TAX UPADESH

⚡ Quick answer: Diwali gifts tax rules 2026 Employee gifts: non-cash gifts/vouchers up to ₹15,000 a year are tax-free (was ₹5,000) from tax year 2026-27. Cash gifts / Diwali bonus: fully taxable as salary — no limit. Gifts to dealers, clients, agents: 10% TDS if the total to one person exceeds ₹20,000 in the year. GST: input tax credit on gifts is generally blocked ; employee gifts up to ₹50,000 a year are not a "supply". 👀 Eye-opener: the ₹15,000 rule is your best Diwali tax saver Pay a ₹13,000 Diwali bonus in cash and an employee in the 30% slab loses about ₹4,056 to tax. Give the same value as a gift voucher or hamper and the tax can be nil . Hidden risk: gifts to dealers and channel partners above ₹20,000 need TDS before the gift is handed over. Miss it and the business faces interest, a TDS default and possible disallowance questions. 💰 Saver tip: Track each employee's total gifts for the tax year (April–March) in one sheet, so festiva...

⏰ FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27): what you can still do Not filed yet? File a belated return by 31 December 2026 Filed with a mistake? Revise up to 31 March 2027 (new, by Finance Act 2026) Revising after 31 December 2026 costs a ₹1,000 / ₹5,000 fee Miss both? Only the costly updated return (ITR-U) remains 👀 Eye-opener: what late filing really costs you A belated filer generally loses the old tax regime for that year, which means no 80C, 80D or home-loan interest deduction on a self-occupied house. Business and capital losses cannot be carried forward from a belated return. A loss you could have set off next year is gone. Interest under section 234A runs at 1% per month or part of a month , so even one day into a new month adds a full month's interest. 💰 Saver tip: file or revise before 31 December 2026 . It is the cheapest option: no 234I fee, and you avoid the 25% to 70% extra tax of ITR-U. ⚖️ Belated vs revised vs updated return Return When to use Las...

BUSINESS TAX-SAVING ALERT MSME Payment Rule 2026: Don’t Lose Your Business Tax Deduction by Missing This Deadline A valid business expense can be disallowed if payment to an eligible Micro or Small Enterprise is made late. Eye-opening point: Paying an eligible MSME supplier before the income-tax-return due date may not protect the deduction. The payment must satisfy the time allowed under the MSMED Act. Many businesses prepare an MSME creditors list only when their Chartered Accountant starts the tax audit. This is risky because the payment rule works invoice by invoice. Where an otherwise allowable amount payable to an eligible Micro or Small Enterprise is paid beyond the period specified under the MSMED Act, the deduction is generally available in the year of actual payment. What is the payment time limit? Situation ...

PROPERTY TAX PLANNING Rental Income Tax Saving Guide 2026: 5 Legal Deductions Landlords Should Not Miss Rental income is taxable, but the law allows important deductions when the calculation and documents are correct. Eye-opening point: The 30% standard deduction is calculated on the annual value after eligible municipal taxes—not necessarily on the total rent collected. Many landlords simply add twelve months’ rent and offer the full amount to tax. Others claim every property-related expense without checking whether it is legally allowable. Both approaches can be incorrect. Rental income from a building is generally calculated under the head “Income from house property” when the taxpayer is the owner and the property is not used for the owner’s business. How is taxable rental income calculated? Calculation Treatment ...

INCOME TAX • OCTOBER 2026 Q2 TDS Return Due 31 October 2026: Do These 12 Checks Before You File A return can pass validation and still contain a wrong PAN, section, rate or challan mapping. A careful review now can reduce corrections and unwanted notices later. Important 2026 change: Under the Income-tax Rules, 2026, the current quarterly TDS forms are Form 138 for salary, Form 140 for non-salary payments to residents and Form 144 for non-salary payments to non-residents. These replace the familiar Form 24Q, Form 26Q and Form 27Q numbers. What is due on 31 October? The quarterly TDS statement for the period 1 July to 30 September 2026 is due on 31 October 2026 . This applies to deductors who must report TDS for Q2. Current form Earlier name Use Form 138 24Q Salary, and specified pension/interest reporting Form 140 26Q Non-salary payments to residents Form 144 27Q N...

IMPORTANT PROPERTY-TDS UPDATE Buying Property from an NRI? TAN Relief Starts—but TDS Still Applies A simpler PAN-based reporting process applies from 1 October 2026. Buyers should understand exactly what changed—and what did not. The biggest misunderstanding “TAN not required” does not mean “TDS not required”. The buyer must still calculate the applicable TDS correctly, deduct it, deposit it, report the transaction and provide the TDS certificate. What has changed? ✓ PAN-based reporting The specified resident individual or HUF buyer can use the new challan-cum-statement route without obtaining TAN only for this purpose. ▣ New Form 141 Schedule E Schedule E captures the property, buyer, non-resident seller, consideration, capital-gain and TDS details. ↗ Form 132 certificate The prescribed TDS certific...

CBDT DEADLINE UPDATE • AY 2026–27 Tax Audit Due Date Extended to 21 October 2026 Use the additional time to correct Form 3CD, GST, MSME and TDS issues TAX AUDIT REPORT 21 October 2026 Earlier: 30 September 2026 AUDIT-CASE ITR 21 November 2026 Earlier: 31 October 2026 Important clarification: CBDT announced this relief for the applicable regular audit cases for AY 2026–27. It should not be assumed that every audit form, transfer-pricing report or other statutory deadline has been extended. The extension gives businesses and auditors additional time, but it should be used for better verification—not for postponing the audit. Incorrect reporting in Form 3CD can affect the income-tax return and may create questions during assessment. What exactly has CBDT extended? ...

Tax Audit Deadline Is 30 September 2026 Complete these 12 important checks before approving Form 3CD. Only a few days remain for the tax-audit deadline. Rushing the report without complete records can create differences between the books, Form 3CD and the income-tax return. Current deadline: 30 September 2026 Applicable to tax-audit reports for AY 2026–27. As checked on 27 September 2026, no later official extension was found. Remember: Uploading by the Chartered Accountant is not the final step. The taxpayer should log in, review and accept the tax-audit report on the income-tax portal. Which tax-audit form applies? Form When it generally applies Form 3CA with Form 3CD When the accounts are already required to be audited under another law, such as the Companies Act. Form 3CB with Form 3CD When the accounts are not required to be audited under another law but tax audit is applica...

DPIIT Recognition Means Zero Tax for 3 Years? The important difference every Indian startup founder should understand. Many founders receive their DPIIT Startup Recognition Certificate and assume that their startup’s profits are automatically tax-free. This is not correct. DPIIT recognition and the startup profit deduction are separate benefits with different eligibility conditions and approval requirements. Common assumption: “My company is recognised by DPIIT, so I do not have to pay income tax for three years.” Correct position: DPIIT recognition is the first step. The startup must separately satisfy the income-tax conditions and obtain the prescribed eligibility certification before claiming the profit deduction. What is DPIIT Startup Recognition? DPIIT recognition identifies an eligible entity as a startup under the Startup India framework. Recognition may provide access to specified regulatory relaxations, schemes and other benefits, subject to the...