The due date passed and your income tax return is still not filed. The moment the clock runs out under Section 139(1), a separate charge switches on: the Section 234F late filing fee. It is not interest and not a discretionary penalty an officer chooses to levy. It is a fixed fee the system attaches the instant you file late, and you pay it yourself as part of the return.
Quick answer: If you file your ITR after the due date, Section 234F charges a flat late fee of Rs 5,000. If your total income does not exceed Rs 5,00,000, the fee is capped at Rs 1,000. If your income is below the basic exemption limit and you are not otherwise required to file, no 234F fee applies. The fee is mandatory, automatic, and cannot be waived. It is paid as self-assessment tax when you file the belated return.
Section 234F of the Income-tax Act 1961 levies a fee where a person required to furnish a return under Section 139 fails to file it within the time allowed under Section 139(1). It is a fee, not a penalty: there is no notice, no hearing, and no discretion. You calculate it, add it to your tax payment, and it travels with your return. It was substituted by the Finance Act 2021 with effect from 1 April 2021.
The amount depends only on your total income, not on how many days late you are. From AY 2021-22 onwards the fee is a single flat figure; the older structure that charged more for filing after 31 December was removed.
| Your total income | Section 234F late fee |
|---|---|
| More than Rs 5,00,000 | Rs 5,000 |
| Up to Rs 5,00,000 | Rs 1,000 (capped) |
| Below the basic exemption limit, and not otherwise required to file | Nil |
Note on the nil row: The exemption only holds if you genuinely have no obligation to file. Under the seventh proviso to Section 139(1), you may still be required to file even with low income, for example if you deposited large amounts in current accounts, spent heavily on foreign travel, or paid a high electricity bill. If that proviso catches you, the return is mandatory and 234F applies on late filing.
The old Rs 10,000 figure is dead. Before the Finance Act 2021, Section 234F charged Rs 5,000 for returns filed by 31 December and Rs 10,000 for later filings. That date-based two-tier structure no longer exists. Many older web pages still quote Rs 10,000 as current; that is wrong for AY 2021-22 onwards. The maximum today is Rs 5,000.
A late filer often owes both a 234F fee and interest. They are different things and you cannot net one against the other.
| Provision | What it is | How it is charged |
|---|---|---|
| Section 234F | A flat late filing fee | Rs 5,000 or Rs 1,000, fixed regardless of tax due |
| Section 234A | Interest for late filing | 1 percent per month on unpaid tax, from the due date until you file |
| Section 234B | Interest for not paying advance tax | 1 percent per month on the shortfall |
| Section 234C | Interest for deferring advance tax instalments | 1 percent per month on each missed instalment |
So 234F bites even if your full tax was already paid, because it is a fee for the delay in filing, not for unpaid tax. Sections 234A, 234B and 234C only arise where tax remains unpaid or advance tax was short. You can read the detail on each in our companion guide on interest under Sections 234A, 234B and 234C.
A return filed after the due date is a belated return under Section 139(4). You can generally file it up to 31 December of the assessment year, or before the assessment is completed, whichever is earlier.
If you miss even 31 December, you usually cannot file an ordinary belated return any more. Your fallback is an updated return under Section 139(8A), available for up to 48 months from the end of the assessment year, but it carries additional tax on top of the regular dues, so it is the costlier route.
Kashvi Pathak, salaried professional, Pune. Her total income for the year was Rs 8,40,000 and her employer had deducted the full TDS, so her tax was already paid. She forgot the 31 July due date and filed her return on 12 September.
Because she filed after the due date and her income is above Rs 5,00,000, Section 234F adds Rs 5,000 as a flat fee. Since her tax was fully paid by TDS, her Section 234A interest worked out to nil. Total extra cost: Rs 5,000, paid as self-assessment tax when she filed.
Had her income been Rs 4,80,000 instead, the same delay would have cost only Rs 1,000 under the small-taxpayer cap.
It is a fee. There is no notice, no hearing and no officer discretion. It is mandatory and automatic the moment you file after the due date, and it cannot be waived or reduced on a request.
No. Unlike many penalties, there is no power to waive or condone it for reasonable cause. The only way to avoid it is to file on or before the due date.
If your total income is more than Rs 5,00,000 you pay Rs 5,000. If your total income is Rs 5,00,000 or less, the fee is capped at Rs 1,000.
Generally no, because there is no obligation to file. But if the seventh proviso to Section 139(1) requires you to file anyway, for example because of high-value deposits or foreign travel spend, then the fee applies on a late return.
Yes. Section 234F is a flat late filing fee. Section 234A is interest at 1 percent per month on unpaid tax. A late filer with tax outstanding can owe both at the same time.
You pay it yourself as self-assessment tax under Section 140A when you file the belated return. The portal computes it automatically once the return is marked as filed after the due date.
A belated return under Section 139(4) can generally be filed up to 31 December of the assessment year, or before the assessment is completed, whichever is earlier.
You usually cannot file an ordinary belated return after that. The remaining option is an updated return under Section 139(8A) within 48 months of the end of the assessment year, but it carries extra tax, so it is more expensive.