you can file your tax return till 31 march 2013 without having to pay any penalty we all know of the rush of march when taxpayers run helterskelter to invest under section 80c however the month witnesses another race against timeof taxpayers filing their returns this may come as a surprise but according to the data on online filing the biggest surge of tax return filing is not witnessed on 31 july but months later on 31 march the last day of the assessment year this is because if a taxpayer misses the last date of filing returns for whatever reason the tax department gives him another chance to be on the right side of the law he is allowed to file his return till the end of the assessment year without being penalised if there is some tax to be paid he can still pay it along with a 1 late payment fee for every month of delay when the tax filing deadline was extended by a month this year millions of taxpayers must have heaved a collective sigh of relief however many of them still missed the extended deadline these rip van winkles will be delighted to know that they have another 67 months to procrastinate if there is no penalty why do so many taxpayers rush to file by the due date this is because if you miss the tax filing deadline you forego some of your rights as a taxpayer you cannot modify your income tax return if it is filed after the due date says delhibased chartered accountant mk agarwal you also cannot carry forward any shortterm or longterm losses income tax laws allow a taxpayer to carry forward capital losses and adjust them against future capital gains you can carry forward these losses up to eight financial years if you suffered capital losses in 201112 these can be adjusted against gains made till 201920 however this is possible only if you file your return by the due date says agarwal if you also miss the 31 march deadline the taxman gives you another chance at redemption you can file your return till 31 march 2014 but you can be slapped with a high penalty of rs 5000 for not filing on time however this depends on the discretion of the assessing officer if you are among those who missed the deadline this year despite the extension its time to get cracking on your tax returns