Published: March 21, 2026 | Updated: April 15, 2026 | By CA V. Viswanathan, FCA, ACS, CFE, IBBI RV

Income Tax Filing Cost in India for Tax Year 2026-27 (Under the Income-tax Act, 2025)

Last Updated: 15 April 2026  |  Applicable From: Tax Year 2026-27 (1 April 2026 onwards)  |  Reference: Income-tax Act, 2025 (30 of 2025), as amended by Finance Act, 2026

This guide sets out a practical, transparent view of what it costs in India to file an income tax return for tax year 2026-27, the first tax year governed entirely by the new Income-tax Act, 2025. It is written for salaried individuals, freelancers, consultants, small business owners, HNIs with capital gains, NRIs, and founders of private limited companies. We cover every ITR form, every typical complexity factor, the factors that affect CA fees, the DIY-versus-CA decision, the place of online portals, and how to think about the economics of professional help. The goal is not to tell you the cheapest option — it is to tell you the right option for your situation and to make sure you neither overpay nor underspend and regret it at scrutiny time. Written by CA V. Viswanathan, FCA and IBBI Registered Valuer, drawing on filing experience across thousands of returns annually.

Definition — Income Tax Filing Cost: The total professional fee paid to a Chartered Accountant, tax consultant or online filing platform for preparing and filing an income tax return under the Income-tax Act, 2025 with the Income Tax Department. The government’s e-filing portal at incometax.gov.in charges no fee for return filing; therefore the entire cost is the service provider’s charge. The cost depends on the ITR form (ITR-1 through ITR-7), the complexity of the income profile, the requirement of tax audit, and any additional services such as regime comparison, tax planning, notice handling and representation.

Featured Answer — What does ITR filing cost for tax year 2026-27?

For the first tax year under the Income-tax Act, 2025, the cost of filing an income tax return in India ranges from as little as ₹500 for a simple salaried ITR-1 to ₹50,000 or more for a complex audit-case private limited company ITR-6. The dominant cost drivers are the ITR form type and the complexity of income heads. A salaried individual with one employer and standard deductions should budget ₹999 to ₹1,999 for a CA-assisted filing. A resident with capital gains from listed equity, SIP redemptions and ESOP exercise should budget ₹2,999 to ₹4,999. A freelancer or small business owner without audit obligation should budget ₹3,999 to ₹7,999. An audit-case business or profession should budget ₹15,000 to ₹50,000 including audit fees. NRIs should budget ₹4,999 to ₹7,999. Updated returns, revised returns, notice responses and scrutiny representation are priced separately on a case basis.

Table of Contents

  1. The Income-tax Act, 2025 Context
  2. ITR Forms Under the 2025 Act Framework
  3. Filing Cost by Complexity
  4. Salaried Only (ITR-1)
  5. Salaried Plus Capital Gains (ITR-2)
  6. Business and Profession (ITR-3 / ITR-4)
  7. Audit Case (ITR-3, ITR-5, ITR-6)
  8. NRI Returns
  9. Updated Returns and Scrutiny Representation
  10. Factors Affecting Cost
  11. DIY vs CA vs Online Portal
  12. Virtual Auditor Pricing Benchmark
  13. Value vs Cost Framing
  14. Expert Insight
  15. Key Takeaways
  16. Frequently Asked Questions

The Income-tax Act, 2025 Context

The Income-tax Act, 2025 (Act 30 of 2025) received Presidential assent on 21 August 2025 and commenced on 1 April 2026. The first tax year under the new Act is tax year 2026-27, running from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. The Act replaces the Income-tax Act, 1961 with a linguistically simpler framework across 536 sections and 23 chapters. Crucially, the new Act replaces the dual “previous year and assessment year” concept with a single tax year, which is the period from 1 April to 31 March in which income is earned.

The return-of-income provisions have been consolidated into Chapter XV of the 2025 Act. The ITR form numbering (ITR-1 Sahaj, ITR-2, ITR-3, ITR-4 Sugam, ITR-5, ITR-6, ITR-7) has been retained. Due dates for tax year 2026-27 returns are 31 July 2027 (non-audit), 31 October 2027 (audit cases), 30 November 2027 (transfer pricing cases), 31 December 2027 (belated and revised), and up to 48 months from the end of the tax year for updated returns.

These structural changes do not directly alter filing cost — fees are market-driven. But they indirectly affect cost in two ways. First, the first-year transition creates migration work: practitioners must reconcile brought-forward losses, depreciation WDV, pending appeals and TDS credits across the old and new Act. This may push fees marginally higher in tax year 2026-27 for business clients. Second, the extended updated return window (from 24 to 48 months) creates a growth area for updated-return service packages, priced ₹5,000 to ₹25,000 depending on scope.

ITR Forms Under the 2025 Act Framework

ITR Form Applicable To Complexity
ITR-1 (Sahaj) Resident individual with salary, one house property, and other sources, total income up to ₹50 lakh, no capital gains, no foreign income Low
ITR-2 Individuals and HUFs with capital gains, foreign assets, multiple house properties, income above ₹50 lakh, no business income Medium
ITR-3 Individuals and HUFs with income from business or profession Medium to High
ITR-4 (Sugam) Presumptive taxation under Sec 44AD / Sec 44ADA / Sec 44AE equivalents, turnover below thresholds Low to Medium
ITR-5 Partnership firms, LLPs, AOPs, BOIs High
ITR-6 Companies other than those claiming Sec 11 exemption High
ITR-7 Trusts, political parties, research institutions, universities High

Filing Cost by Complexity

Scenario Typical CA Fee Range VA Package
Salaried only, single Form 16 (ITR-1) ₹500 to ₹2,000 ₹999
Salaried + capital gains (ITR-2) ₹2,000 to ₹5,000 ₹2,999
Presumptive business (ITR-4) ₹1,500 to ₹4,000 ₹2,499
Business / profession without audit (ITR-3) ₹3,000 to ₹8,000 ₹4,999
Business / profession WITH tax audit ₹15,000 to ₹50,000 from ₹25,000
LLP / Partnership (ITR-5) ₹5,000 to ₹20,000 ₹7,999
Private limited company without audit (ITR-6) ₹7,500 to ₹20,000 ₹9,999
Private limited company WITH audit (ITR-6) ₹25,000 to ₹1,50,000 from ₹25,000
NRI return ₹3,000 to ₹8,000 ₹4,999
Trust / NGO (ITR-7) ₹7,500 to ₹30,000 from ₹9,999
Updated return (48-month window) ₹5,000 to ₹25,000 case basis
Scrutiny representation (Sec 143(3) equivalent) ₹25,000 to ₹1,00,000 per tax year case basis
CIT(A) / ITAT appeal ₹50,000 to ₹3,00,000+ case basis

All fees exclude 18% GST. Business clients can typically claim GST as input tax credit.

Salaried Only (ITR-1)

ITR-1 (Sahaj) is the simplest form. It applies to resident individuals with total income up to ₹50 lakh comprising salary, one house property and income from other sources (excluding lottery and race horses). For a clean case — one employer, one Form 16, standard deductions, no capital gains, no foreign income, no other complications — the filing is largely a data-entry exercise. Professional fees in this segment are under price pressure from online platforms.

What a CA-assisted package at ₹999 to ₹1,999 typically includes:

Salaried Plus Capital Gains (ITR-2)

ITR-2 is the workhorse for the Indian urban professional with equity investments. Every mutual fund redemption, every equity share sale, every ESOP exercise, every RSU vest adds a line item and pushes complexity upward.

Under the Income-tax Act, 2025, capital gains rules are broadly consistent with the July 2024 Budget reforms: LTCG at 12.5% without indexation, STCG on listed equity at 20%, holding period rationalised to 12 months for listed securities and 24 months for other assets, LTCG exemption of ₹1.25 lakh on listed equity, and a transitional election for land/buildings acquired before 23 July 2024 (20% with indexation or 12.5% without — whichever is more favourable for resident individuals and HUFs).

What bumps ITR-2 fees up the range:

Business and Profession (ITR-3 / ITR-4)

Freelancers, consultants, small proprietors, doctors, lawyers, architects and technical consultants filing under the business or profession head use ITR-3 for regular books or ITR-4 for presumptive taxation.

ITR-4 (Sugam) presumptive: For residents opting for presumptive taxation at 6% (digital receipts) or 8% (cash) of turnover up to ₹2 crore (extended to ₹3 crore where cash receipts are below 5%) under the Sec 44AD equivalent, or 50% of gross receipts up to ₹75 lakh for specified professions under the Sec 44ADA equivalent. Presumptive eliminates the need to maintain formal books. CA fees are relatively modest at ₹1,500 to ₹4,000.

ITR-3 regular: For those maintaining regular books and claiming actual expenses. Fees range from ₹3,000 to ₹8,000 depending on the scale of operations, number of ledger accounts, and GST reconciliation effort.

Audit Case (ITR-3, ITR-5, ITR-6)

Tax audit under the equivalent of old Section 44AB applies when:

An audit engagement involves the CA issuing Form 3CA-3CD or 3CB-3CD, covering verification of books, GST and TDS compliance, disallowance analysis under the Sec 40(a)(ia) equivalent, depreciation schedule, stock valuation, statutory disclosures, and related-party transaction reporting. The audit fee typically ranges from ₹15,000 to ₹75,000 for a proprietor, ₹25,000 to ₹1,50,000 for an LLP or partnership, and ₹35,000 to ₹3,00,000+ for a private limited company depending on turnover and industry complexity.

For tax year 2026-27, audit reports must be filed by 30 September 2027 and ITRs by 31 October 2027.

NRI Returns

NRI taxation has two layers: residential status determination under the Income-tax Act, 2025, and the application of DTAA benefits. Complexity factors for NRI filings include:

A standard NRI filing is ₹4,999; complex DTAA cases with capital gains and repatriation may go up to ₹15,000 or more.

Updated Returns and Scrutiny Representation

The updated return window has been extended by Finance Act, 2026 to 48 months from the end of the relevant tax year. The additional tax is graduated:

The cost of preparing and filing an updated return is typically ₹5,000 to ₹25,000, depending on whether fresh schedules, capital gains recomputation, or transitional-period reconciliation are needed. The additional tax itself is paid separately.

Scrutiny representation under the equivalent of Sec 143(3) in Chapter XVI of the 2025 Act costs ₹25,000 to ₹1,00,000 per tax year. Faceless assessment is the default — responses are filed through the portal. Fees include drafting written submissions, collating evidence, responding to show-cause notices and any video-conference hearing.

Factors Affecting Cost

DIY vs CA vs Online Portal

Option Typical Cost Best For
DIY on income tax portal Free Simple ITR-1, single Form 16, no capital gains, confident users
Online platforms (ClearTax, Tax2Win, Quicko) ₹299 to ₹2,999 Simple to medium complexity, users who want software-guided filing
Freelance tax preparer ₹500 to ₹5,000 Repeat customers, simple returns, limited advisory
CA firm (small / mid) ₹999 to ₹50,000+ All cases, particularly audit and business returns
Big Four / tier-1 CA firms ₹25,000 to ₹5,00,000+ HNIs, corporates, cross-border, transfer pricing, complex advisory

Virtual Auditor Pricing Benchmark

Virtual Auditor’s ITR packages for tax year 2026-27 are transparently published. All prices are exclusive of 18% GST:

Value vs Cost Framing

The economics of professional tax filing should be framed as value, not cost. Consider three realistic scenarios:

Scenario 1 — Salaried employee misses HRA claim: Rohit earned ₹18 lakh in tax year 2026-27 and could have claimed HRA of ₹2.4 lakh under the old regime, saving ₹50,000 in tax. Filing ITR-1 DIY on the portal, he did not tick the correct regime comparison and missed the HRA. A CA-assisted filing at ₹1,999 would have saved him ₹50,000. The value-to-cost ratio is 25:1.

Scenario 2 — HNI with capital gains: Priya had ₹25 lakh LTCG from mutual fund SIPs. A CA identified that one lot was held for more than 12 months (qualifying for the 12.5% LTCG rate after ₹1.25 lakh exemption) while another was short-term. Proper lot classification saved ₹1.2 lakh. CA fee ₹4,999; value-to-cost ratio 24:1.

Scenario 3 — Freelancer pays Sec 234B interest: Amit earned ₹40 lakh as a freelance developer but did not pay advance tax. A CA-assisted filing would have prompted him to deposit quarterly advance tax, saving approximately ₹48,000 in Sec 234B/234C interest. CA fee ₹4,999; value-to-cost ratio 9.6:1.

The ability to avoid interest, penalty, missed deductions, and scrutiny exposure typically dwarfs the CA fee. The question is not “can I afford a CA” but “can I afford not to have one”.

Expert Insight

CA V. Viswanathan: After two decades of filing income tax returns, I have arrived at a simple test for clients asking “do I need a CA?” — if you can name every section under which your income is being taxed and every deduction you are claiming, you can probably DIY. If you cannot, hire one. The transition to the Income-tax Act, 2025 makes this test sharper. Tax year 2026-27 is the first year under the new Act, and while the drafting is linguistically simpler, the transition creates non-trivial issues: brought-forward losses from pre-2026 previous years, depreciation WDV migrated from the 1961 Act, pending TDS credits across two Acts, and the new tax year terminology. Clients I see making the biggest filing mistakes are HNIs who assume their situation is simple because their primary income is salary. They underestimate the complexity of ESOP lot matching, SIP redemption FIFO, foreign stock reporting under Schedule FA, and regime comparison. On the business side, the cost of a missed disallowance under the Sec 40(a)(ia) equivalent, an unreconciled GST input or a mis-classified depreciation asset is measured in lakhs, not thousands. My counsel is to pay for the advisory layer, not the data-entry layer. A ₹999 DIY portal filing is fine for straightforward single-Form-16 cases, but once you cross into capital gains, business income or foreign assets, the marginal spend on a CA returns itself many times over in avoided interest and penalties. For tax year 2026-27 specifically, I recommend building an extra buffer into your engagement conversation to account for first-year transitional work. By tax year 2027-28, filing costs should normalise as practitioners become fully comfortable with the 2025 Act framework.

Key Takeaways

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cost of filing an income tax return in India for tax year 2026-27?

Under the Income-tax Act, 2025, the cost for tax year 2026-27 ranges from ₹500 for simple salaried ITR-1 to ₹50,000+ for audit-case ITR-6. Typical benchmarks: ITR-1 ₹500 to ₹2,000; ITR-2 ₹2,000 to ₹5,000; business without audit ₹3,000 to ₹8,000; business with audit ₹15,000 to ₹50,000; NRI returns ₹3,000 to ₹8,000; updated returns and scrutiny representation ₹10,000 to ₹50,000+.

Is the government e-filing portal free to use?

Yes. The government’s e-filing portal at incometax.gov.in is entirely free for individual taxpayers. Pre-filled ITR forms pull salary, interest, dividend and capital-gains data from Form 26AS and the AIS. The cost of professional filing is the CA fee, not a government charge. DIY is feasible for simple salaried returns but becomes risky with multiple income heads, capital gains or business income.

How much does a CA charge for ITR-1 salaried filing?

For a salaried individual with one employer, one house property, and total income up to ₹50 lakh, the CA fee for ITR-1 (Sahaj) ranges from ₹500 to ₹2,000. Online platforms may charge as low as ₹299. A CA-assisted filing with regime comparison, deduction review and clean computation sheet is typically ₹999 to ₹1,999. Virtual Auditor’s Salaried Package starts at ₹999.

What is the filing cost for a return with capital gains (ITR-2)?

ITR-2 fees typically range from ₹2,000 to ₹5,000 depending on capital gains complexity. LTCG at 12.5% without indexation, STCG on listed equity at 20%, transitional election for pre-23-July-2024 land/buildings, and ESOP/RSU transactions all add to the effort. Our ITR-2 package starts at ₹2,999 for standard capital gains cases.

What does a business return filing with tax audit cost?

For a proprietor or partnership firm requiring tax audit (turnover above ₹1 crore or ₹10 crore where cash receipts and payments are below 5%, or professional receipts above ₹75 lakh), the combined fee for audit plus ITR-3/ITR-5 filing typically ranges from ₹15,000 to ₹50,000. Complex audits can push fees to ₹75,000 or more. A private limited company ITR-6 with audit can range ₹25,000 to ₹1,50,000.

What is the CA fee for an NRI tax return?

NRI return filing typically ranges from ₹3,000 to ₹8,000. Complexity factors include residential status under the 2025 Act, DTAA benefit claim, TDS reconciliation on rental and NRO interest, capital gains with TDS, and Form 15CA/15CB for repatriation. Virtual Auditor’s NRI Package starts at ₹4,999 and includes DTAA benefit computation.

How much does an updated return cost under the 2025 Act?

The updated return window has been extended to 48 months from the end of the relevant tax year. Professional fees range from ₹5,000 to ₹25,000 depending on scope. The additional tax is graduated: 25% within 12 months, 50% for 12-24 months, 60% for 24-36 months, and 70% for 36-48 months. The additional tax is paid separately from the professional fee.

What factors affect ITR filing cost?

The main factors are ITR form type, number of income heads, foreign income and Schedule FA disclosure, tax audit obligation, number of Form 16s, capital gains complexity, regime comparison effort, notice handling, urgency and transitional first-year work under the 2025 Act. Each additional complexity factor typically adds ₹500 to ₹2,000 to the base fee.

Should I file ITR myself or hire a CA?

DIY is suitable for simple single-Form-16 salaried cases. A CA is recommended for capital gains, foreign income, multiple house properties, business or professional income, ESOP/RSU transactions, ITR-3 or higher forms, audit obligation, previous-year mismatches and notice handling. The cost of a missed deduction or a mis-reported capital gain typically exceeds the CA fee by an order of magnitude.

Are online tax filing portals cheaper than a CA?

Online platforms offer ITR-1 from ₹299 and ITR-2 from ₹999. They are competitive for simple cases. A CA adds value in three areas automated platforms struggle with: interpretation of ambiguous facts such as ESOP dates, regime comparison with working papers, and notice handling after filing. For business returns and audit cases, CA engagement is essential because the audit report must be signed by a practising Chartered Accountant.

What is the cost of scrutiny representation?

Scrutiny representation under the equivalent of Sec 143(3) in Chapter XVI of the Income-tax Act, 2025 typically costs ₹25,000 to ₹1,00,000 per tax year. Faceless assessment is the default under the 2025 Act — notices and responses are handled through the portal. Fees cover drafting written submissions, collating evidence, responding to multiple show-cause notices and any video-conference hearing.

Does the Income-tax Act, 2025 change the cost of filing?

The new Act does not directly change filing cost because professional fees are market-driven. Indirectly, simplified drafting and the ‘tax year’ terminology may reduce CA time marginally, the extended 48-month updated return window creates a new service segment, and the first-year transition creates migration work — reconciling brought-forward losses, depreciation WDV and pending appeals — which may push fees slightly higher in tax year 2026-27.

How much should a freelancer budget for ITR filing?

A freelancer earning consultancy income with TDS at 10% typically files ITR-3 or ITR-4 (presumptive). CA fees range from ₹3,000 to ₹8,000 for non-audit cases. Where receipts exceed ₹75 lakh and audit is triggered, fees rise to ₹15,000 to ₹40,000. Budget an additional ₹2,000 to ₹5,000 for books-of-accounts preparation and ₹2,000 to ₹5,000 for GST return filing if registered.

What additional services are bundled with ITR filing?

A professional ITR package typically bundles regime comparison with working papers, Form 26AS and AIS reconciliation, tax computation sheet, advance tax planning for the next tax year, capital gains optimisation, reply to Sec 143(1) intimation, and carry-forward of losses. Virtual Auditor packages include these as standard; ad-hoc DIY filings on cheap platforms typically do not.

Is there GST on CA fees for ITR filing?

Yes. Chartered Accountant services attract GST at 18%. A ₹2,999 ITR-2 package carries ₹539.82 GST, bringing the total to ₹3,538.82. Business clients can claim the GST as input tax credit. Salaried individuals bear the GST as a final cost. All pricing quoted in this article is exclusive of 18% GST unless specified.

What is Virtual Auditor’s pricing for tax year 2026-27?

Virtual Auditor’s packages for tax year 2026-27 are: ITR-1 Salaried ₹999, ITR-2 Capital Gains ₹2,999, ITR-3 Business ₹4,999, ITR-4 Presumptive ₹2,499, ITR-5 LLP ₹7,999, ITR-6 Company (no audit) ₹9,999 and (with audit) from ₹25,000, ITR-7 Trusts from ₹9,999, NRI ₹4,999. All include regime comparison, AIS reconciliation, computation sheet and 143(1) support. Prices exclude 18% GST.

Virtual Auditor — Chartered Accountants & IBBI Registered Valuers
Author: CA V. Viswanathan, FCA, ACS, CFE, IBBI/RV/03/2019/12333
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