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget 2025 speech that the initiative promotes transparency and compliance, and its impact is clearly visible. About 90 lakh taxpayers have used this facility to update their income and pay additional taxes.
Note that updated returns can be submitted only after the deadline for filing original, revised or belated returns has expired. According to experts, the purpose of filing updated returns is to declare additional income and thereby pay additional tax. Updated returns cannot be revised once filed.
You cannot file an updated return for certain reasons. For example, you cannot file an updated return to claim a loss or to increase a refund. Also, filing an updated return should not reduce your tax liability. If a taxpayer misses the December 31 deadline, he can file an updated return under section S 139(8A) for a period of two years from the end of the relevant assessment year. This time period of two years has now been increased to four years in Budget 2025.
Additional tax on updated returns
The facility of filing updated returns comes with certain conditions. While availing this facility, you have to pay a certain percentage of the additional tax declared (additional tax on updated returns), which varies depending on the time limit. If you file an updated return within 12 months of the end of the assessment year, you will have to pay 25 per cent additional tax. This percentage increases to 50 per cent if filed within 24 months, 60 per cent within 36 months and 70 per cent within 48 months of the end of the assessment year.
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