Which ITR form does your business file?
Your form depends on who earns the income and how the profit is worked out. A proprietor on presumptive income usually files ITR-4; a proprietor with regular books or a partner files ITR-3; a firm or LLP files ITR-5.
| Who you are | Form for AY 2026-27 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Proprietor or HUF declaring profit from books of account | ITR-3 | Full profit and loss account and balance sheet schedules |
| Resident proprietor or HUF on presumptive income under section 44AD, 44ADA or 44AE, total income up to ₹50 lakh | ITR-4 (Sugam) | Not allowed if you are a company director, hold unlisted shares, have foreign assets or foreign income, have short-term capital gains, or long-term gains above ₹1,25,000 |
| Partner receiving remuneration, interest or profit share from a firm | ITR-3 | Share of profit is exempt, but it is still reported |
| Partnership firm or LLP | ITR-5 | Filed by the firm, separately from the partners |
| Company | ITR-6 | See our tax filing and compliance services |
A proprietorship is not a separate taxpayer, so the return is filed on your own PAN. Our sole proprietorship compliance service covers GST, TDS and the return together.
Doctors, consultants, designers and developers usually earn professional income, which has its own presumptive scheme. See ITR filing for freelancers and professionals. F&O traders file ITR-3 and often need an audit: see our ITR for F&O traders.
Business ITR due dates for AY 2026-27
For FY 2025-26, a business that needs no audit had until 31 August 2026. Audit cases have until 31 October 2026, and anyone who missed their date can file a belated return until 31 December 2026.
| Filing | Due date | Status on 21 September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Business or professional income, no audit needed (ITR-3, ITR-4, ITR-5) | 31 August 2026 | Passed |
| Tax audit report (Form 3CA or 3CB with 3CD) | 30 September 2026 | Open, unless the CBDT extends it |
| Return for audit cases | 31 October 2026 | Open, unless the CBDT extends it |
| Belated return, section 139(4) | 31 December 2026 | Open |
| Revised return, section 139(5) | 31 March 2027 | Open |
The 31 August date comes from the Finance Act, 2026, which gave non-audit business and professional cases one extra month. It depends on whether your accounts need an audit, not on the form. For every other category, see the full table on our income tax return filing page.
Missed 31 August? What a belated business return costs
A belated return is valid, but it costs more than the fee:
- Late fee under section 234F: ₹1,000 if total income is up to ₹5 lakh, ₹5,000 above that.
- Interest under section 234A: 1% a month or part of a month on unpaid tax, from the due date until you file.
- No old regime: Form 10-IEA had to be filed by the due date, so a belated return is taxed under the new regime.
- No business-loss carry-forward: a business loss can be carried forward only if the original return was filed on time.
Late fee and interest are paid by you to the department. They are not part of our fee.
Presumptive taxation: section 44AD and 44ADA
Presumptive taxation lets a small business or professional declare profit at a fixed percentage of turnover instead of working it out from full accounts. Section 44AD covers businesses and section 44ADA covers specified professions.
| Point | Section 44AD (business) | Section 44ADA (profession) |
|---|---|---|
| Who can use it | Resident individual, HUF or partnership firm (not an LLP) | Resident individual or partnership firm (not an LLP) in a profession listed in section 44AA(1) |
| Turnover or receipts limit | ₹2 crore | ₹50 lakh |
| Higher limit | ₹3 crore, if cash receipts are not more than 5% of turnover | ₹75 lakh, if cash receipts are not more than 5% of gross receipts |
| Profit to declare | 8% of turnover; 6% on receipts by account payee cheque, bank draft or electronic modes | 50% of gross receipts |
| Not available for | Professions, commission or brokerage, agency business, goods carriages (covered by section 44AE) | Businesses |
| Advance tax for presumptive taxpayers | Whole amount by 15 March | Whole amount by 15 March |
A cheque or draft that is not account payee counts as a cash receipt for the 5% test. You can declare a higher profit than the presumptive rate. Declaring a lower one has consequences, explained next.
Leaving 44AD: the five-year rule
If you use section 44AD for a year and then, in any of the next five years, declare profit below the presumptive rate, you lose the scheme for the following five years. That is section 44AD(4).
While that restriction applies, section 44AD(5) requires you to maintain books and get them audited under section 44AB in any year your total income is above the basic exemption limit. Before you drop to a lower profit figure, we work out whether the tax saved outweighs five years of books and audits.
When a tax audit applies under section 44AB
A tax audit is required for AY 2026-27 if your turnover or receipts cross the limits below, or if you declare profit below the presumptive rate in the cases the Act specifies.
| Situation | Audit required when |
|---|---|
| Business, general limit | Turnover or gross receipts above ₹1 crore |
| Business with mostly digital transactions | Above ₹10 crore, if cash receipts and cash payments are each not more than 5% of the total |
| Profession | Gross receipts above ₹50 lakh |
| Presumptive business after leaving 44AD (section 44AD(4) applies) | Total income above the basic exemption limit |
| Section 44ADA case declaring profit below 50% | Total income above the basic exemption limit |
The auditor's report for AY 2026-27 is Form 3CA or 3CB with Form 3CD, due one month before the return, which makes it 30 September 2026. Missing it can attract a penalty under section 271B of 0.5% of turnover or ₹1,50,000, whichever is less.
From Tax Year 2026-27, the audit is governed by section 63 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 and reported in the new Form 26, and the consequences of a delay are set by the 2025 Act. Our tax audit service covers the audit itself.
Books of account under section 44AA
If you do not use a presumptive scheme, you may have to keep books of account. For an individual or HUF in business, books are required once income from the business exceeded ₹2,50,000, or turnover exceeded ₹25,00,000, in any of the three preceding years.
For other taxpayers such as firms, the limits are ₹1,20,000 of income or ₹10,00,000 of turnover. Specified professionals have separate rules, covered on our freelancer page. Books are also required where section 44AD(4) applies and income is above the basic exemption limit.
Our accounting and bookkeeping service keeps your books in Tally or Zoho Books through the year, so the return takes days, not weeks.
Old or new regime when you have business income
The new regime is the default for FY 2025-26. To use the old regime, a person with business income must file Form 10-IEA by the return due date.
For non-audit business cases that date was 31 August 2026, so if you missed it, your belated return is taxed under the new regime. Audit cases can still file Form 10-IEA before 31 October 2026.
Once you have opted out and later come back to the new regime, you cannot opt out again. We compute your tax both ways before you file Form 10-IEA, so you decide on numbers, not habit. Our tax planning service helps you plan the choice for Tax Year 2026-27.
Advance tax on business income
You must pay advance tax during the year if your tax for the year, after TDS, is ₹10,000 or more. Resident senior citizens are exempt only if they have no business or professional income.
| Due date | Cumulative advance tax |
|---|---|
| 15 June | At least 15% |
| 15 September | At least 45% |
| 15 December | At least 75% |
| 15 March | 100% |
If you declare income under section 44AD or 44ADA, you pay the whole amount in one instalment by 15 March. Tax paid by 31 March still counts as advance tax for that year.
Short payment costs interest: 1% a month under section 234B if you paid less than 90% of your tax, and 1% a month under section 234C on instalments paid short or late. For Tax Year 2026-27, the same instalment dates apply and interest for deferment falls under section 425 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. The 15 September 2026 instalment has passed; the next is 15 December 2026. See our advance tax service.
Partnership firms, LLPs and partners
A firm or LLP files its own return in ITR-5, and each partner files a personal return. A partner's share of profit from the firm is exempt under section 10(2A), but it is still reported.
Remuneration and interest that a firm pays to a partner are taxed in the partner's hands as business income, so a partner files ITR-3. From FY 2025-26, firms must deduct TDS under section 194T on salary, remuneration, commission, bonus and interest paid to partners, and that TDS should appear in the partner's Form 26AS. Whether the firm can deduct that remuneration and interest under section 40(b) depends partly on the partnership deed.
LLPs cannot use section 44AD or 44ADA. Whether you run a partnership firm or an LLP, we file the entity return and the partners' returns together, so the figures match.
Income-tax Act, 1961 or 2025: which applies to your business
Your return for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) is filed under the Income-tax Act, 1961. Income you earn from 1 April 2026 falls in Tax Year 2026-27 under the Income-tax Act, 2025.
| Point | FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) | Tax Year 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| Law | Income-tax Act, 1961 | Income-tax Act, 2025 |
| Return forms | ITR-3, ITR-4, ITR-5, ITR-6 | New forms, to be notified by the department |
| Tax audit report | Form 3CA or 3CB with 3CD, section 44AB | Form 26, section 63 |
| Late filing fee | Section 234F: ₹1,000 or ₹5,000 | Section 428: ₹1,000 or ₹5,000 |
| Advance tax interest | Sections 234B and 234C | Section 425 |
Presumptive taxation, books of account and audit rules continue under the 2025 Act with new section numbers. We check the Tax Year 2026-27 conditions against the 2025 Act before you rely on them.
Documents for a business ITR
You need your PAN and e-filing login, your books or a sales and expense summary, bank statements, GST returns and any TDS certificates. We download your AIS and Form 26AS with your consent.
| Item | Why we need it |
|---|---|
| PAN, Aadhaar, e-filing login, bank details | Filing, verification and refund |
| Books of account (Tally, Zoho Books or Excel) or a turnover and expense summary | Profit computation |
| Bank statements for every business account | Turnover and cash-receipt test for 44AD, 44ADA and 44AB |
| GST returns: GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, GSTR-9 | Turnover reconciliation |
| AIS, TIS and Form 26AS | TDS credits and income the department already sees |
| Fixed asset list and loan interest certificates | Depreciation and interest |
| Last year's return and computation | Carry-forward items and the 44AD history |
| Audit report, if applicable | Figures for the return |
| Advance tax challans | Tax credit |
Business ITR filing fees
There is no government fee to file an income tax return. Our professional fee for a business ITR starts at ₹2,499.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Regikart professional fee, business ITR | From ₹2,499 |
| Government fee for filing an ITR | No government fee |
Professional fees exclude GST at 18%. Government fees, where they apply, are paid at actuals to the department and are shown separately. Fees verified on 21 September 2026.
The final fee depends on turnover, whether books need preparing and whether a firm return is involved. We confirm it in writing before we start. A tax audit is a separate engagement, from ₹7,499, on our tax audit page.
Late fee and interest are not our fees. The section 234F fee and any section 234A, 234B or 234C interest are paid by you directly to the department.
What is included
- A call with a CA to confirm your form, due date and fee
- Presumptive or books decision, with the tax worked out both ways where relevant
- Audit applicability check under section 44AB
- Reconciliation of turnover with GST returns and TDS with AIS and Form 26AS
- Old and new regime comparison, and Form 10-IEA where you choose the old regime in time
- Preparation and filing of the return, and help with e-verification
- A copy of the filed return, computation and acknowledgement
How we file your business ITR
We usually file a business return in 3-5 working days once we have complete documents. That is our usual experience, not a legal limit, and cases with books to write up take longer.
- Review. A CA reviews your books or summary, bank statements, GST returns and AIS.
- Check. We test 44AD or 44ADA eligibility, audit applicability, the five-year rule and your regime options.
- Compute. We prepare the computation with tax, advance tax shortfall and interest, and send it for your approval.
- File and verify. We file the return and help you e-verify it within 30 days. If tax is due, you pay it through e-Pay Tax first.
After you file
The return must be e-verified within 30 days of filing, or the verification date is treated as the filing date. The department then processes it and sends an intimation under section 143(1).
Common follow-ups are GST turnover mismatches, missing TDS credits and defective-return notices under section 139(9). Our income tax notice reply service handles them.
Spotted a mistake? You can revise your AY 2026-27 return until 31 March 2027. If you miss 31 December 2026 altogether, an updated return (ITR-U) is the remaining route, with additional tax. See our revised and belated return service and ITR-U filing service.
Why Regikart for your business return
Regikart is a CA and CS firm serving 250+ clients from Kolkata (head office), Delhi and Bengaluru. Every business return is prepared and reviewed by a Chartered Accountant.
- Fee confirmed in writing, from ₹2,499, before work starts.
- GST and income tax in one place: we reconcile your GST turnover with your return, which is where many business notices start. See our GST return filing service.
- Presumptive and audit decisions made on numbers, including the five-year 44AD effect.