How to Show Crypto in ITR: Schedule VDA Step-by-Step Guide
Which ITR form to pick, how to fill Schedule VDA line by line, what counts as cost of acquisition and how to match your 1% TDS with AIS and Form 26AS.
To show crypto in your ITR, file ITR-2 (if you treat crypto as an investment) or ITR-3 (if it is business income), and report every sale, swap or spend in Schedule VDA with its date of acquisition, date of transfer, cost of acquisition and sale value. Gains are taxed at a flat 30% plus cess, and the 1% TDS your exchange deducted is claimed as a credit in the TDS schedule, after matching it with your AIS and Form 26AS.
Key takeaways
- Crypto, NFTs and other virtual digital assets (VDAs) go in Schedule VDA; ITR-1 and ITR-4 cannot be used when you have VDA income.
- Each transfer is reported separately: date bought, date sold, head of income, cost of acquisition, sale consideration and resulting income.
- Only the cost of acquisition is deductible. A loss on one coin cannot be set off against a gain on another, or carried forward.
- The 1% TDS shown in AIS/Form 26AS is claimed as a credit; mismatches are the most common reason for notices.
- India’s new Income-tax Act, 2025 applies from tax year 2026-27, but the tax rules for crypto are unchanged. Only the section numbers have moved.
Which ITR form should you use for crypto?
The form depends on how your crypto income is classified, not on how much you traded.
| Your situation | Usual ITR form | Head of income in Schedule VDA |
|---|---|---|
| Salaried or other individual who bought and sold crypto as an investment | ITR-2 | Capital gains |
| Frequent trader treating crypto as a business, or someone with other business/professional income | ITR-3 | Business or profession |
| Only salary and interest, no crypto sales | ITR-1 may still work | Not applicable |
Whichever head you choose, the tax rate on the VDA gain itself is the same flat 30% (plus 4% health and education cess, and surcharge if applicable). The head mainly affects which form you file and how the rest of your return looks. High-frequency traders should discuss the classification with a chartered accountant (CA), because it should be consistent year to year.
What has changed under the Income-tax Act, 2025?
The Income-tax Act, 2025 came into force on 1 April 2026 and replaces the 1961 Act from tax year 2026-27 onwards (the new law uses “tax year” instead of “previous year” and “assessment year”). For crypto the substance is carried over:
- The 30% flat tax on VDA income, earlier section 115BBH, now sits in section 194 (Table serial no. 4) of the 2025 Act.
- The 1% TDS on VDA transfers, earlier section 194S, is now in section 393(1) (Table serial no. 8(vi)).
- Form 26AS has been renumbered as Form 168 under the Income-tax Rules, 2026.
Returns you file in 2026 for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) are still governed by the 1961 Act and use the ITR-2/ITR-3 forms notified in March 2026. Income you earn from 1 April 2026 will be reported in the returns filed in 2027 under the new Act. Expect a Schedule VDA (or an equivalent table) to continue, but always check the notified form before filing.
How to fill Schedule VDA: step by step
- Download every statement. Get the tax or P&L report from each Indian exchange you used, plus records of any wallet-to-wallet, P2P or foreign-exchange activity. Exchanges’ reports usually list each trade with the TDS deducted.
- List every taxable event. A sale for rupees, a swap of one coin for another (for example BTC to USDT), and paying for goods with crypto are all transfers. Moving coins between your own wallets is not a sale, but keep the records.
- Work out the cost of acquisition for each transfer. This is the price you paid, including the purchase value in rupees on the date of a swap. For coins received as gifts, airdrops or mining, see our guide on crypto gift, airdrop and mining tax.
- Choose the head of income (capital gains or business income) and open Schedule VDA in the ITR utility or on the e-filing portal.
- Enter each row: date of acquisition, date of transfer, head, cost of acquisition, consideration received and the income (consideration minus cost). If a row shows a loss, still report it. The income for that row is effectively nil, and the loss cannot reduce other rows.
- Check the total. The Schedule VDA total flows into the special-rate income section and is taxed at 30%.
- Claim the TDS. Go to the TDS schedule for income other than salary and make sure each exchange’s TDS entry (under section 194S for FY 2025-26) is claimed against the matching year.
- Pay any balance tax, file and e-verify within 30 days, using Aadhaar OTP or net banking.
Many platforms let you export trade data in a format that can be summarised. You can also use our crypto tax calculator to sanity-check the 30% figure before you file.
Cost of acquisition: what you can and cannot deduct
The law allows only the cost of acquisition. Exchange trading fees, GST on fees, internet bills, advisory fees and interest on borrowed money are not deductible against VDA gains. When you bought the same coin in several lots, you need a consistent way of matching lots to sales. The law does not prescribe one method; many taxpayers and software tools use first-in, first-out (FIFO). Pick a method with your CA and stick with it.
Losses are the painful part. A loss on ETH cannot be set off against a gain on BTC, cannot reduce your salary income and cannot be carried forward. Our explainer on crypto loss set-off rules covers this in detail.
Matching TDS with AIS and Form 26AS
Indian exchanges deduct 1% TDS on the sale value when your sales cross the yearly threshold (₹10,000 for most individuals, ₹50,000 for “specified persons”). They deposit this with the government and report it in quarterly TDS statements, which then appear in your Form 26AS and Annual Information Statement (AIS). Read more in what is 1% TDS on crypto.
- Compare totals: the sale value in your Schedule VDA should broadly reconcile with the gross amount on which TDS was deducted.
- Missing TDS: if the exchange has not yet filed its TDS statement, the credit will not show. Ask the exchange for its TDS certificate and the filing status.
- Wrong figures in AIS: use the AIS feedback option on the compliance portal to flag incorrect entries, and keep evidence.
The tax department uses these reports and exchange data to flag returns that leave out crypto. In 2025 it ran a “NUDGE” campaign emailing taxpayers whose VDA activity did not appear in Schedule VDA.
Deadlines and what if you missed them
For FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27), the normal due date was 31 July 2026 for ITR-2 and, after Budget 2026, 31 August 2026 for non-audit ITR-3 cases. A belated return can generally be filed up to 31 December 2026, and a revised return up to 31 March 2027. Check the e-filing portal for any extension. If you left crypto out of an earlier return, an updated return (ITR-U) can be filed within the permitted window by paying additional tax. Our guide on how to file crypto taxes in India covers the whole process. If your records are messy or you traded on several platforms, it is worth paying a CA to reconcile them before filing.
Frequently asked questions
Can I file crypto income in ITR-1?
No. ITR-1 (Sahaj) does not have Schedule VDA, so if you sold, swapped or spent any crypto during the year you need ITR-2 or ITR-3.
Do I need to show crypto in ITR if I only bought and did not sell?
Buying with rupees is not a taxable transfer, so there is usually nothing to put in Schedule VDA. However, some ITR forms ask for details of assets or foreign holdings, so check the schedules that apply to you and ask a CA if unsure.
Should I report crypto losses in Schedule VDA?
Yes. Report every transfer, including those at a loss. The loss simply cannot be set off against other income or carried forward, but leaving the row out can create mismatches with exchange data.
Is crypto-to-crypto swap taxable?
Yes. Swapping one VDA for another is a transfer of the first coin. You compute the gain using the rupee value of what you received, and 1% TDS rules also apply.
What happens if the TDS in my AIS does not match my records?
First ask the exchange whether it filed its TDS statement correctly. If AIS is wrong, submit feedback on the compliance portal. Claim only the TDS that is actually reflected, and follow up with the deductor for corrections.
Consult a CA: crypto tax reporting has many edge cases. For significant amounts, multiple platforms or business-style trading, have a chartered accountant review your Schedule VDA before you file.
This guide is educational and general in nature. It is not investment, tax or legal advice, and nothing here is a guarantee of any return. Crypto is volatile and you can lose money; only invest what you can afford to lose.
This article is AI-assisted, educational and general in nature. It is not financial advice and never a guarantee of profit. Every trade is at your own risk on your own exchange. See our risk disclosure and editorial policy.
