October 2026 GST and Income Tax Compliance Calendar India

October 2026 packs 13 GST and income tax due dates between the 7th and the 31st, and the tax audit report date moved from 30 September to 21 October. CBDT Circular 07/2026, dated 28 September 2026, extended the audit report date for assessment year 2026-27 to 21 October and pushed the income tax return date for the audit-covered category from 31 October to 21 November. Everyone else keeps the usual dates.

Short answer: if you are a freelancer or small business with GST, mark 11 October for GSTR-1, 20 October for GSTR-3B and 31 October for any TDS statements you owe. If you are on the quarterly scheme, 13 October and the 22nd or 24th replace the monthly dates. If you need a tax audit, 21 October and 21 November are the dates that changed. The table below lists every date, who it applies to and what a miss costs. Dates are from the October 2026 TaxGuru calendar and the CBDT circular.

Every October 2026 due date

Three of these land on a Sunday: the 11th, 18th and 25th. The GST portal accepts filings on Sundays, so the date is the date. Do not bank on a next-working-day extension, because none is announced for these dates. File on Friday the 9th, Friday the 16th and Friday the 23rd.

The 22 and 24 October dates for quarterly GSTR-3B follow the standard QRMP rule: which one applies depends on your state or union territory group. The portal shows yours on your return dashboard. Check it there, because guessing wrong turns a quarterly filer into a late filer.

What the 21 October change covers, and what it does not

Read the circular's scope before you relax. It applies to the assessment year 2026-27, previous year 2025-26, and to persons in the category that Explanation 2 to section 139(1) assigns an extended return date. That is the audit category. It is not a blanket extension for all taxpayers.

If your gross receipts as a professional are at or below Rs 50 lakh, you do not need a tax audit under the professional limit. If you opted for the presumptive scheme under section 44ADA and declared 50% or more of receipts as income, you also stay out of audit. The 21 October and 21 November dates do not apply to you. Your return date remains the standard one for non-audit individuals. If you have not filed yet, a belated or revised return for assessment year 2026-27 is reported by a third-party source as open until 31 December 2026, with a late fee under section 234F. Verify that date on the income tax portal.

CBDT said a formal order would follow the circular. One commentary notes the precise scope should be examined once that order appears. Check the Income Tax Department site before relying on 21 November if your return is close to the line.