ITR filings cross 40 million mark as 31 July deadline nears
New Delhi: Income tax returns (ITRs) filed for assessment year (AY) 2026-27 crossed the 40 million mark on 26 July, with more than 2 million
New Delhi: Income tax returns (ITRs) filed for assessment year (AY) 2026-27 crossed the 40 million mark on 26 July, with more than 2 million returns filed in the past five days alone, as individual taxpayers rushed to meet the 31 July deadline. The Income Tax Department, in a post on X, urged taxpayers to not wait until the last minute, noting that over 40 million returns had already been filed. The surge comes even though this year’s filing calendar has been staggered, with 31 July applicable mainly to individual taxpayers filing ITR-1 and ITR-2, while several business taxpayers have later deadlines.
The income tax department has increasingly relied on technology-driven compliance measures, including pre-filled returns, annual information statements (AIS) and targeted reminders, to encourage early filing and improve accuracy. More than 73 million ITRs were filed in AY2025-26. In line with updates The pace of filing is broadly in line with the department’s recent updates. Earlier last week, it had announced that more than three crore returns had been filed, after crossing the 15 million mark in early July and the 20 million mark subsequently, indicating a sharp pickup as the due date draws closer. The department's upgraded e-filing portal has also handled record traffic this filing season, processing more than one crore taxpayer interactions in a single day, with peak daily interactions touching 16 million.
Also Read | How income tax clubbing provisions on gifted money can work in your favour The rise in return filings comes against the backdrop of sustained growth in direct tax collections over the past few years. Gross direct tax collections reached ₹40.78 trillion in FY2025-26 (revised estimates), reflecting a significant increase from previous years, even though the number was lower than budget estimates, as higher corporate profitability, rising personal incomes and improved compliance boosted revenues. Rising collections In FY2025-26, net tax collections rose to ₹26.75 trillion, from ₹25 trillion collected in the year prior, while gross tax collections increased to about ₹40.78 trillion crore from ₹39.96 trillion in FY2024-25.
Tax experts said the growing number of returns filed each year, coupled with robust tax collections, points to a broadening taxpayer base and better compliance rather than merely higher tax rates. Wider use of digital reporting, data analytics and information sharing across financial institutions have also improved voluntary compliance and reduced under-reporting of income. Also Read | ITR mistakes that many taxpayers discover only after receiving a notice
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