Taxpayers rush to meet ITR filing deadline today, flood X with calls for extension

As of today, the Income Tax department has revealed that over 60 million Income Tax Returns (ITRs) have already been submitted for the Assessment Year 2025-26.  The last date to file Income Tax Returns is today, September 15, 2025; however, many taxpayers have taken to social media with hashtags such as #extend_ITR_TAR_duedates and #extend_due_dates_immediately to request an extension of the ITR due date from September 15, as mentioned above.

In fact, taxpayers and professionals were left frustrated as the Income Tax e-filing portal went down for scheduled maintenance in the early hours of September 15, 2025, which is the ITR filing deadline.

According to a notice, the portal was unavailable from 2:00 AM to 3:30 AM IST, prompting renewed calls for an extension of the deadline. Chartered accountants and tax professionals shared their frustration on X, arguing that every minute matters on the final day of filing, and such downtime only increases the pressure.

In some instances, taxpayers face errors during the upload process. Additionally, the latest ITR forms and audit reports require extensive disclosures. While intended to improve transparency, these requirements notably increase the time and effort needed, as data often must be gathered from multiple systems.

Additionally, if the return is not filed by today (i.e., 15th September 2025 for AY 2025-26), a late fee of up to ₹5,000 may be levied. For taxpayers with a total income of less than ₹5 lakh, the maximum fee is ₹1,000.

One should also be aware that a fake extension statement is circulating. The Income Tax Department has recently issued a statement debunking a false news story circulating online about the extension of ITR filing. “A fake news is in circulation stating that the due of filing ITRs (originally due on 31.07.2025, and extended to 15.09.2025) has been further extended to 30.09.2025,” the income tax department wrote in a post on X.

The previously circulating fake news included a circular that deceived readers into believing it was an official circular issued by the Ministry of Finance, when in fact it was edited and generated online by an AI algorithm used by a social media user.