If this is your first salary year and you are sitting with a Form 16 wondering what to do next, do not panic. First time ITR filing feels intimidating mostly because of the jargon, not the process itself. The actual filing, for a typical salaried employee with one employer and a savings account, takes about
If you sold, swapped, or even spent crypto during FY 2025-26 and you are a salaried filer who normally files a simple return, the rules have changed for you whether you noticed or not. Crypto tax in India is now a separate, dedicated regime — not a footnote inside capital gains, not optional, and not
If you sold shares or redeemed mutual fund units in FY 2025-26, the tax rules you remember from a few years ago are not the rules that now apply to you. Capital gains tax on shares was reset on 23 July 2024 — rates went up, holding periods were standardised, and indexation was withdrawn for
If you are a salaried employee paying rent, House Rent Allowance is probably the largest tax-free component on your payslip — and also the most misunderstood. Many salaried readers assume the entire HRA in their salary structure is tax-free. It is not. The exempt portion is the lowest of three calculated amounts under Section 10(13A)
If you hold a US brokerage account, an ESOP grant from a Singapore parent, a flat in Dubai, or even a dormant UK savings account from your student days — and you are now a tax resident in India — Schedule FA is not optional. This is one of the most aggressively enforced disclosure requirements
If you are an NRI and you have been told that “non-residents do not have to file in India,” set that aside. It is one of the most common pieces of bad advice in this area, and it has cost people refunds, triggered notices, and in some cases blocked the repatriation of their own money.
If you have missed the ITR due date, the first question is not whether you will be penalised — it is how much the delay will actually cost you. Most people think the late filing fee 234F is the whole story. It is not. Section 234F is the flat fee the department charges for filing
If you are a freelancer in India wondering whether to file ITR-3 or ITR-4, whether you qualify for presumptive taxation, or why your bank credits are suddenly attracting a notice, you are not alone. Freelancer tax in India is one of the most misunderstood areas in personal taxation — partly because freelancers sit in a
Which ITR Form Should You File? Which ITR form to file is the single most common question taxpayers ask every June and July. The confusion is understandable. There are seven ITR forms in total, and picking the wrong one is not a harmless mistake — a return filed in the wrong form is treated as
If you missed the 31 July deadline to file your income tax return, you have not lost your chance — but you have lost a few things along the way. A belated return lets you file after the original due date, with a late fee, interest on unpaid tax, and a loss of certain benefits
