Late filing fee for income-tax return

If you file your income-tax return after the §139(1) due date, §234F levies a flat late-filing fee of ₹5,000 — reduced to ₹1,000 when total income does not exceed ₹5,00,000.

Key points

• The fee triggers the moment a return becomes 'belated' — filed after the §139(1) due date, which is 31-Jul for individuals not subject to audit and 31-Oct for those who are.
• Finance Act 2021 collapsed the earlier graduated structure into just two slabs: the ₹5,000 charge applies in all belated cases, except where total income is at or below ₹5,00,000, in which case the relief slab of ₹1,000 applies instead.
• The fee is flat — not a per-day charge.
• Operators routinely confuse §234F with §234E, which is the ₹200-per-day late fee on quarterly TDS statements;
• that is a separate provision entirely.
• The §234F fee is paid as self-assessment tax under §140A along with the belated return.
• Senior citizens without business income are not spared — they still owe the fee if they file late.
• The only carve-out is for taxpayers who were not required to file a return at all (income below the basic exemption limit);
• a voluntary late return in that case attracts no §234F.

Reference: §234F, ITA 1961 — under ITA 2025 (FY 26-27 onwards), this is §428