ITR 2 Filing Online: Capital Gains, NRIs and Foreign Assets

ITR-2 is one of the seven income tax return forms notified by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). It is built for people whose income is a little more complex than salary and interest, but who do not run a business or practise a profession.

Think of it as the investor's and NRI's return. It has room to report:

• Salary or pension, from one or more employers.
• Income from any number of house properties.
• Capital gains and losses from shares, mutual funds, property, gold, bonds and other assets.
• Income from crypto and other virtual digital assets.
• Interest, dividends, family pension, gifts, winnings and other income.
• Foreign income, foreign tax credit and foreign assets.
• Agricultural income above ₹5,000.

Unlike ITR-1, there is no income ceiling. The department's FAQ says ITR-2 can be filed whatever the amount of total income. It can also be used by both residents and non-residents.

ITR-2 cannot be filed on paper by most people. You file it online on the e-filing portal, or prepare it in the offline utility and upload the file. The return is complete only after you verify it.

You should use ITR-2 if you are an individual or HUF with no business or professional income, and any one of these applies to you:

An HUF without business income also files ITR-2, whatever the size of its income.

If you are a resident with a foreign asset or signing authority in a foreign account, the fourth proviso to section 139(1) requires you to file a return even when your income is below the taxable limit. For most such people, that return is ITR-2.

The main bar is business or professional income. If you have any of it, ITR-2 is closed to you. This also covers salary, interest, bonus or commission you receive as a partner from a firm.

Two cases confuse many people:

• Frequent share trading: delivery-based buying and selling is usually capital gains and fits ITR-2. F&O and intraday are treated as business, so ITR-3 is needed.
• Crypto trading: most investors report it as capital gains in ITR-2. If trading is your business, the income moves to ITR-3, though the 30% rate stays.

Still not sure which form is yours? Our income tax return filing page compares all seven forms side by side. On a call, our expert reads your AIS and tells you the right form before you pay anything.

A correct and timely ITR-2 does more than meet a legal duty. It protects money you may need later.

• Carry forward capital losses: short-term and long-term capital losses can be carried forward for eight years. This works only if the return is filed by the due date, as required by section 80.
• Claim refunds of extra TDS: NRIs often face TDS on the full sale value of property or on interest. The return is the only way to get the excess back.
• Pay less tax legally: grandfathering for pre-2018 shares, indexation choice for older property, and exemptions under sections 54, 54EC and 54F can cut your tax sharply. You claim them only in the return.
• Avoid heavy foreign asset penalties: correct Schedule FA reporting keeps you clear of the ₹10 lakh penalty under the Black Money Act.
• Proof of income: banks, embassies and lenders ask for ITR copies for loans, visas and large purchases.
• Fewer notices: big sales, dividends and foreign remittances show up in your AIS. When your return matches them, the chance of a mismatch notice drops.

ITR-2 is long because it has a separate schedule for each type of income. You only fill the ones that apply to you. The main ones are below.

Part B-TI then adds up your total income, and Part B-TTI works out tax, interest and refund. Much of the data comes pre-filled from your AIS, but pre-filled figures are often incomplete for capital gains. Every row needs checking.

Is a balance sheet needed? No. ITR-2 has no balance sheet or profit and loss account. Schedule AL is only a list of assets and liabilities at cost, and only for incomes above ₹1 crore.

Most people move from ITR-1 to ITR-2 because they sold shares or mutual fund units. Here is how FY 2025-26 gains are taxed and reported.

Holding period: listed shares and equity fund units are long-term after 12 months. Most other assets, including unlisted shares and property, are long-term after 24 months. The department's ITR-2 FAQ sets out these limits.

These rates came in from 23 July 2024. Last year's form split gains before and after that date. For AY 2026-27 the whole year is under one set of rates, so the split has been removed from the form.

Points our expert checks on every equity return:

• Grandfathering: for shares and equity funds bought before 1 February 2018, the cost can be taken as the market value on 31 January 2018, if that is higher. Missing this means paying tax on gains that are exempt.
• Scrip-wise 112A details: Schedule 112A asks for ISIN, units, sale value and cost for each holding. We build it from your broker and fund statements.
• Share buybacks: for buybacks from 1 October 2024, the amount you receive is taxed as dividend in Schedule OS. The cost of the shares you gave up becomes a capital loss you can use against other gains.
• Losses: a short-term loss can be set off against both short-term and long-term gains. A long-term loss can only be set off against long-term gains.
• Bonus and split shares: bonus shares have nil cost. Getting this wrong inflates or hides gains.
• Rebate trap: in the new regime, the section 87A rebate does not cover tax on special-rate gains such as 111A and 112A. Many people expect zero tax below ₹12 lakh and are surprised.

Property sales are where ITR-2 errors cost the most. A plot or flat held for more than 24 months gives long-term capital gain.

Rate choice for older property: the general rate is 12.5% without indexation. But a resident individual or HUF who bought land or a building before 23 July 2024 can choose to pay 20% with indexation instead, under the proviso to section 112(1). We work out both and use the lower tax.

Sale value: if the stamp duty value is more than the agreed price, section 50C may treat the stamp duty value as your sale price. A 10% margin is allowed.

Exemptions you can claim:

Under section 54, you may buy two houses instead of one, once in your life, if the gain is up to ₹2 crore.

Not bought the new house yet? Deposit the unused amount in the Capital Gains Account Scheme with a bank before the ITR due date. Otherwise the exemption is lost. The deposit receipt then goes into Schedule CG.

Buyer's TDS: the buyer cuts 1% TDS under section 194-IA when a resident sells property worth ₹50 lakh or more. For NRIs, TDS under section 195 is much higher. The credit shows in Form 26AS and must be claimed in your return.

Crypto, NFTs and other virtual digital assets (VDAs) have their own schedule in ITR-2. The rules are strict.

• Tax rate: a flat 30% under section 115BBH, plus surcharge and 4% cess. Holding period does not matter.
• No expenses: only the cost of acquisition is allowed. Exchange fees, internet and other costs are not deductible.
• No loss set-off: a loss on one coin cannot reduce the gain on another, or any other income. It cannot be carried forward either.
• TDS: 1% TDS under section 194S is cut on transfers. It appears in your AIS and Form 26AS and must be matched.
• Each transaction: Schedule VDA asks for the date of acquisition, date of transfer, cost and sale value for every sale.

Exchange reports are often messy. Trades on more than one exchange, transfers between wallets and swaps from one coin to another all need care. Our expert builds the transaction list, checks it against the 194S TDS in your AIS, and reports it line by line.

If you trade crypto as a regular business, the income may belong in ITR-3 instead. The 30% rate stays the same.

If you are a resident and ordinarily resident, you are taxed on your worldwide income. You must also list every foreign asset in Schedule FA, even if it earned nothing.

What goes in Schedule FA:

• Foreign bank accounts, including ones you only have signing authority over.
• Foreign shares, including RSUs and ESOPs from a foreign parent company.
• US or other foreign stocks bought through an overseas brokerage or an investing app.
• Foreign mutual funds, insurance policies with cash value, and pension accounts.
• Property abroad, and interests in foreign trusts or entities.

Calendar year, not financial year: for AY 2026-27, Schedule FA covers assets held at any time from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Values such as peak balance and closing balance are taken for that calendar year.

Schedule FSI and Schedule TR: foreign salary, dividends, interest and gains are shown in Schedule FSI. If you paid tax abroad, you claim relief in Schedule TR under section 90 or 91. The foreign tax credit also needs Form 67, filed on the portal. Filing it with the return is safest. Rule 128(9) allows it up to the end of the assessment year, if the return is filed on time or as a belated return.

Who does not fill Schedule FA: non-residents and RNORs. They report only Indian income.

Why it matters: under section 43 of the Black Money Act, 2015, failing to report a foreign asset can attract a ₹10 lakh penalty. From 1 October 2024, this penalty does not apply where the foreign assets, other than immovable property, add up to ₹20 lakh or less. Even so, the safe course is to report every asset correctly.

Most NRIs with Indian income file ITR-2. ITR-1 and ITR-4 are not open to non-residents, and ITR-3 is needed only if there is Indian business income.

Step 1: get your residential status right. Under section 6, you are resident if you stay in India 182 days or more in the year. You are also resident if you stay 60 days or more in the year and 365 days or more in the four years before. For Indian citizens and persons of Indian origin who visit India, the 60 days becomes 182 days. It becomes 120 days if their Indian income is above ₹15 lakh. An Indian citizen with Indian income above ₹15 lakh who is not taxed in any other country can be a deemed resident under section 6(1A).

What NRIs usually report:

• Rent from Indian property.
• Interest on NRO accounts, FDs and bonds. NRE account interest is exempt under section 10(4)(ii).
• Capital gains on Indian shares, mutual funds and property.
• Dividends from Indian companies.

Rules that differ for NRIs:

• The section 87A rebate is not available, in either regime.
• The old regime basic exemption is ₹2.5 lakh, whatever the age. Higher limits for senior citizens apply only to residents.
• Some deductions, such as section 80TTB for seniors, are for residents only.
• TDS under section 195 is cut at higher rates, often on the full sale value of property. A lower TDS certificate under section 197 can help before the sale.
• Tax treaty (DTAA) rates can be lower than Indian rates. Claiming them needs a Tax Residency Certificate and the prescribed details.

Many NRIs file only to claim a refund of excess TDS. We check your 26AS, compute the real tax, and file so the refund comes to your Indian bank account. Your account must be pre-validated on the portal first.

The new regime under section 115BAC is the default. Since ITR-2 filers have no business income, you can choose either regime each year in your return. The choice must be made in a return filed by the due date under section 139(1). A belated return stays in the new regime.

In the new regime, resident individuals get a rebate of up to ₹60,000 under section 87A if total income is up to ₹12 lakh. The old regime rebate is ₹12,500 up to ₹5 lakh. Salaried people get a standard deduction of ₹75,000 in the new regime and ₹50,000 in the old one.

Which is better for ITR-2 filers? The old regime helps mainly if you have large deductions, such as home loan interest on a self-occupied house, 80C, 80D and HRA. Capital gains at special rates are taxed the same way in both. We run both calculations and file the one with lower tax.

Income above ₹50 lakh: surcharge. A surcharge is added to tax: 10% above ₹50 lakh, 15% above ₹1 crore, and 25% above ₹2 crore. A 37% rate above ₹5 crore applies only in the old regime. On gains under sections 111A, 112A and 112, and on dividends, the surcharge is capped at 15%. Marginal relief stops the surcharge from taking more than the income above each threshold. A 4% health and education cess applies on top.

Keep these ready. You only need the ones that match your income. A full list is also shown in the documents panel on this page.

Basic

• PAN and Aadhaar, linked to each other.
• Login to the e-filing portal, or access shared with us during filing.
• All bank accounts held in India, with a pre-validated account for refund.
• AIS, TIS and Form 26AS for FY 2025-26.

Salary and house property

• Form 16 from each employer.
• Rent received, tenant details and municipal tax paid.
• Home loan interest certificate.

Capital gains

• Tax P&L or capital gains statement from each broker.
• Consolidated capital gains statement for mutual funds from the registrars.
• Holding statement as on 31 January 2018 for old shares (for grandfathering).
• Sale deed, purchase deed, stamp duty value and cost of improvement bills for property.
• Proof of reinvestment: new house deed, 54EC bond certificate or Capital Gains Account Scheme receipt.
• Crypto exchange transaction reports.

Foreign assets and NRIs

• Foreign bank and brokerage statements for calendar year 2025.
• RSU and ESOP grant, vesting and sale records.
• Proof of foreign tax paid and Tax Residency Certificate.
• Passport stamps or travel dates, to work out residential status.

Other

• Company name, PAN and DIN if you were a director.
• Company name, PAN, number of shares and cost for unlisted shares held.
• Last year's ITR, if you have losses to carry forward.
• Deduction proofs (80C, 80D, donations), if you choose the old regime.
• Cost of assets and liabilities at year end, if income is above ₹1 crore.

Everything is done online, so you can be anywhere in India or abroad.

1. Free first call. Our expert asks about your income, sales and foreign holdings. We confirm ITR-2 is the right form and tell you our fee before you pay.
2. Share documents online. You send broker statements, Form 16 and other papers. We give you a checklist made for your case, not a generic one.
3. AIS and 26AS match. We download your AIS, TIS and Form 26AS and match every sale, dividend and TDS entry with your documents. Wrong AIS entries are flagged so you can give feedback on the portal.
4. Capital gains working. We compute gains asset by asset, apply grandfathering, indexation choice and exemptions, and plan the set-off of losses.
5. Foreign and NRI checks. We fix your residential status, prepare Schedule FA, FSI and TR, and file Form 67 where needed.
6. Regime comparison. We compute tax under both regimes and show you the difference.
7. Your approval. You get a draft computation to review. We file only after you say yes. If tax is due, we help you pay it through e-Pay Tax first.
8. Filing and e-verification. We file ITR-2 on the portal and help you e-verify with Aadhaar OTP or net banking on the same day.
9. Follow-up. We track processing, check the intimation under section 143(1), and follow your refund.

Prefer to file yourself? Log in to the e-filing portal, go to e-File, Income Tax Returns, File Income Tax Return. Choose AY 2026-27, online mode, status Individual or HUF, and ITR-2. Check the pre-filled data, fill each schedule, review the tax computation, pay any balance, then submit and e-verify. The Excel utility can also be used offline. It needs licensed Microsoft Excel 2016 or later with macros enabled.

Explanation 2 to section 139(1) holds the due date table, which the Finance Act, 2026 rewrote. ITR-2 filers fall in the general row, so their date did not change. The official ITR help page lists the dates.

Missed 31 July 2026? You can still file a belated ITR-2 until 31 December 2026. It costs a late fee and you lose some benefits:

• Capital losses of this year cannot be carried forward. House property loss is the exception.
• You cannot pick the old regime. The new regime applies.
• Interest under section 234A runs on any unpaid tax until you file.
• Exemptions that need a deposit in the Capital Gains Account Scheme before the due date may be at risk.

A belated or revised return also closes if your assessment is completed earlier. If no return is filed by 31 December 2026, or a change is needed after 31 March 2027, the only route left is ITR-U, with extra tax. See our updated return filing service for that.

Remember to e-verify. A return not verified within 30 days is treated as filed on the date of verification, as the e-verification FAQ explains. Until verified, it is not valid.

Advance tax and capital gains: a large one-time gain often creates a 234C interest charge. The law helps here: if you pay advance tax on the gain in the instalments that fall after the sale, no 234C interest is charged for the earlier ones.

Late fee and interest are not part of any professional fee. They are paid to the government by you, through e-Pay Tax, at actual.

These common errors on self-filed ITR-2 returns often lead to notices or extra tax.

1. Filing ITR-1 when ITR-2 was needed. Directors, unlisted shareholders and people with capital gains often do this. The return can be declared defective under section 139(9).
2. Leaving out RSUs or foreign stocks. Schedule FA is skipped because the asset earned nothing. This risks a Black Money Act penalty.
3. Missing the 31 January 2018 value. Without grandfathering, old shares show a much higher gain.
4. Trusting pre-filled capital gains blindly. The AIS often lacks the purchase cost or shows the same sale twice.
5. Ignoring small dividends and interest. They are in your AIS. Missing them triggers a mismatch intimation.
6. Not reporting a buyback as dividend. For buybacks after 1 October 2024, the amount belongs in Schedule OS, with the cost as a capital loss.
7. Expecting the 87A rebate on capital gains. In the new regime it does not cover 111A or 112A tax.
8. Wrong residential status. An NRI who stayed longer in India, or a returning Indian, picks the wrong status and pays the wrong tax.
9. Setting off crypto losses. VDA losses cannot be set off at all.
10. Skipping Schedule EI. Exempt income such as PPF interest, NRE interest and exempt gains must still be shown.
11. Not e-verifying. The return is incomplete until verified within 30 days.

Got a notice already? Our income tax notice reply service handles defective return and mismatch notices.

Here are the changes that matter for your ITR-2, all from official sources.

1. New Act, old rules for this return. The CBDT press release confirms that the Income-tax Act, 2025 took effect on 1 April 2026. But your FY 2025-26 income is still filed in ITR-2 for AY 2026-27 under the 1961 Act. Section 536 of the new Act keeps the old law alive for past years.
2. ITR-2 utility released on 26 May 2026. The ITR-2 Excel utility for AY 2026-27 was first released on that date, as the official downloads page shows. The utility has since been updated, with version 1.4 released on 13 August 2026.
3. No more date-wise split of capital gains. Last year's form split gains before and after 23 July 2024. The AY 2026-27 form drops this split and uses the revised rates for the whole year.
4. Two self-occupied homes, fewer conditions. The department's FAQ notes that the earlier conditions for treating two houses as self-occupied have been removed from AY 2026-27.
5. Bigger rebate, new slabs. The new regime rebate under section 87A is up to ₹60,000 for income up to ₹12 lakh, with the basic exemption at ₹4 lakh. AY 2026-27 is the first return with these limits.
6. New fields in the form. Part A has a secondary address field. Donation claims under section 80G now need a transaction reference and IFSC, and 80GGC claims need the political party's name and PAN.
7. Longer revised return window, with a fee. A revised ITR-2 can now be filed until 31 March 2027. If filed after 31 December 2026, a fee under the new section 234-I applies.
8. One-time foreign asset disclosure window. The Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers Disclosure Scheme (FAST-DS), 2026, under Chapter IV of the Finance Act, 2026, opened on 16 August 2026. Declarations must be made by 31 December 2026. It covers two cases. Undisclosed foreign assets or income worth up to ₹1 crore can be declared by paying 30% tax plus an equal additional amount. Assets up to ₹5 crore bought from taxed income, or while non-resident, but left out of a return, can be regularised for a flat fee of ₹1 lakh. A valid declaration gives immunity under the Black Money Act. See the official FAST-DS FAQs.
9. Tax Year 2026-27 under the new Act. Income from April 2026 is reported for Tax Year 2026-27. The return will be filed under section 263 of the 2025 Act, in new forms under the Income-tax Rules, 2026, and is due in July 2027 for non-business cases. Verification moves to section 265 and the late fee to section 428, with the same ₹1,000 and ₹5,000 amounts.

We follow these changes for every client, so next year's first return under the new Act starts from a clean base.

TaxCaller's fee for ITR 2 filing starts at ₹1,874 + GST. The final fee depends on how many sales, properties and foreign assets you have. Our expert tells you the exact fee on the first call, before any work starts.

Government fees are separate. The Income Tax Department charges no fee to file ITR-2 on time. Any government dues are paid by you directly at actual. This includes income tax, interest under sections 234A, 234B and 234C, the late fee under section 234F, the revised return fee under section 234-I, and additional tax on an updated return. None of these are part of TaxCaller's fee.

What the fee covers:

• AIS, TIS and Form 26AS matching.
• Capital gains computation and the related schedules.
• Old vs new regime comparison.
• Filing ITR-2 and help with e-verification.
• Checking the section 143(1) intimation after processing.

Quoted separately after the call: filing for many past years, replies to scrutiny or reassessment notices, and DTAA or lower TDS certificate work for NRIs.

All TaxCaller fees are + GST. Your invoice shows our fee and GST on it, and nothing else.

• Working since 2018: we have helped individuals and small businesses with tax and compliance work online since 2018.
• One expert for your file: the person who reads your statements is the person who files your return and answers your questions.
• You see the working first: nothing is filed until you approve the draft computation.
• Upfront fee: you know the fee before work starts. Government dues stay separate and visible.
• Help after filing: we check the processing result and help with refunds and routine notices on returns we filed.
• Legal review: the content on this page is reviewed by Abhinay Rai, Advocate.
• Online across India: our office is in Ghaziabad, and we serve clients across India and NRIs abroad online.

Processing and refund: the Centralised Processing Centre processes your return and sends an intimation under section 143(1). Any refund goes to your pre-validated bank account. If it is delayed, interest under section 244A is added at 0.5% per month.

Notices: a defective return notice under section 139(9) must usually be answered within 15 days. A proposed adjustment under section 143(1)(a) gives you 30 days to respond. We read each notice with you and reply on the portal. Bigger matters are handled by our notice reply team.

Plan for next year: if you expect large gains in FY 2026-27, advance tax may be due. Instalments fall on 15 June, 15 September, 15 December and 15 March. Our tax consultant service can help you plan sales and payments in advance.

Related services:

• Income tax return filing for all ITR forms.
• ITR-1 filing for simple salary returns.
• ITR-3 filing for F&O traders and professionals with books.
• Updated return (ITR-U) filing for missed income from past years.
• TDS return filing, for example when you buy property from an NRI.
• Tax tools to estimate your tax before you call.