Professional Tax Consultant Services Clear and Dependable

A tax consultant gives advice on tax. The word covers many kinds of help, from a short call to a full reply before the Assessing Officer. In India, most people use the term for an income tax adviser who works with individuals, families and small businesses.

Here is what a good income tax adviser does for you:

• Reads your full picture. Salary, rent, business income, capital gains, interest and foreign income are looked at together, not in parts.
• Plans your tax. They compare the old and new regimes, check which deductions you can really use and tell you the tax you will owe.
• Checks your data. They match your figures with the Annual Information Statement and the tax credit statement before anything is filed.
• Handles notices. They read the notice, find the reason, collect proof and draft a reply that answers the exact point raised.
• Fixes errors. They file rectification requests, revised returns or updated returns when a mistake has crept in.
• Guides appeals. If an order goes against you, they explain your appeal options and the time limit.
• Keeps you on schedule. They remind you about advance tax instalments and filing dates.

A tax consultant is different from a return preparer. A preparer files what you give. A consultant asks questions, spots risks and tells you the tax effect of a choice before you make it. That advice is what saves money and stress later.

Not everyone needs paid help every year. A person with only one salary, no big investments and a clean Form 16 can often file on their own. You should talk to an expert in these cases:

• Salaried people with choices to make: new job mid-year, two employers, arrears, ESOPs, house rent, home loan or a big bonus.
• Investors and traders: sale of shares, mutual funds, property, gold or crypto assets, or intraday and F&O trading.
• Freelancers and professionals: doctors, lawyers, designers, consultants and creators who want to use presumptive taxation or claim expenses correctly.
• Small business owners: proprietors and partners who must pay advance tax and keep books.
• NRIs and returning Indians: anyone with rent, interest or capital gains in India, or a change in residential status.
• Senior citizens: pensioners with interest income who want to avoid excess TDS and claim refunds.
• Anyone with a notice: an intimation, a demand, a scrutiny notice or a reassessment show cause notice.
• Families with big life events: inheritance, gifts, marriage, a property purchase or moving abroad.

When does it become urgent? When a notice has a reply date. When the advance tax date is near and you have a big gain. When you are about to sell an asset and want to plan the tax first. In these cases a delay can cost interest, a late fee or even a penalty.

Good tax advice pays for itself when it is taken at the right time. Here is what you gain:

• Lower tax, legally. The right regime, the right deductions and the right timing of a sale can cut your tax bill.
• Fewer notices. Most notices start with a mismatch between your return and the data the department already has. A check before filing avoids that.
• No missed dates. Advance tax, return and reply dates are tracked for you.
• Calm, correct replies. A notice answered with the right proof is far more likely to close without extra tax.
• Clear records. You get a written note of the advice, which helps if a question comes up years later.
• Time saved. You spend minutes sharing papers instead of hours reading sections and portal guides.

The cost of one expert call is often smaller than one month of interest on a wrong advance tax figure.

Our work covers direct tax for individuals, HUFs, freelancers and small businesses. GST and TDS work is handled on their own pages, which are linked below.

Need your return filed after the advice? Our ITR filing service does that. For TDS on salary, rent or property payments, see TDS return filing. For indirect tax questions, our GST consultant page is the right place.

The new regime under section 115BAC of the 1961 Act is the default. You pay lower slab rates but give up most deductions. The old regime keeps deductions such as section 80C, 80D and home loan interest, but its slab rates are higher.

New regime slab rates for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27), as published on the e-filing portal:

A resident individual in the new regime gets a rebate under section 87A of up to ₹60,000 if total income does not exceed ₹12 lakh. In the old regime the rebate is up to ₹12,500 for income up to ₹5 lakh. The same slab rates apply for tax year 2026-27 under section 202 of the 2025 Act.

Can you switch every year?

• If you have no business or professional income, you can pick the regime each year in the return itself, filed by the due date.
• If you have business or professional income, you must opt out in the prescribed form by the due date to leave the new regime (Form 10-IEA for years under the 1961 Act). Coming back to the new regime is allowed only once in your lifetime.

Our expert works out your tax both ways using your real numbers. Special rates on capital gains, the rebate limit and the standard deduction all change the answer. A simple rule of thumb is not enough.

Capital gains are where most taxpayers lose money through wrong planning. The tax depends on the asset, how long you held it and when you sold it.

Our expert helps you with:

• Working out the cost, holding period and gain from broker and fund statements.
• Checking exemptions for reinvestment in a house or specified bonds under sections 54, 54EC and 54F, with their conditions and limits.
• Setting off losses and carrying them forward only when the return is filed by the due date.
• Paying advance tax on the gain in the right instalment, so interest is avoided.
• Planning the timing of a sale across tax years.

Buying property from an NRI or a resident seller means the buyer must deduct TDS. That compliance is covered on our TDS return filing page.

For an NRI, the first question is not the tax rate. It is residential status. Your status decides which income India can tax.

Under section 6 of the 1961 Act, carried into section 6 of the 2025 Act, an individual is resident in a year if:

• they are in India for 182 days or more in the year, or
• they are in India for 60 days or more in the year and 365 days or more in the 4 years before it.

Some special rules apply:

• An Indian citizen who leaves India for a job abroad is resident only on the 182-day test.
• An Indian citizen or person of Indian origin visiting India, whose Indian income is above ₹15 lakh, faces a 120-day test in place of 60 days.
• A citizen with Indian income above ₹15 lakh who is not liable to tax in any other country can be treated as a deemed resident.
• A person can be resident but not ordinarily resident, for example after 9 of the last 10 years as a non-resident.

Our expert helps NRIs with:

• Tax on rent, NRO interest, dividends and capital gains in India.
• Relief under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement with your country, backed by a Tax Residency Certificate.
• Refunds where TDS was cut at a higher rate than the real tax.
• A lower TDS certificate before selling property, under section 197 of the 1961 Act or its 2025 Act equivalent.
• Planning for the year you return to India.

Interest on an NRE account is exempt for those who qualify as non-residents under FEMA rules. Our expert confirms this for your case.

A notice is not always bad news. Many are simple requests to explain a mismatch. But every notice has a reply date, and silence can lead to added income, a demand or penalty. The table shows common notices and their section under both Acts.

Time limits the department must follow

• An intimation cannot be sent after 9 months from the end of the financial year in which the return was filed (section 270(4) of the 2025 Act; same limit in section 143(1)).
• A scrutiny notice cannot be served after 3 months from the end of the financial year in which the return was filed (section 270(9); same limit in section 143(2)).
• Under section 282 of the 2025 Act, a reopening notice under section 280 generally cannot be issued after 4 years and 3 months from the end of the tax year. It can go up to 6 years and 3 months only where escaped income is ₹50 lakh or more.
• For tax years that began before 1 April 2026, the old Act's reassessment rules, including the time limits in section 149, still apply.

How our expert replies

1. We check the notice is genuine using its Document Identification Number (DIN). CBDT Circular No. 19/2019 requires a DIN on department communications.
2. We read the exact issue and the data behind it, such as the Annual Information Statement.
3. We collect only the proof that answers that issue.
4. We draft a short, point-wise reply and submit it under e-Proceedings on the portal, or help you submit it.
5. We track the outcome and handle follow-up questions on the same notice.

A response under e-Proceedings cannot be edited or withdrawn after submission. That is why the draft must be right the first time.

If an order or intimation is wrong, you have three main routes. The right one depends on the type of error.

1. Rectification

Use this for a mistake apparent from the record, such as a TDS credit not given or a wrong arithmetic figure. Under section 287 of the 2025 Act, which matches section 154 of the 1961 Act, an amendment cannot be made after 4 years from the end of the financial year in which the order was passed. The authority must decide your application within 6 months from the end of the month in which it is received.

2. Appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals)

Use this when you disagree on facts or law. For years governed by the 1961 Act, the appeal is filed online in Form 35 within 30 days of receiving the order or demand. The Commissioner (Appeals) may admit a late appeal if there is sufficient cause. The government appeal fee is:

Under the 2025 Act, first appeals sit in sections 356 to 360. The portal FAQs confirm that appeals for AY 2026-27 or earlier, even if filed after 1 April 2026, are still governed by the 1961 Act under section 536(2)(c) of the 2025 Act.

3. Further appeal and revision

The appeal ladder is unchanged: Assessing Officer, then Joint Commissioner (Appeals) or Commissioner (Appeals), then the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, then the High Court and the Supreme Court. You can also ask the Principal Commissioner to revise an order in your favour under section 264 of the 1961 Act. The 2025 Act keeps a similar power in section 378.

Our expert tells you which route fits, what it will cost and how long it may take. If your case needs a lawyer to appear at the Tribunal or a court, we tell you that clearly at the start.

You can appear in person, or send an authorised representative. The law decides who can be that person. The rule is in section 288 of the 1961 Act. For proceedings under the new law, it is section 515 of the 2025 Act. Both lists are almost the same.

An authorised representative must have your written authority and must be one of these:

• a relative, or a person regularly employed by you;
• an officer of a scheduled bank where you have a current account or regular dealings;
• a legal practitioner entitled to practise in any civil court in India, such as an advocate;
• an accountant, meaning a chartered accountant with a valid certificate of practice;
• a person who has passed an accountancy examination recognised by the CBDT;
• a person with the educational qualifications prescribed in the Income-tax Rules.

Who cannot represent you? A person dismissed from government service, a person convicted of an offence linked to income tax proceedings or of fraud, or an insolvent person can be barred, for the periods the law sets. A representative found guilty of misconduct can also be barred by the authority the law names.

One exception: if you are summoned to give a statement on oath, you must attend in person. A representative cannot give that statement for you.

Online notices: the e-Proceedings service lets you add an authorised representative to respond to a notice on your behalf. Only one authorised representative can be active for a proceeding at a time, and you can withdraw the authority later.

Before you hand over your login or sign an authority letter, check that the person falls in one of the categories above. Ask for their enrolment or membership number and verify it with the Bar Council or the professional body.

Anyone can call themselves a tax adviser. So it pays to check before you share your PAN, bank statements and login. Use this checklist.

Questions to ask before hiring

• Who exactly will handle my case, and what is their qualification?
• Can that person represent me if the case goes to a hearing? Under which category of section 288 or section 515?
• What is included in the fee, and what is extra? Are government fees and GST separate?
• Will I get the advice or the draft reply in writing before it is filed?
• How will my documents be stored, and who can see them?
• How fast do you respond when a notice has a short deadline?

Red flags

• A promise of a refund before seeing your papers.
• Advice to claim deductions you have no proof for.
• Refusal to give a written fee or a receipt.
• A request to share your OTP or e-filing password over chat.

Consultant, accountant or software?

For books of account, see our accounting and bookkeeping services. For audit and certification work, read about CA firm services.

Share only what your question needs. For a full tax plan or a notice reply, these papers help:

Basic documents

• PAN and Aadhaar
• The notice and statements downloaded from the e-filing portal (you do not need to share your password)
• Annual Information Statement (Form 168 under the Income-tax Rules, 2026) and, for past years, Form 26AS
• Bank statements for the year

Income documents

• Form 16 from your employer (Form 130 under the Income-tax Rules, 2026) and salary slips
• Capital gains statements from your broker and mutual fund registrar
• Sale and purchase deeds for property, with cost of improvement bills
• Rent agreements and rent receipts
• Profit and loss account and balance sheet, if you run a business or profession
• Foreign income and foreign asset details, for residents with assets abroad

Deduction and notice documents

• Proofs for LIC, PPF, ELSS, health insurance and home loan interest
• Donation receipts
• The full notice or order, with its DIN
• Copies of earlier returns and replies for that year
• For NRIs: passport pages with travel dates, Tax Residency Certificate and NRE or NRO statements

Everything happens online. You do not need to visit our office, though you can meet us in Ghaziabad if you prefer.

1. Share your query. Fill the form, call or WhatsApp us. Tell us your question or send a photo of the notice.
2. Get the fee upfront. Our expert confirms the plan and the fee on the first call, before any work starts.
3. Send documents. You share only the papers listed for your case.
4. Expert review. Our tax expert studies your data, checks it against the department's records and finds the issue.
5. Advice or draft. You get a written answer, a tax plan or a draft reply to approve.
6. Filing. For notice replies, the response is submitted on the portal with your approval.
7. Follow-up. We track the result and help with any further question on the same matter.

Typical timelines

Exact turnaround depends on how complete your papers are. Our expert gives you a date on the first call.

We keep our fee and the government's charges apart, so you know exactly what you pay to whom.

TaxCaller's fee is the amount above + GST. It does not include any government charges. These are paid separately, at actual, directly to the department:

• Tax, interest and late fee: any tax demand, interest under the Act or late filing fee is paid by challan in your name.
• Appeal fee: ₹250, ₹500 or ₹1,000 for a first appeal under the 1961 Act, based on assessed income.
• Updated return: the extra tax payable with an updated return goes to the government, not to us.

A short consultation has no government fee at all. Work outside these plans, such as an appeal draft, a complex capital gains case or a multi-year reassessment, is quoted on the first call before we begin. There are no hidden charges.

Ignoring a date or a notice costs real money. These are the main charges under the law.

Other risks are just as costly:

• A loss from business or capital gains cannot be carried forward if the return is filed late.
• An unanswered proposed adjustment is made without your input after 30 days.
• An unanswered scrutiny notice can lead to an assessment made on the officer's own judgment, using only the data the department holds.
• An uncorrected defective return can be treated as if no return was filed.

For tax years before 1 April 2026, penalty proceedings follow the 1961 Act. Our expert checks which law applies to your year before replying.

We see the same errors again and again. Avoid these and most notices never come.

1. Not checking the AIS. Interest, dividends and share sales reported by banks and brokers are missed in the return.
2. Wrong regime choice. Business owners switch without filing the opt-out form (Form 10-IEA for 1961 Act years) on time.
3. Claims without proof. Deductions for rent, donations or 80C are claimed without receipts.
4. Wrong ITR form. Capital gains or business income is shown in a form that does not allow it.
5. Missed advance tax. A big gain in December with no instalment paid until March.
6. Ignoring emails. Notices go to an old email address that nobody checks.
7. Wrong residential status. NRIs file as residents, or the reverse, and lose treaty relief.
8. Replying without reading. A long reply that does not answer the actual question asked.
9. Missing the appeal window. The 30-day limit passes while the taxpayer waits for the demand to go away.
10. Sharing the login with an unknown agent. Returns get filed with false claims under your name.

Tax is not a one-time job in July. Under section 404 of the 2025 Act, anyone whose tax for the year, after TDS, is ₹10,000 or more must pay advance tax during the same year. A resident senior citizen aged 60 or above with no business or professional income does not need to pay advance tax.

Taxpayers under the presumptive scheme in section 58 of the 2025 Act (sections 44AD and 44ADA of the 1961 Act) must pay the whole amount in one instalment by 15 March. The next instalment for tax year 2026-27 falls on 15 December 2026.

Return due dates under section 263 of the 2025 Act

• 31 July: all other taxpayers, such as salaried people, pensioners and investors without business income.
• 31 August: people with business or professional income whose accounts do not need audit, and partners of such firms.
• 31 October: companies and taxpayers whose accounts need audit.
• 30 November: taxpayers who must file a transfer pricing report.

A belated return can be filed within 9 months from the end of the tax year. A revised return can be filed within 12 months. An updated return can be filed within 48 months from the end of the financial year after the tax year, with extra tax.

With a yearly plan, our expert reminds you before each date and updates your estimate when a large income comes in. For business clients, regular bookkeeping makes these estimates easier.

In 2026 India replaced its six-decade-old income tax law. Here is what matters for your tax advice.

1. The Income-tax Act, 2025 is now in force

The new Act replaced the Income-tax Act, 1961 from 1 April 2026, as announced in the CBDT press release of that date. Parliament passed it on 12 August 2025 and it received assent on 21 August 2025. The government has said the aim is to simplify the law without changing tax policy.

2. Tax year replaces previous year and assessment year

The 2025 Act applies to tax years that begin on or after 1 April 2026. FY 2025-26 and earlier years stay under the 1961 Act. This is set out in the savings clause, section 536 of the 2025 Act. So a notice for AY 2024-25 still cites section 143 or 148, while a notice for tax year 2026-27 will cite section 270 or 280.

3. New rules and new form numbers

The CBDT notified the Income-tax Rules, 2026 on 20 March 2026, with new forms. Form 16 is replaced by Form 130 under rule 215 of the new rules, and Form 168 is the Annual Information Statement under rule 245. Our expert checks which form number applies to your year.

4. Longer window for revised returns

Section 263(5) of the 2025 Act allows a revised return within 12 months from the end of the tax year, in place of the earlier 9 months. A revised return filed after 9 months attracts a fee under section 428(b): ₹1,000 if total income is up to ₹5 lakh and ₹5,000 in other cases.

5. Later due date for non-audit business returns

Section 263(1) now gives 31 August as the due date for people with business or professional income who do not need an audit. Salaried people and others still have 31 July.

6. Updated return after a reopening notice

Under section 263(6), an updated return can also be filed in response to a notice under section 280, within the time stated in the notice.

7. Appeals and reassessment during the change

The e-filing portal FAQs confirm that pending appeals continue under the 1961 Act. Reassessment for tax years before 1 April 2026 also follows the old Act's rules. Our expert reads each notice with the right Act for that year.

Read the official updates on the Income Tax Department website and the income tax e-filing portal.

We keep our promises simple and checkable.

• Real experts, not a call centre. Your query goes to a tax expert who reads your papers.
• Registered firm. TaxCaller India LLP, LLPIN AAQ-7388, serving clients since 2018.
• Content reviewed by an advocate. Our tax pages are reviewed by Abhinay Rai, Advocate.
• Fee told upfront. You know our fee + GST, and the government charges, before work starts.
• Written answers. Advice and draft replies come in writing, so you have a record.
• Support after the work. Follow-up questions on the same notice are covered.
• Grievance redressal. A named grievance officer answers complaints within 48 hours.

Local help, online across India

Our office is in Ghaziabad, and many clients come from Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon and Agra. Income tax is a central law, so the same rules apply in every state. Most notices are now issued and answered online. That means we can help you wherever you live, and even from abroad if you are an NRI.

Tax advice often leads to other work. These TaxCaller services sit alongside this page:

• Income tax return filing: get your ITR prepared and filed after the advice.
• TDS return filing: quarterly TDS statements for employers, landlords and property buyers.
• GST consultant: advice on GST returns, input tax credit and GST notices.
• GST registration: if your business crosses the GST threshold.
• Accounting and bookkeeping: clean books for business owners and professionals.
• Company registration: if you plan to move your business into a company.
• Free tax tools: calculators and search tools to check numbers yourself.

Have a question that does not fit any page? Contact us and our expert will guide you.