Late Fee for ITR Filing (234F) and Interest Under 234A

The late fee for ITR filing under section 234F is a flat Rs 5,000 if you file after the due date, reduced to Rs 1,000 if your total income is up to Rs 5 lakh. It is charged once, not per day. If tax is still unpaid, interest under section 234A is added at 1% a month.

How much is the late fee under section 234F?

These are the amounts the income tax portal shows for returns of FY 2025-26 (assessment year 2026-27). "Total income" means income after deductions, not gross salary. The last row follows from how the section is written: it charges people who were required to file and did not. Tax guides read it that way, but check your own case if you had foreign assets, high deposits or other triggers that make filing compulsory.

The fee is paid before the return goes in. The utility adds it to your tax payable, and you pay it as a challan with the return.

Which due date counts?

File a day after your date and section 234F applies. The full calendar is in ITR filing last date.

What is interest under section 234A?

The fee punishes the late form. Interest charges for the late money. Section 234A applies simple interest at 1% for every month, or part of a month, from the day after the due date to the day you file. It is worked on the tax still payable after TDS, advance tax and other credits.

So if your employer deducted everything, 234A is zero and only the fee remains. If you owed tax, both apply.

What else can be added to a late return?

The last row is new. For FY 2025-26 a return can be revised up to 31 March 2027, but the portal's validation rules show a fee for revisions made after 31 December 2026.

A worked example

Arjun runs a design practice. His total income for FY 2025-26 is Rs 15,00,000. After TDS, he still owes Rs 20,000. His due date was 31 August 2026 and he files on 12 November 2026.

1. Late fee under 234F: income is above Rs 5 lakh, so Rs 5,000.
2. Interest under 234A: September, October and part of November make 3 months. 1% of Rs 20,000 is Rs 200 a month, so Rs 600.
3. Cost of being late: Rs 5,600, over and above the Rs 20,000 tax. Interest under 234B and 234C, if any, is extra.

Now change one fact. Suppose TDS had covered his full tax. He pays no interest, but the Rs 5,000 fee stays. And if his total income were Rs 4,80,000, the fee would be Rs 1,000.

What do you lose besides money?

• The old regime. A late return is computed in the new regime. Deductions such as 80C and HRA go. See old vs new tax regime.
• Loss carry forward. Business and capital losses can be carried to later years only if the return is filed by the due date.
• Time on your refund. A refund starts moving only after you file.

The mistake people usually make

"My employer deducted all my tax, so there is nothing to pay." The fee does not depend on tax due. A salaried person with full TDS who files on 5 August pays Rs 5,000 for those five days.

The second mistake is waiting because the fee does not grow. The fee is flat, but 234A interest runs every month. And after 31 December 2026 the belated return closes. What remains is an updated return (ITR-U), which carries additional tax starting at 25% of the tax and interest due and cannot be used to claim a refund. See ITR-U updated return and belated return filing.

Does the new Income-tax Act change the fee?

Not the amount. The Income-tax Act, 2025 applies from tax year 2026-27, the year that began on 1 April 2026. The income tax portal's FAQ says that for those returns the fee is charged under section 428 of the new Act, at the same Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000. The interest for late filing is reported to sit in section 423. Returns for FY 2025-26 stay under sections 234F and 234A of the 1961 Act.

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