ITR Season Watch: 31 July Deadline for Non-Audit Filers, ITR-1 to ITR-7 to Be Notified

India's income-tax calendar for assessment year (AY) 2026-27 has moved past its two headline dates. The 31 July 2026 return due date for non-audit filers under the Income Tax Act, 1961 has closed, and the 31 August 2026 date cited for certain non-audit cases on the Income Tax Department's e-Filing portal has passed as well. For the compliance day of Wednesday 2 September 2026, the watchlist therefore shifts away from the annual-return rush and towards the monthly deposit deadlines that cluster in the first fortnight of September, and towards the transition now under way between the 1961 Act and the new Income Tax Act, 2025.

The e-Filing portal confirms that, for AY 2026-27, forms ITR-1 through ITR-7 applicable under the Income Tax Act, 1961 are to be notified, and that Section 263(1) of the Income Tax Act, 2025 prescribes the categories of persons who must mandatorily file a return — broadly the same set of taxpayers as under the old Act. Filers should treat the exact form-name mapping as provisional and re-check it against incometax.gov.in before submitting, because the two statutes are still being harmonised. Below is what is genuinely worth watching on 2 September 2026 and the days immediately after.

Statutory Deadlines

Two hard deadlines fall inside the next fortnight, and both carry interest for late compliance. First, tax deducted or collected at source during August 2026 must be deposited with the government by 7 September 2026 — the standard 7th-of-the-month rule that governs every month except March. We covered the mechanics of this rule, and the March-to-30-April exception, in our note on TDS deposit deadlines. Second, the second instalment of advance tax for AY 2026-27 is due on 15 September 2026, by which date taxpayers with an annual liability of Rs 10,000 or more must have paid at least 45% of their estimated tax (Income Tax Department, incometax.gov.in).

The table below sets out the near-term dates a resident individual or business should mark for the AY 2026-27 cycle. Two of them have already closed and are shown for completeness, because filers who missed them now enter the belated-return and interest regime rather than the ordinary one.

Anyone estimating whether they still owe an advance-tax top-up before 15 September should run the numbers on our advance-tax calculator rather than guessing, because underpayment attracts interest under the shortfall provisions. If you are unsure which assessment year a given payment belongs to, remember that AY 2026-27 corresponds to income earned in financial year 2025-26 — the distinction that trips up most first-time filers and the reason the return and the advance-tax instalment reference different periods.

Market Events

The single most important scheduled event beyond the tax desk is the Reserve Bank of India's next Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, set for 5 to 7 October 2026. At its last meeting on 5 August 2026 the MPC held the repo rate unchanged at 5.25% in a unanimous vote — the fourth consecutive pause after February, April and June 2026 — with Governor Sanjay Malhotra citing the need for "greater clarity" on the inflation outlook (RBI, rbi.org.in). The associated corridor was left at an SDF of 5.00% and an MSF and Bank Rate of 5.50% each, and the committee revised its FY 2026-27 projections to 6.7% GDP growth and 5.0% CPI inflation. Nothing on the rate front is scheduled for 2 September itself, so floating-rate borrowers whose EBLR loans reset off the repo rate face no fresh trigger until October.

The second event on the horizon is the quarterly small-savings notification. The Finance Ministry left every small-savings rate unchanged for the July-to-September 2026 quarter — the ninth straight quarter without a change — and the next revision is due to be notified around 1 October 2026 for the October-to-December quarter. The current vintage matters for anyone timing a fresh deposit into a Public Provident Fund or Senior Citizens' Savings Scheme account before the review.

For equity investors, the mechanical point to watch through September is the tax treatment of any booking of gains. Long-term capital gains on listed equity are taxed at 12.5% on the amount above the Rs 1.25 lakh annual exemption, while short-term gains are taxed at 20% (Budget 2024 rates, still in force for AY 2026-27). Systematic investors treating dips as buying opportunities can model the compounding effect on our SIP calculator; the arithmetic of a 20% short-term rate is a strong argument against churning a portfolio just to rebalance before a policy meeting.

Earnings

There are no company results confirmed in the editor's briefing for the 2 September 2026 watch window, and this desk does not publish an earnings calendar it cannot verify against an exchange filing. The Q1 FY 2026-27 (April-to-June) results season concluded in mid-August 2026, and the Q2 (July-to-September) season does not begin until companies file with the exchanges from the second week of October 2026. Accordingly, 2 September falls in the quiet period between the two reporting cycles, and any single-stock move on the day is more likely to be driven by sector news or global cues than by a scheduled result.

What investors can do in this gap is prepare rather than react. Because the July-to-September quarter closes on 30 September 2026, listed companies will finalise the numbers that feed the October results season during the very weeks now beginning; and because advance tax for those same companies is also due on 15 September 2026, the corporate cash-flow calendar and the reporting calendar overlap. For a retail investor, the practical takeaway is that the next genuine earnings catalyst is roughly five to six weeks away, which argues for using the interval to review asset allocation rather than to trade a rumour.

The 1961-to-2025 Act transition

The structural story running underneath AY 2026-27 is the move from the Income Tax Act, 1961 to the Income Tax Act, 2025. The e-Filing portal frames the current ITR forms as transitional: forms notified under the 1961 Act continue to apply for AY 2026-27, while Section 263(1) of the 2025 Act now defines who must file. The categories are broadly unchanged — individuals whose total income exceeds the basic exemption threshold, and a defined list of others who must file regardless of income — so most filers will see continuity rather than upheaval this year.

Where the new regime already bites is the tax computation itself. For AY 2026-27 the Section 87A rebate under the new regime is Rs 60,000, available where total income does not exceed Rs 12,00,000, and the salaried standard deduction under the new regime is Rs 75,000. The surcharge in the new regime is capped at 25% even at the top, against 37% under the old regime, and the top slab rate of 30% applies only above Rs 24,00,000. The table below captures the figures most likely to change a filer's final number.

Deciding between the two regimes is not a matter of intuition once deductions are involved; our old-vs-new regime calculator and the fuller income-tax calculator will show which one produces the lower liability for a given salary and deduction profile. Filers who want the underlying definitions can consult the glossary entries for ITR, advance tax and TDS.

FAQ

What was the ITR filing due date for AY 2026-27?

For non-audit filers under the Income Tax Act, 1961, the return due date referenced on the Income Tax Department's e-Filing portal for AY 2026-27 was 31 July 2026, with 31 August 2026 cited for certain non-audit cases. Both dates have now passed as of 1 September 2026, so late filers move into the belated-return regime.

Which ITR forms apply for AY 2026-27?

The e-Filing portal confirms that forms ITR-1 through ITR-7 applicable under the Income Tax Act, 1961 are to be notified for AY 2026-27. The precise form-to-taxpayer mapping should be treated as provisional and re-checked at incometax.gov.in, because the 1961 and 2025 Acts are still being harmonised.

What does Section 263(1) of the Income Tax Act, 2025 say?

Section 263(1) of the Income Tax Act, 2025 prescribes the categories of persons who must mandatorily file a return of income. Per the e-Filing portal, these categories are broadly the same as those under the corresponding provisions of the 1961 Act, so the population required to file is largely unchanged for AY 2026-27.

What is the next tax deadline after the ITR due date?

The next two dated obligations are the deposit of August 2026 TDS/TCS by 7 September 2026 and the second advance-tax instalment by 15 September 2026, by which 45% of the estimated annual liability must be paid by taxpayers who owe Rs 10,000 or more for the year.

When is the next RBI policy decision?

The RBI Monetary Policy Committee next meets from 5 to 7 October 2026. It last held the repo rate at 5.25% on 5 August 2026 in a unanimous vote, the fourth consecutive pause, so there is no rate trigger scheduled for early September.

Will small-savings rates change on 1 October 2026?

The Finance Ministry reviews small-savings rates quarterly and left all of them unchanged for the July-to-September 2026 quarter. The next notification, for the October-to-December 2026 quarter, is due around 1 October 2026; the PPF rate stands at 7.1% and the SCSS rate at 8.2% until then.

Are any company earnings scheduled around 2 September 2026?

No company results are confirmed for the 2 September 2026 window. The Q1 FY 2026-27 season closed in mid-August 2026 and the Q2 season does not begin until exchange filings resume in the second week of October 2026, leaving early September a quiet period for scheduled results.