August 2026 Money Deadlines: 3 That Cost You

August 2026 brings three big financial deadlines: ITR filing, Axis Bank credit card rule changes, and a Kotak DCC fee hike. Miss any one and it costs you real money — here is what to act on now.

Here's what happened: The ITR filing deadline for most individual taxpayers falls in late July, but assessment year 2025-26 belated returns can still be filed until December 31, 2026 — with a late fee up to ₹5,000.. Axis Bank is updating credit card reward and fee structures in August 2026, affecting how points are earned, capped, or redeemed on select card variants.. Kotak Mahindra Bank is raising its Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) fee — the charge applied when you swipe your card abroad or on foreign websites in rupees instead of local currency..

What you should do: File your ITR before the belated return deadline to avoid a ₹5,000 penalty — log in to the Income Tax e-filing portal at incometax.gov.in and check your pre-filled Form 26AS first.. Review your Axis Bank credit card's updated terms — check the bank's official mailer or app notification to see if your card's reward earn rate or fee waiver threshold has changed.. Switch your Kotak card transactions abroad to local currency billing — always choose to pay in the local currency (USD, EUR, etc.) at POS terminals to avoid the DCC markup, which can add 2–4% to every transaction..

DCC fees are optional — you always have the right to refuse rupee conversion at a foreign terminal. Saying 'pay in local currency' saves you 2–4% per swipe, every time.