Where you stand in September 2026
The AY 2026-27 due date for non-audit cases has passed. Here is what is still open, and what each route costs you.
| Your position | What you can still do | What it costs |
|---|---|---|
| Not filed, no audit required | File a belated return under section 139(4) up to 31 December 2026 | Late fee under section 234F: ₹1,000 if total income is up to ₹5 lakh, otherwise ₹5,000, plus interest under sections 234A, 234B and 234C. The old regime is no longer available for AY 2026-27, because it can only be chosen in a return filed by the due date |
| Filed, but something is wrong | Revise it under section 139(5) up to 31 March 2027 | No fee for revising. If the original return was late, the late fee already charged stays |
| Audit applies (receipts above the section 44AB thresholds) | File by 31 October 2026 | On time if filed by that date. The audit report itself is due earlier: see tax audit |
| Missed 31 December 2026 as well | An updated return (ITR-U) is available for up to 48 months from the end of the relevant assessment year | Additional tax of 25% to 70% of the tax and interest, by how late it is. Only one updated return per year, and it cannot create or increase a refund or a loss |
| Filed but never verified | Verify now | The date of verification becomes the date of filing, so an on-time return can become belated |
If you are filing late, the new regime applies by default and Form 10-IEA is no longer an option for this year. That matters most to gig workers with large home-loan interest or 80C investments, and it is the single most expensive consequence of missing 31 August.
Five changes that decide your AY 2026-27 return
FY 2025-26, which is AY 2026-27, is governed by the Income-tax Act, 1961. The Income-tax Act, 2025 came into force on 1 April 2026 and applies from Tax Year 2026-27, so it governs the income you are earning now, not the return you are filing for AY 2026-27.
- The non-audit due date was 31 August 2026. The Finance Act, 2026 amended section 139(1) so that a taxpayer with business or professional income whose accounts do not have to be audited files by 31 August, not 31 July. For AY 2026-27 that date has passed. Audit cases have until 31 October 2026. A belated return can still be filed up to 31 December 2026, and a revised return up to 31 March 2027. The test is whether an audit applies, not which form you file.
- Zero tax up to ₹12 lakh of taxable income, through the section 87A rebate in the default new regime.
- The ₹75 lakh 44ADA ceiling needs 95% digital receipts. The section 44ADA threshold extends from ₹50 lakh to ₹75 lakh only where cash receipts are not more than 5% of gross receipts. Cash above that drops you back to the ₹50 lakh ceiling. Note the separate point in the audit table: section 44AB(b) looks at ₹50 lakh of professional gross receipts, so receipts between ₹50 lakh and ₹75 lakh need a CA's view on audit liability even when 44ADA still applies.
- Section 44AD covers delivery, ride-hailing and reselling, at 6% on digital receipts and 8% on cash.
- The old regime needs Form 10-IEA before the due date. Once the due date passes, the option is gone for that year.
Who this page is for
| You are | Typical section |
|---|---|
| Freelance professionals: writers, designers, developers, consultants, coaches, lawyers, accountants | 44ADA at 50% |
| Delivery partners on app-based platforms | 44AD at 6% or 8% |
| Ride-hailing drivers and goods-carriage operators | 44AD, or 44AE for goods carriages |
| Content creators: YouTubers, influencers and podcasters. See the code table below | 44ADA at 50% |
| Online sellers on marketplaces and own D2C stores | 44AD at 6% or 8% |
| Photographers and freelance artists | 44ADA at 50% |
| Moonlighters: salaried employees with a side gig, where both incomes must be reported | Salary plus 44ADA or 44AD |
| Salon, repair, cleaning, fitness and wellness partners | 44AD or 44ADA, by activity |
ITR-4 or ITR-3?
Most gig workers file ITR-4 (Sugam) under the presumptive sections. ITR-1 and ITR-2 are not valid for gig or freelance income and a return filed in them can be treated as defective under section 139(9).
ITR-4 fits when you are
- a resident individual or HUF (not a partnership firm except as specified)
- opting for section 44ADA at 50% for a profession, or section 44AD at 6% or 8% for business
- within professional receipts of ₹50 lakh, or ₹75 lakh where cash receipts stay within 5%
- within business turnover of ₹2 crore, or ₹3 crore where cash receipts stay within 5%
- not a director, with no unlisted equity and no foreign income or foreign assets
Choose ITR-3 instead when
- you want to claim actual business expenses and depreciation
- gross receipts exceed the presumptive ceiling
- you have capital gains, more than one house property, or foreign assets
- you have brought-forward business losses to set off
- your real profit margin is lower than the deemed 44ADA or 44AD rate
- section 44AD(4) applies after opting out of 44AD, which triggers a tax audit
The presumptive scheme matters more than the form. Sections 44ADA and 44AD give you no books of account requirement, tax on a fixed deemed margin regardless of actuals, and a single advance tax instalment by 15 March. The trade-off is no expense claims, and opting out triggers a section 44AB audit for that year.
Which business or profession code to use in ITR-3 and ITR-4
Every ITR-3 and ITR-4 return asks for a nature of business or profession code. Pick the wrong one and the return still goes through, but the profile the department builds of you does not match what you do, and the presumptive section you claim can look inconsistent. These are the codes from the ITR nature of business and profession list that gig and platform workers use most.
| What you do | Code | Description in the list |
|---|---|---|
| Software development, app or web work | 14001 | Software development |
| Other IT and remote technical services | 14005 | Other IT enabled services |
| Design, branding, marketing, copywriting | 16006 | Advertising |
| Fashion and apparel design | 16007 | Fashion designing |
| Photography and videography | 16009 | Photography |
| Consulting, coaching, business advisory | 16013 | Business and management consultancy activities |
| Acting, performance, on-camera work | 16020 | Film Artist |
| Other freelance and professional work, including most content creation | 16019 | Other professional services n.e.c. |
| Cab and auto driving on a platform | 11003 | Passenger land transport |
| Goods delivery and transport | 11008 | Freight transport by road |
| Online reselling and D2C selling | 09028 | Retail sale of other products n.e.c. |
| Salon, grooming and wellness services | 21001 | Hair dressing and other beauty treatment |
Two things follow from the code. A code in the professions block supports a section 44ADA claim at 50%; a trading or transport code points to section 44AD at 6% or 8%. And if you do two different things, for example consulting plus reselling, both go in with their own codes and their own presumptive treatment. We confirm the code against the current year's ITR instructions before filing, because the list is published with each year's forms.
When a tax audit applies
| Trigger | Clause |
|---|---|
| Professional gross receipts above ₹50 lakh | Sec 44AB(b) |
| Business turnover above ₹1 crore (₹10 crore where cash receipts and payments stay within 5%) | Sec 44AB(a) |
| Declaring income below the deemed rate under section 44ADA while eligible | Sec 44AB(d) |
| Where section 44AD(4) applies, after opting out of 44AD | Sec 44AB(e) |
The ₹75 lakh figure is the 44ADA ceiling, not an audit threshold. See tax audit for what the audit itself involves.
Fees
| Plan | Fee | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Presumptive | ₹999 | Single income source, ITR-4 under 44ADA or 44AD. Single PAN, single platform or client base, AIS and Form 26AS reconciliation, e-verification within the 30-day window |
| Standard | ₹1,999 | Multiple clients or platforms, foreign receipts, ITR-3. Multi-source reconciliation, FIRC handling, old versus new regime comparison, Form 10-IEA where the old regime is chosen and available |
| Premium | ₹3,499 | Capital gains, expense-based ITR-3 with depreciation, advance-tax planning for the next year, and notice response support for the same year |
Professional fees exclude GST at 18%. There is no government fee to file an income-tax return. Fees verified on 22 September 2026.
How the work runs
Gig filings are more involved than salaried ones, because there is no Form 16 to anchor the computation. We build the receipt and TDS picture from your AIS, Form 26AS and platform earning reports. Four stages, from reconciliation to e-verification.
- Scope and quote. We confirm your form and regime before you pay anything, and send the quote in writing.
- Reconciliation. AIS, TIS and Form 26AS against your platform earning summaries, invoices and bank credits, so the 194C, 194J and 194O credits all land.
- Computation and regime comparison. The presumptive section, the deductions that survive in your regime, and the tax either way.
- Filing and e-verification. Filed under your own e-filing login, then verified inside the 30-day window.
Every return goes through reconciliation, a regime comparison and e-verification before it is treated as done. Notice support for the same return year is included on the Premium plan.
What we ask for: PAN and Aadhaar, your e-filing portal login and a pre-validated bank account for the refund; Form 26AS, AIS and TIS; Form 16A from each deductor; bank statements for every account receiving gig income; platform earning summaries; invoices raised to direct clients with the year total per client; and a FIRC for every foreign client payment.
Foreign receipts are converted to rupees at the rate the Income-tax Rules prescribe, which is not the rate on your invoice. We compute it from your FIRC and bank credit.
E-verification: the step that undoes good filings
Verify within 30 days of filing. Aadhaar OTP is the simplest route. If you verify later than that, the date of verification is treated as the date of filing, which can turn an on-time return into a belated one, with the section 234F fee and the loss of the old-regime option. A return that is never verified is not a valid return at all.
What comes next
Growing gig workers typically also need bookkeeping before next year's return, GST registration once turnover crosses the threshold for their state and supply type, and a tax audit once the section 44AB thresholds are crossed.
Related: income tax return filing · GST registration · accounting service · tax audit · tax planning
Not sure which form applies, whether you fall under 44ADA or 44AD, or how the ₹12 lakh zero-tax level works for gig income? Send us your AIS and last year's return and a CA will tell you.