ITR-6 AY 2026–27 Filing Guide: From Audited Accounts to Schedule BP, Losses, MAT and Final Validation

Online income tax return preparation with laptop

Start with the correct year, law and filing population

For FY 2025–26, select AY 2026–27 and the corresponding ITR-6. This return continues under the Income-tax Act, 1961 despite being filed after 1 April 2026. Do not substitute the 2025 Act’s tax-year section numbers or its forms mechanically. ITR-6 is for companies other than those claiming exemption under section 11; examine special ITR-7 obligations where relevant. The notified AY form, schema and validation document linked below were checked on 27 October 2026. CBDT Notification 49/2026: notified AY 2026–27 ITR-6.

Fix the due-date category before starting

CBDT Circular 07/2026 dated 28 September 2026 extends the section 139(1), Explanation 2 Table serial 2 return deadline from 31 October to 21 November 2026 and the corresponding specified audit date to 21 October 2026. It does not convert every company’s deadline into 21 November. A company required to furnish a section 92E report belongs to the separate 30 November category; assess its report deadlines separately. Archive the applicable extension with the return working instead of copying a date from an earlier-year checklist.

Freeze the evidence pack and return version

Collect signed financial statements, final trial balance, audit reports and acknowledgements, tax computation, fixed-asset register, prior returns and processing/assessment orders, loss and MAT-credit vintages, Form 26AS/AIS reconciliations and challans. Record tax-regime election evidence before computing income. The official downloads page currently lists ITR-6 offline utility 1.0.1 released 16 October 2026, Excel utility 1.1 released 15 October and the AY schema/validation first released 4 August. Recheck for replacements before final upload; a valid old JSON structure does not prove current business-rule compliance.

Complete Part A with one consistent financial-statement basis

Populate identity, PAN, CIN, incorporation, residence, filing section and audit information from source records. Match the selected tax regime to legally effective elections rather than selecting a lower rate because it gives a smaller number. Use the applicable normal-accounting or Ind AS balance sheet and profit-and-loss presentation, not a mixture that duplicates the same accounts. Tie capital, reserves, borrowings, assets, turnover, expenses, tax and closing profit to the signed accounts. Complete other applicable disclosures, including ownership and foreign assets, from evidence.

Prepare Schedule BP before loss set-off

Begin with the correctly identified profit in Schedule BP A1, remove income belonging to other heads and reverse related expenses through the specified fields. A11 adds book depreciation/amortisation; A12iii deducts allowable tax depreciation. A14 receives section 36 disallowances from Part A-OI 6s; A15 section 37 from OI 7k; A16 section 40 from OI 8Aj; A17 section 40A from OI 9f; A18 section 43B from OI 11i. A19 separately captures MSMED Act section 23 interest from OI 17. A30 and A31 address eligible later allowances of earlier section 40 and 43B disallowances. Use exact labels and source fields, not a second generic add-back of the same expense.

Build the normal-tax bridge and other income heads

A35 is the BP subtotal after the stated additions and deductions; A38 is the final ordinary-business result after the applicable subsequent calculations. Do not substitute the Part A profit for A38. Complete HP, CG and OS independently, with special-rate and exempt items in their appropriate schedules. Reconcile DPM/DOA/DEP with the fixed-asset register and UD with historical unabsorbed depreciation. Special activities, presumptive provisions, foreign-company cases and business combinations need their own applicable treatment; the examples below exclude them.

Run current-year and earlier-year losses in order

After permitted intra-head adjustments, complete CYLA for current-year inter-head set-off. In the notified form, ordinary business income is CYLA row iii; its business-loss pool is sourced through item E of BP, not a manually invented negative income. BFLA takes the post-CYLA figures, using separate columns for earlier losses, unabsorbed depreciation and section 35(4) allowance. Reconcile year-wise loss utilisation to CFL and depreciation utilisation to UD. Part B-TI rows 6, 7 and 8 show current-year loss set-off, the remaining balance and earlier-year loss/depreciation set-off respectively. Carry-forward entitlement, expiry and section 79 screening cannot be proved merely by a populated CFL cell.

Keep Chapter VI-A and MAT separate from ordinary BP additions

Claim only eligible deductions supported by the required reports, filing timing and selected regime. Review MAT applicability before importing Schedule MAT: valid section 115BAA/115BAB options exclude section 115JB under its sub-section (5A). Where applicable, MAT row 4 starts from profit after tax; rows 5n and 6l summarise its own statutory additions/deductions; row 7 is book profit before the specified Ind AS adjustments; row 9 is deemed total income. MAT row 10 applies 9% to qualifying IFSC income and 15% to other book profit. Do not copy the BP disallowance list wholesale into MAT. Reconcile applicable Form 29B and its filing/acceptance evidence; examine MATC separately from tax-loss schedules.

Calculate tax, credits, interest and the final balance

Part B-TTI separately computes MAT and normal tax, applicable surcharge, 4% cess, the comparison, MAT credit and relevant reliefs. Normal domestic-company rates depend on the legal regime and conditions; the 25% turnover test for this AY looks to FY 2023–24 turnover/gross receipts not exceeding ₹400 crore. Treat special-rate income separately. Reconcile TDS/TCS to matching income and the relevant schedules, and advance/self-assessment payments to Schedule IT and challan identifiers. Calculate sections 234A/B/C and filing fees where applicable; a zero principal-tax balance does not automatically prove zero interest.

Validate the finished return, not an intermediate export

Run the current utility’s validations, inspect the generated preview and review all mismatches against the legal computation. Check official Form 3CD-to-OI mappings in the validation annexure. Disclosure of an expense, a correct tax addition and a duplicated addition are different events; a mismatch creates a risk requiring investigation, not an inevitable demand in every case. File under the correct provision using the company’s required digital-signature process, retain the acknowledgement and final JSON/preview, and track report acceptance, return status and subsequent communications. A validated file saved locally is not proof of a filed and verified return.

Scope of the illustrations

All companies below are domestic companies eligible for the stated 25% ordinary rate where tax is calculated, with total income below ₹1 crore, no special-rate income, no surcharge, no tax-regime change, no MAT-credit balance, no foreign relief and no interest or fees in the arithmetic unless expressly stated. The loss, deduction and tax-credit amounts are assumed independently eligible. These assumptions simplify the examples; they do not remove the corresponding checks from a real return.

Applicable primary references

CBDT Notification 49/2026: notified AY 2026–27 ITR-6 CBDT: ITR-6 AY 2026–27 validation rules v1.0 and audit-report mapping annexure Income Tax Department: AY 2026–27 ITR-6 JSON schema Income-tax Act, 1961 as amended by Finance Act, 2026 CBDT Circular 07/2026 dated 28 September 2026 Official AY return utilities and version dates Income Tax Department: domestic-company rates and filing guidance Official Form 29B user manual

Six worked illustrations

All facts and amounts below are fictional. Assumptions describe the model, not additional statutory rules.

Illustrative example 1: From profit to ordinary business income

Assume starting profit before tax of ₹30,00,000, book depreciation ₹4,00,000, allowable tax depreciation ₹6,00,000, an eligible current add-back ₹2,00,000 and an eligible later allowance ₹1,00,000, with no other differences. The normal BP bridge is ₹30,00,000 + ₹4,00,000 − ₹6,00,000 + ₹2,00,000 − ₹1,00,000 = ₹29,00,000. Use the appropriate OI-linked rows for the two adjustment items rather than entering them again generically.

Illustrative example 2: Earlier losses follow the current computation

The ₹29,00,000 ordinary business income is the only income after CYLA. Eligible earlier ordinary business loss is ₹4,00,000 and eligible unabsorbed depreciation ₹2,00,000. BFLA applies the loss first, then depreciation, leaving ₹23,00,000. Reconcile the loss use to CFL and depreciation use to UD; do not describe the combined ₹6,00,000 as a fresh current-year loss.

Illustrative example 3: Normal tax and MAT comparison

Using total income ₹23,00,000, normal income-tax at the assumed eligible 25% is ₹5,75,000; 4% cess is ₹23,000, total ₹5,98,000. Separately assume final MAT book profit ₹30,00,000: 15% is ₹4,50,000 and cess ₹18,000, total ₹4,68,000. Normal tax is higher by ₹1,30,000. The example assumes no MAT credit or other relief.

Illustrative example 4: Tax-payment reconciliation

Against the ₹5,98,000 model liability, supported TDS is ₹1,00,000, advance tax ₹4,00,000 and self-assessment tax ₹98,000. Total credits are ₹5,98,000, leaving ₹0 principal balance. Interest and fees still require their own actual calculation; the example assumes none rather than proving their absence from these three credits.

Illustrative example 5: Duplicate adjustment changes the computation

A disallowance of ₹40,000 is already included through its correct OI-to-BP link. Adding it again in a generic BP field overstates income by ₹40,000. At this model’s 25% rate plus 4% cess, the additional tax is ₹10,400. Correct the underlying duplicate; this illustration does not predict a particular notice or claim that every wrong-section label produces this outcome.

Illustrative example 6: Current loss with taxable interest

Assume an eligible ordinary current business loss ₹8,00,000 and normal-rate taxable bank interest ₹3,00,000, with no restriction applicable to that set-off. CYLA absorbs ₹3,00,000 and leaves business loss ₹5,00,000 for the carry-forward eligibility review. A company can therefore have nil normal total income but still need full financial statements, a loss return and an independent MAT-applicability computation.

Ten-step verification table

Step	Action	Evidence
1	Confirm AY, return form and due-date category	FY 2025–26, AY 2026–27, company status and applicable extension.
2	Freeze source data and software version	Signed accounts, final trial balance, current utility/schema and report acknowledgements.
3	Verify regime and Part A disclosures	Election evidence, identity, audit and financial-statement basis.
4	Reconcile OI, depreciation and Schedule BP	Adjustment register linked to exact rows with no duplicate additions.
5	Complete other income and special-rate schedules	HP/CG/OS, exempt and foreign-income evidence where applicable.
6	Run CYLA, BFLA, CFL and UD	Year-wise loss entitlement, utilisation, expiry and closing balances.
7	Review deductions and supporting forms	Regime eligibility, timely claims and required report evidence.
8	Reconcile MAT, Form 29B and MATC	Independent book-profit bridge and applicable credit vintages.
9	Check Part B-TTI and tax-payment schedules	Rates, surcharge/cess, relief, interest, fees and verified credits.
10	Validate, digitally sign and retain final evidence	Final preview/JSON, acknowledgement, report acceptance and status tracking.

Sixteen practitioner FAQs

1. Does filing after April 2026 mean using 2025 Act section numbers?

Not for this FY 2025–26 return. Use the AY 2026–27 form and the applicable 1961 Act provisions.

2. Is every company’s current due date 21 November?

No. Circular 07/2026 covers the specified Table serial 2 category; examine section 92E and other relevant categories separately.

3. Must a loss-making company file?

The company filing obligation is not removed simply because the accounts or computation show a loss.

4. Should the return start from an unaudited trial balance?

Freeze the reconciled final accounts and adjustments. Changes after export need a controlled recomputation and new final preview.

5. Can the lower tax flag be chosen solely by comparing totals?

Establish eligibility and legally effective option evidence first. A flag cannot create the concession.

6. Where is book depreciation reversed?

BP A11 adds book depreciation/amortisation, while A12iii deducts eligible tax depreciation from its specified sources.

7. Where do section 40 and 43B current additions flow?

The form links OI 8Aj to BP A16 and OI 11i to BP A18 respectively.

8. Where do eligible earlier disallowances become deductible?

BP A30 addresses earlier section 40 amounts now allowable; A31 addresses earlier section 43B amounts now allowable.

9. Does a tax-audit disclosure always mean a fresh addition?

Determine the clause, statutory condition and book/computation treatment. Avoid duplicating an addition already routed through OI.

10. Which loss schedule comes first?

Resolve eligible current-year adjustments before applying earlier-year pools through BFLA and reconciling CFL/UD.

11. Is unabsorbed depreciation just another CFL business loss?

Keep the statutory allowance and UD trail separate from the time-limited ordinary loss pool.

12. Can BP additions be copied into MAT?

MAT has its own statutory bridge. An ordinary income-tax disallowance is not automatically a MAT addition.

13. Does section 115BAA still require a MAT comparison?

A valid option brings the section 115JB(5A) exclusion; confirm the election rather than calculating MAT mechanically.

14. Does a nil principal-tax balance prove no interest?

Check advance-tax timing and the relevant interest provisions independently.

15. Is a schema-valid JSON ready for filing automatically?

Review the utility’s business validations, evidence and final preview as well as structural validity.

16. What proves completion?

Retain the filed final return, digital-signature/verification outcome, acknowledgement and linked report-acceptance evidence.

Conclusion

Prepare AY 2026–27 ITR-6 in a controlled sequence: reconcile audited accounts, tax adjustments, losses, MAT, tax credits and the final signed return.