Did you fail to rectify errors or report omissions in your Income Tax Return (ITR) by December 31? There is one more chance for you to do so now. You can now use the ITR-U option. This article looks at how this option will help you.

As per Section 139 (1) of Income Tax Act, the original deadline for ITR filing for FY 2021-22 (AY 2022-23) was July 31 2022. For those who missed the original due date, December 31 was the last date to file belated returns. Taxpayers were also allowed to file revised returns to rectify errors and omissions by December 31.

In case you missed the December 31 deadline to rectify errors or report omissions, you can file ITR-U under Section 139 (8A).

What is ITR-U?

The Government of India introduced the ITR-U option in Budget 2022. This facility can help all those taxpayers who have not filed their ITR or made mistakes in their previous returns.

With ITR-U, taxpayers can correct errors or omissions in their ITRs up to two years from the end of the relevant assessment year. For AY 2021-22, ITR-U can be filed by 31 March 2024. Similarly, for AY 2022-23, ITR-U can be filed by 31st March 2025.

ITR-U can be used for reporting any income that you may have failed to report in your previous return. Moreover, this facility is available for anyone who may or may not have filed an original, belated or revised ITR. It can be used even when someone has missed filing ITR in a specific financial year.

Updated return (ITR-U) Last Dates

• AY 2020-21: March 31, 2023
• AY 2021-22: March 31 2024
• AY 2022-23: March 31, 2025

Penalty for filing ITR-U

There is some penalty linked to ITR-U filing. If you missed reporting an income, you will have to pay an additional tax of 25% of the tax and interest due on the income missed to be reported. This needs to be done within one year from the end of the relevant assessment year. In case you are filing ITR-U after 1 year and within 2 years of the relevant assessment year then the rate of the penalty will go up to 50%.

Where to file ITR-U?

You can file ITR-U on the official income tax filing website of the Income Tax Department.

When you cannot use ITR-U?

Taxpayers cannot use ITR-U for filing nil return/loss return. It cannot be used for claiming or enhancing the refund. Also, ITR-U is not allowed to be used for minimizing the Income tax liability from the return filed earlier.