The Portal Will Crash. It Crashes Every Year. Here Is Exactly When to File So It Does Not Matter.
The income tax e-filing portal at incometax.gov.in has crashed or degraded in the last 48-72 hours before every major filing deadline since its relaunch in June 2021. This is not speculation — it is a documented five-year pattern.
In 2025, the portal crashed on July 31 (ITR deadline day), forcing CBDT to extend the deadline by one day. On September 15, 2025, the extended tax audit deadline, the portal went down hours before cutoff. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) compiled over 1,200 formal complaints about portal failures in September 2025 alone.
If you file your ITR in the last 72 hours before any deadline, you are gambling with a system that has failed every single time under peak load. This guide gives you the exact crash history, the filing windows that avoid the chaos, and what to do if you are stuck on deadline day.
For step-by-step ITR filing instructions, see ITR filing guide — forms, AIS verification, and mistakes that trigger notices. If you are dealing with portal errors right now, see income tax portal not working — error fixes.
5 Years of Portal Crashes: The Documented Timeline
| Date | Event | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 7, 2021 | New portal launch by Infosys | Mass migration failures, login broken for weeks, Form 26AS inaccessible |
| Jul 31, 2022 | ITR deadline day | Intermittent “Service Unavailable” errors from 6 PM onwards |
| Jul 31, 2023 | ITR deadline day | OTP delivery delays of 15-30 minutes, session timeouts during filing |
| Jul 31, 2024 | ITR deadline day | Portal slow from 4 PM, multiple users reported failed submissions |
| Jul 31, 2025 | ITR deadline day (AY 2025-26) | “Service Unavailable” errors across the portal; CBDT extended deadline to Aug 1 |
| Sep 15, 2025 | Extended tax audit deadline | Portal crashed hours before midnight cutoff |
| Sep 16, 2025 | Day after extension | Persistent glitches continued through the next day |
| May 2-3, 2026 | Scheduled maintenance | Grievance and e-Nivaran services unavailable (planned downtime) |
The pattern is consistent: every deadline with high filing volume triggers portal degradation. CBDT acknowledged the July 31, 2025 crash publicly and extended the deadline — but only by one day, and only after millions of taxpayers had already spent hours retrying failed submissions.
Filing Deadline Calendar: Crash Risk by Deadline
| Deadline | What Is Due | Who Must File | Crash Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 31 | ITR for salaried individuals, non-audit cases | ~5 crore filers in last week | Extreme |
| Sep 30 | Tax audit reports (Form 3CA/3CB/3CD, now Form 26) | CAs filing for business clients | Very High |
| Oct 31 | Transfer pricing reports, ITR for audit cases | Corporates + large businesses | High |
| Nov 30 | Belated and revised returns | Late filers + corrections | Moderate |
| Dec 31 | Updated returns (ITR-U, within 1 year) | Voluntary disclosures | Moderate |
| Mar 31 | Updated returns (ITR-U, within 2 years) | Last-chance filers | High |
July 31 is the most dangerous deadline. Over 5 crore returns are filed in July, and an estimated 30-40% come in the final 72 hours. The portal infrastructure has never survived this spike without degradation.
When to File: The Tactical Filing Calendar
The July Sweet Spot for Salaried Taxpayers
File between July 1 and July 15. By July 1, most employers have issued Form 16 (now Form 130 from April 2026), AIS data is populated, and TDS credits are reflected in Form 26AS. The portal is functioning normally during this window — server load is a fraction of what it becomes after July 20.
Off-Peak Filing Hours
| Time Window (IST) | Server Load | Filing Success Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2:00 AM - 6:00 AM (any day) | Very Low | Highest |
| 6:00 AM - 9:00 AM (weekends) | Low | High |
| 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM (weekdays) | Moderate | Good |
| 6:00 PM - 12:00 AM (weekdays) | Very High | Poor during deadline weeks |
| Any time in last 72 hours of deadline | Extreme | Unreliable |
Specific Rules
- File at least 2-4 weeks before the deadline. This is the single most effective strategy.
- Avoid the last 3 days of any deadline period. Portal degradation starts approximately 72 hours before every major deadline.
- Use weekday mornings over weekday evenings. Working professionals file after office hours, creating a 6 PM - midnight surge.
- Weekend mornings are less congested than any weekday time slot during deadline weeks.
- Use the offline JSON utility instead of the online form. It saves your return locally and uploads in a single request — minimizing your exposure to server timeouts.
For login methods that work during peak load, see income tax login guide — all methods explained.
What to Do If the Portal Crashes on Deadline Day
If you ignored the advice above and the portal is down on July 31 at 11 PM, here is your tactical checklist:
1. Pay Your Tax Immediately (No Login Required)
The e-Pay Tax service works as a pre-login service — no portal login needed. Navigate directly to the e-Pay Tax page, enter your PAN, and pay self-assessment tax (Challan 280) via net banking or UPI. Even if you cannot file the return, paying tax before midnight stops Section 234A interest (1% per month on unpaid tax) from accruing. This is the highest-priority action.
2. Try Net Banking Login
When the portal OTP servers are overloaded, the standard Aadhaar OTP or PAN + password login fails. Net banking login bypasses portal authentication entirely — your bank (SBI, HDFC, ICICI, Axis, and others) authenticates you and routes you into the e-filing portal. This method has consistently higher success rates during portal slowdowns.
3. Keep Retrying at Intervals
Sessions do go through sporadically even during severe degradation. Try every 10-15 minutes rather than rapid-refreshing (which adds to server load). Clear your browser cache between attempts. If using Chrome, try an incognito window — cached sessions from failed attempts can cause persistent errors.
4. Document Everything
Take screenshots of every error with timestamps clearly visible. Include:
- The error message and URL
- Your system clock showing date and time
- Your internet connection status (run a speed test for proof)
This documentation is essential for condonation of delay applications under Section 119(2)(b) if you miss the deadline by hours.
5. Do Not Count on a Deadline Extension
CBDT extended the AY 2025-26 ITR deadline by one day after the July 31, 2025 crash. But extensions are announced after the fact, are never guaranteed, and are typically only 1-2 days. You cannot plan around a hypothetical extension.
The Infosys Contract: Why the Portal Keeps Failing
Infosys won the Rs 4,242 crore contract to build and maintain the income tax e-filing portal in 2019, replacing the previous system run by TCS. The new portal launched on June 7, 2021 — and crashed on day one.
Since launch, the portal has never handled peak filing loads without degradation. Key data points:
- September 2025: ICAI submitted a compilation of 1,200+ specific complaints about portal failures to CBDT
- Tax audit filing numbers: Only 3.77 lakh tax audit reports were filed by mid-September 2025 — roughly 10% of the prior year total — because the portal could not handle submissions
- Repeated Finance Ministry summons: Infosys was called in multiple times to explain portal failures
As chartered accountant Abhas Halakhandi stated: “Thousands of manhours are being wasted with every downtime across the country.”
The fundamental issue is capacity planning. The portal is designed for average-day traffic, not deadline-day traffic. Until infrastructure scales to handle 10x normal load during the last 72 hours of July, the crashes will continue.
Consequences of Missing the Deadline
If you miss July 31 because the portal crashed (and CBDT does not extend), here is what it costs:
| Consequence | Financial Impact | Can You Reverse It? |
|---|---|---|
| Late filing fee (Section 234F) | Rs 5,000 (Rs 1,000 if income < Rs 5 lakh) | No — automatic, non-refundable |
| Interest on unpaid tax (Section 234A) | 1% per month on outstanding tax amount | No — accrues until tax + return is filed |
| Loss of carry-forward of capital losses | Cannot offset future capital gains | No — permanently lost for that AY |
| Forced into new tax regime | Cannot choose old regime on belated return | No — old regime requires filing by Jul 31 |
| Condonation of delay (Section 119(2)(b)) | Application possible, approval discretionary | Maybe — takes 3-12 months, no guarantee |
The old tax regime lock-out is the most underappreciated risk. If the old regime saves you Rs 30,000-50,000 through deductions under 80C, 80D, and HRA, filing even one day late erases that entire benefit. This alone justifies filing 2 weeks early. For a detailed regime comparison, see old vs new tax regime — which saves more.
Your 2026 Filing Action Plan
| Action | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Download AIS + Form 26AS/Form 168 | By June 15 | Verify all income sources before filing season peak |
| Collect Form 130 (replaces Form 16) from employer | By June 15 | Employers must issue by June 15 |
| Reconcile AIS with bank statements and capital gain statements | June 15-25 | Prevents mismatches that trigger automated notices |
| File ITR | July 1-15 | Portal is functional, zero deadline pressure |
| E-verify return | Within 30 days of filing | Aadhaar OTP is fastest — complete immediately after filing |
| Check refund status | 30-45 days after e-verification | Track via refund status guide |
Do not wait for July 20. Do not wait for the last weekend. Do not tell yourself you will file on July 30. The portal will crash. It crashes every year. File early, file during off-peak hours, and make the crash someone else’s problem.
This article reflects portal performance data and CBDT actions through May 2026. Deadline dates follow the Income Tax Act, 1961 (now replaced by Income Tax Act, 2025) standard calendar unless CBDT issues notifications to the contrary.