The Real Cost of Filing Your ITR Late for AY 2026-27 — and It Is Not the Rs 5,000
The Section 234F fee is Rs 1,000 or Rs 5,000, and it is the cheapest part of filing late. The expensive part is the losses you can no longer carry forward, the deductions Section 80AC shuts off, the old regime you can no longer choose, and refund interest that starts months later.
Deep Jasani
@deepjasani17
I write on the income-tax beat here — ITR form selection and filing mechanics, the old-versus-new regime comparison, capital gains, the Section 87A rebate, TDS credit mismatches, and the interest that runs under Sections 234A, 234B and 234C. I work from the bare Act text and CBDT circulars rather than secondary commentary, and I put worked examples in using the numbers you actually see on the Income-tax Department portal. I'm writing for people filing their own return as much as for practitioners with a desk full of them.
