As of December 28, over 70 lakh income tax returns remain unprocessed by the Income Tax Department, out of 8.5 crore filed and verified for AY 2025-26. While 7.8 crore returns have been processed, many pending cases involve refund claims or mismatches in deductions and disclosures, such as political donations. Taxpayers have until December 31 to voluntarily revise their returns; after this date, revisions become more procedural and costly, potentially requiring an updated return (ITR-U).